Lecture
Thursday 3 March 2022
Floriane Misslin
Diagramming Fluidity, Visualising Sociology, Demystifying Fashion
Visual sociology is not a sociology of the visual, but a sociology through the visual, or the material, the emotional, the sensory — beyond academic texts. I do visual sociology about fashion and gender. Fashion is not perceived as a relevant academic research subject because it is seen as (1) a super-capitalistic system and (2) a feminised discipline. Yet fashion represents an exploitative system that maintains a glamorous myth around itself. Research on fashion looks closely at how this industry works to demystify it. My own research investigates how womenswear and menswear remain two prevalent categories in the production of clothing, and more specifically, how fashion photography seems to be an important site of negotiation to challenge these categories. With my practice, I develop visual and participatory research methods to explore how photographers, art directors, or fashion editors can queer the production of fashion photography, or might be refrained from it. I do sociology through images, diagrams, and mood boards.
About Floriane
Floriane (they/them) is a researcher, designer, and educator whose practice focuses on developing participatory and visual research methods. They are currently a lecturer at London College of Communication and a PhD candidate in Visual Sociology at Goldsmiths University of London (UK). They studied fashion in Paris (France) before developing a more critical approach to gender and visual culture at Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands). For their doctoral research, Floriane studies the production of fashion photography and fashion practices that challenge the distinction between womenswear and menswear, with a focus on the use of mood boards.
Instagram: @floriane_misslin
Website: florianemisslin.com
