DRESSCODES 12

The specific nature of fashion is deeply related to nation-building processes and state-related initiatives. Two premises are central to this thinking: the first is that clothing is an instrument that helps individuals to differentiate themselves and to integrate into more complex cultural and social units. The second premise holds that clothing is the result of multiple encounters and hybridisations between individuals, time and space, and therefore carries the political, economic, religious and cultural values of the society in which it is produced. Clothing thus provides a set of symbolic codes that help to materialise the ideological goals of the nation-state itself and to reinforce the sense of belonging and distinction, and, therefore, to create a national identity.
The case of Spanish alta costura during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975) is interesting in this respect. After the Spanish Civil War, the Franco dictatorship was installed in the country. As a result of these years of conflict, Spain was a ruined country and its people were completely divided. The regime responded by launching a nation-re-building plan, which it believed would help to overcome the problems faced. This project affected not only the public
(architecture, education, monuments, etc.) but also the private sphere. Even fashion was affected by this plan. The aim of this presentation is therefore to explore the role of fashion, in particular alta costura, in the construction of the new image and national identity of Franco's Spain.