Dress Code

Clothing and personal style are like a language that can shape how we are seen. Without a doubt, both can be tools for personal expression, camouflage, or even protective armor. Within the language of getting dressed, garments carry connotations of gender, class, and cultural identity. For example, the very act of branding garments with designer labels establishes their narrative, associating them with luxury or a specific lifestyle to appeal to consumers. These connotations when combined with social norms (such as dressing femininely or masculinely) mean that getting dressed involves negotiating these codes each and every day consciously or not. The artists and designers featured in this exhibition explore the ways in which dressing the body with clothing codes oneself and ask who holds the authority to determine these codes. By breaking the “norms” of dress, the artists in this exhibition present their bodies and selves on their own terms.

Featured artists: Bhen Alan, Lisa Anne Auerbach, Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, Baxter Koziol, Rey Londres, Lisa Z. Morgan, Zoë Pulley, and Jackey Robinson