Tiziana Ferrero-Regis

The hard work of leisure: healthy life, activewear and Lorna Jane

Since the 2000s activewear has grown as a fashion category, and the tropes of gym wear – leggings, leotards and block colours – have become fashionable attire for both men and women outside the gym. This article examines the rise of activewear in the context of an on-going dialogue between fashion and sport since the beginning of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of the Australian activewear label, Lorna Jane, we consider the fashionable female body as both the object and subject of a consumer culture that increasingly overlays leisure with fashion. Activewear can be seen as the embodiment of an active and fashionable lifestyle that is achieved through a regime of self-discipline, and that symbolizes the pleasure in attaining and displaying the healthy and fit body.

Twenty-first century dandyism: fancy Lycra® on two wheels

ABSTRACT In Australia, the popularity of road cycling has increased since the mid-2000s. A parallel phenomenon is the appearance of Lycra® outfits designed specifically for male cyclists, with changing styles in mind. This phenomenon is part of a global trend that fuses sport, leisure and a lifestyle that means being fit and strong, while simultaneously exhibiting masculinity through sartorial choices. These elements defined the original dandy in the Regency period. This article investigates a contemporary form of dandyism in Brisbane, Australia, whereby the male cyclist is concerned with ‘matching the bike with the outfit’. On the basis of evidence gathered through an analysis of websites that retail specialized cycling clothing, observations at riding events and a survey of cycling shops, I argue that the ubiquitous presence of cyclists on roads is a new iteration of dandyism that is loaded with signifiers relating to fashion history, sport, leisure and twenty-first-century masculine identities.

Fashion Media: Past and Present

Tiziana Ferrero-Regis is Senior Lecturer in Fashion at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. She is the author of Recent Italian Cinema: Spaces Contexts Experiences (2009, Leicester: Troubador). She has published numerous articles on fashion theory, history, and fashion in film. tiziana.ferreroregis@qut.edu.au Fashion Media: Past and Present edited by Djurdja Bartlett, Shaun Cole and Agnès Rocamora (Bloomsbury, London, 2013).

Branding “Created in China”: The Rise of Chinese Fashion Designers

Abstract This article discusses the importance of aesthetic recognition and branding for Chinese fashion designers as prerequisites for their successful positioning in a globalized marketplace. Fundamental to this process is the communication of their aesthetic in their branding process. In addition, the emergence of fashion designers of Asian-American descent who align their creative vision with a globally mainstream audience has created momentum for the new generation of mainland Chinese designers. Chinese creativity is moving to center stage as the countrys role as a leading consumer market with brands of domestic origin strengthens. Thus the aim of this article is to uncover the tension between what is, on the one hand, the need to embrace a global market, and, on the other, the desire to create the elements of a distinctly Chinese brand through aesthetic references to Chinese culture and iconography. We argue that one core element of branding is reference to heritage and tradition. Therefore to satisfy an increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumer, Chinese designers need to be able to incorporate these elements into a characteristic and well-promoted personal vision.