V&R Chapter 7 uses Kolnai to inquire into the morality of both luxury and fast fashion. Over at Law & Liberty, I have a post on Kolnai’s thought overall and give examples to back up his claim that hierarchy and privilege is not merely found in establishment but ordinary pursuits: http://www.libertylawsite.org/2018/06/14/establishment-of-nobility-and-modernity-the-thought-of-aurel-kolnai/
H&M’s latest is an interactive mirror that takes pictures of you and also offers fashion suggestions. The business idea is to integrate being in a shop and digital sales. Just watch the video embedded in the article for the idea: https://www.retaildive.com/news/hm-tests-voice-activated-mirrors-at-nyc-flagship/525296/. It is an interesting example of conservatism in fashion. Psychoanalytically, the mirror reaffirms the…
In the original post I used the ethical theory of the Scottish philosopher W. D. Ross to assess whether Anne Wintour’s effort to rehabilitate Marchesa was ethically justified. It is not. New information has emerged on how the company’s financing is tied to a company of Weinstein’s (https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-harvey-weinstein-secretly-involved-in-marchesa-his-wifes-fashion-label-8). This further cements the complicity involved. …
*The following is a wonderful theoretical take on the theological significance of the Met Gala and the themes of V&R generally. It is by my good friend Dr. Chris Wojtulewicz, who has been a guest-blogger here before. Thank you, Chris, and I hope you all enjoy. As with so many things which seem in…
What are the conditions of wealth creation? Smith and Hume argue that vanity is axiomatic. Turgot thinks it is the amount of money put out for loan at interest. Both claims consciously touch upon moral prohibitions. The Catholic Church sponsored sumptuary laws (against vanity) and usury laws (against money loaned at interest). These…
Amidst the controversy over the Met Gala the main moral question may have been missed. According to a news report, Anna Wintour, the famed head of Vogue, is seeking to rehabilitate Marchesa. The brand’s designer is Georgina Chapman, who is separated from her brutish husband, serial abuser and rapist, Harvey Weinstein. A Marchesa dress figured…
Here is a good read: https://aeon.co/essays/why-does-philosophy-hold-clothes-in-such-low-regard. It’s nice to see philosophical accounts of fashion and this one goes some way to correcting — as does V&R! — the oft-repeated claim that fashion and commerce is about hedonism (https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2018/04/why-anti-liberalism-fails/). Both articles are well worth reading but the first stands as an important corrective of the second.…
In 3 years, the 1981 Granada TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel, Brideshead Revisited, will be forty years old. It’s hard to believe that TV from forty years ago can look so fresh and remain psychologically so acute. In Indianapolis recently, I picked up the dvd set of the 25th Anniversary edition and…
My latest on the Scottish theorists, most of whom appear in V&R. What Was the Scottish Enlightenment?
Diderot is famous for the creation of the Encyclopédie. A massive, multi-volume work dating to 1751-1772, it highlighted especially the mechanical arts and is often credited with launching the spirit of the French Revolution. Diderot also wrote a short piece critical of luxury in 1769, “Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown” (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/diderot/1769/regrets.htm). His arguments are…