Human Disorder

Fashion is a global concept, and it is adopted as differently from country to country as it is from person to person. But in some parts of the world, fashion is not left to the individual to dictate, but rather to the state. In the Middle east, where Western influences are generally unwelcome by the government, women use fashion to make a political statement.

Welcoming Western Fashion

In the Islamic country of Iran, a headscarf and manteau (long coat) are a legal requirement in women’s clothing. The women of Iran, however, challenge this by wearing these items in colorful, fashionable prints as opposed to the regulated solid black, and matching them with their shoes. The manteau has even been altered from season to season, in color and length, to make it more fashion-friendly. Women are also taking it upon themselves to make their manteaus more fitted.

Maintaining a Middle Eastern Identity

In the country of Saudi Arabia, the government has never banned western fashion, but the country’ citizens do not find themselves automatically drawn to western goods. A doll, the Fulla, which bears a Muslim, Middle Eastern look, has displaced Barbie as a top seller in Middle Eastern markets. And even Elle magazine has launched a Middle Eastern version, featuring a mix of Eastern and Western fashions, and slightly more conservative than its western counterpart. The magazine is carried in Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan,

Syria, Egypt, Dubai, and Kuwait

Though fashions can, and do, vary drastically all over the world, globalization is reducing those differences. And even with government restrictions in some parts of the world, fashion savvy women are using their good taste to make a political statement, sometimes for and sometimes against their state.