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From the start of human history, as we currently know it, religion has arguably been one of the largest leading contributors to how we observe the culture surrounding art, and how art changes over time. We see it in ancient archeological finds throughout all continents; pieces of art that can tell us small amounts of information about the culture of civilizations within the said continent, and how they managed themselves within the world around them. One may also observe it in the influence Christianity has had, and its fruition after the Greeks, Romans, and Jewish people changed art entirely for centuries. Throughout history, religion has always been the key to discovering how cultures interact and, most importantly, the symbols and relics that we can see using. Given the right context, how they were used, and how they may be applied in art afterward.
This inspiration can be seen carried through art in the same way it always has been, employing interpretation and representation (can the symbol’s meaning change given the context, or telling a story about the symbol). However, a more recent artistic development, or rather, a more recent controversy, has been how religion can impact the fashion industry. One of the articles I read about this topic referenced a thought process often associated with fashion forecasters, in which one can predict the styles of upcoming years based on events and culture occurring today. The article stated that, beyond the consistent occurrences in punk settings, which I will delve into shortly, religious symbols are often correlated to a group's desire for unity. Above all, religion and religious symbols are often seen surrounding the idea of community and bring people from all different demographics together under one idea. Thus it makes sense that when a group collectively experiences a form of a life-altering event, for example, the events of September 11th, and more recently during the 2020 lockdown, symbols used in a religious context begin to make a broader appearance within fashion to reflect the community that now desires unity.
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The way I have seen it, religious symbols appear most frequently under three different circumstances. The first, is religious unity, bringing people together under the pretense of religious communion. The second is in communities that juxtapose the ideals of a religion. We can see examples of this in punk settings, within Vivienne Westwood's collections, and especially Dolce and Gabbana, which is known on a smaller scale for their usage of especially Christian symbols repeatedly in their collections in a profane manner. The last is the aforementioned passage of art. The recent Balmain collection for S/S 2023 during fashion week in Milan, in which graphics used from old Renaissance paintings were used for the construction of glamorous dresses and suits seen within the collection. However, throughout all of these examples, Christianity is the most dominant presence. The Christian faith has arguably had the biggest impact on art globally, mostly in the West or North and South America. And while this makes sense from an American perspective, there is a good amount of material to work off of from other cultural religions as well. In the world, there are over 4,000 recognized religions, as well as additional folk religions still practiced by their respective groups, such as indigenous peoples or off-shoots of religions that have different meanings as a result of where they are practiced, think of Catholicism in Mexico vs the US. With this, comes a significant amount of impact on the overall culture of the regions these practices come from. However one of the things I found myself repeatedly puzzling over during this research, was how to differentiate ethnic culture and religious cultural impact within different artistic mediums.
The key detail that I believe aids in creating a clearer divide between the two, is where the religion comes from, and how it existed in our culture in previous decades. Every religion has behavior that is deemed okay and not okay, but how does this impact the culture of art created by people who have no stake in the beliefs one way or another? If we take a second to look at Christians, it's safe to say practicing Christians most likely don't approve of people dressing as slutty nuns for Halloween. The opposing example is in 2020, a famous TikTok influencer was scolded for shaking her but and dancing to an excerpt found in the Quran. In the Christian’s case, it is not seen as offensive to Christians by non-Christians to dress as a slutty nun. This is because Christianity has existed in our own culture and media for such a significant amount of time without any form of negative association to make mocking them now feel quite as tone-deaf as the other example. On the other hand, the example given about Islam is not even remotely the same. Put simply, Islam has not existed in our media enough. What's more, Islam has almost never, at least not within the last 11 years, been commented on within our culture in a positive enough manner. This is what makes profane usages of their symbols appear insensitive, and why it's different for Christianity.
This is what the conversation truly boils down to. Certain religions have existed in media for so long, especially Christianity, which has not only existed but been effectively shoved down our throats, that it is essentially an open domain for critique and personal interpretation. The other argument, as I mentioned, is geographically based. Where it comes from, and how informed we already are on the group is what must be considered before attempting to release Turbans and a shirt that reads “Monkey”, and is modeled by a prepubescent African American child. Many Americans are especially drastically uneducated about other cultures and know most of the details via the internet or stories told by others. Thus it makes sense that when you see a white Christian girl disrespecting the religious practice of a group, it can not only be traced to disrespect of the religion but of the entire culture surrounding it.
These examples are why Dolce and Gabbana's S/S 2023 collection is not seen as offensive by most fashion enthusiasts, but Gucci's use of the turban often correlated to the practices of Sikhism, is. Why was the turban used, and what message was it sending to the readers of the visuals? If we see a collection featuring a drag queen in full dominatrix attire with a rosary, it reads as a statement on the culture we grew up experiencing within this country, the cross-over of porn and religion is not at all a new artistic statement. We can recognize these symbols as things within our communities, the Churches located on every corner of a small town, the porn hid in the 18+ section of a video store. But what statement does it make for a non-Sikh designer, working for a non-Sikh brand, to use a turban on a runway with absolutely zero connection to religion? This reads as appropriation. If the meaning and significance of a symbol are otherwise unknown by a majority of consumers, there is no reason for it to be used, especially in this case in which nobody understood the significance of it behind the scenes either.
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