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Teaches in the area of Fashion Design History and Theory and is a broadcaster on contemporary design matters.
In the nineteenth century visible evidence of romance was the sight of a stray ribbon slightly untied or the crumpled folds of a silk bodice. Today DNA testing shatters love's subtle signifiers and brings new meanings to the life of a garment. These tests are part of a collection of discourses which position the stain within 'an entire constellation if ideas, conventions, and phantasms' (Didi-Huberman). What is it about the stain, as evidence of life and death, which has taken on a popular meaning in the twentieth and twenty first century?
Unintentional stains offer unique, material evidence of love, life, decay and death. Traditionally we have admired cloth and clothing for its new, pristine qualities and have celebrated those features in collections, displays, catwalks and advertising. This paper explores the underside of this known realm by drawing on case studies such as Jackie Kennedy's blood stained suit, Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress, a controversial reading of the Shroud of Turin and the living fabrics of Martin Margiela.
Part one of this study, presented by Prudence Black, suggests that the unintentional stain speaks of abjection. In two, 20th century American presidential settings, stained garments also powerfully symbolise dishonour and tragedy.
Part two, presented by Peta Shera, suggests
that the unintentional stain defaces an otherwise unblemished garment but makes
the original fabric sacred (Taussig). Fashion refers to the accidental stain's
aesthetic possibilities but cannot incorporate its disturbing characteristics.
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