Bas Kosters
What an eventful week. In Holland, we celebrated National Liberation Day. In New York, they celebrated the Met Gala.
I spoke at an event yesterday, it was a lecture about identity and how I use myself as a carrier for artistic expression. This, of course, is a direct result of the freedom that I have in my daily life. To me, this is a very important right, and one that I value greatly. This freedom not only manifests itself in my actions but also in my choice of dressing.
My thought for this week was how we express freedom in the way we dress, and then I stumbled upon several posts of dressed up Met Gala attendees. Flipping trough the pictures of men in neat suits and women in beautiful dresses made me wonder how they experience their freedom. One hot topic was body-hugging dresses with cut outs at the side and around the hips and bottom, the other trend was dresses with a long train.
Everybody looked their best, and even though they looked amazing, they also looked very stereotypical and gender obedient. How much freedom do they actually have whilst dressing themselves for this event? And showing off your half naked body as a female, is that an act of freedom and pride? Can it be seen as an act of liberation? Or is it an act of obedience to a stereotypical society where gender is still not liberated?
Wouldn’t it have been nice to see an act of rebellion or anarchy in this parade of luxury and fame? A statement to the world to say things can be different, and realize that the freedom that most of us have is a great gift, because in other parts of the world this freedom is a scarcity.
In other parts of Europe, there will be liberation days in these coming weeks. How will you celebrate your freedom? And will you express it in your fashion? I do hope so, because it is an issue to be aware off.
