3 Must Read Books Exploring Fashion & Society
Are you hungry to know more about fashion and society?
In our recent podcast, Kimberly Jenkins shared the must-read books that explore the intersections of fashion, society, and the politics of representation — here are her top picks. To find out more, listen to Fashion, Race & Platforms with Kimberly Jenkins.
#1 CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson
“There's a reason why Isabel Wilkerson has won countless awards for this book. For anyone who's interested in understanding race, this is a great book because it adds nuance. Isabel Wilkerson actually distances herself from using the word ‘race’. With the issues that we're dealing with globally, she prefers to situate it under the word or the phenomenon of ‘caste’. It's really a great book, again, for anyone who is adamantly just not wanting to have these conversations anymore and wants to believe that race and colonialism don't exist. This book will challenge that.” — Kimberly Jenkins
“Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson, 2020, Penguin Random House. Get the book here.
#2 FEARING THE BLACK BODY by Sabrina Strings
“'Fearing the Black Body' by Sabrina Strings explores fat phobia from a racial perspective. She investigates the historical context, tracing its roots through art history, examining the political and moral forces that fuel fat phobia and its intersection with race. I think it's excellent.” — Kimberly Jenkins
“Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings, 2019, NYU Press. Get the book here.
#3 WHY WOMEN WEAR WHAT THEY WEAR by Sophie Woodward
“As someone from an anthropology background, I particularly love Sophie Woodward. Her exploration of women and their clothes, through wardrobe ethnographies, has been one of the most influential methodologies that shaped my thinking in fashion studies for over a decade. Especially noteworthy is her examination of the stories our wardrobes tell, highlighting how they serve as living and breathing archives in our own homes.” — Kimberly Jenkins
“Why Women Wear What They Wear” by Sophie Woodward, 2007, Bloomsbury Publishing. Get the book here.
Source: Fashion Knowledge Podcast, E20: Fashion, Race & Platforms with Kimberly Jenkins.