Roberta Degnore, author, filmmaker, and adjunct professor in Social Sciences–Psychology, recently wrote an opinion piece titled “Fashion Is Power” for Harper’s Bazaar, which appeared in the magazine’s Australian, Indian, and Singaporean editions.
In the article, Degnore posits that clothing is a great determiner of mindset and behavior, in the wearer as well as in the society they inhabit. Drawing upon hard data and wide-ranging historical detail, Degnore illustrates that throughout time and across cultures, fashion has been an important way of controlling how we act and how we’re seen; and she makes a compelling case for the importance of scientific inquiry and data gathering at the intersection of fashion, behavior, emotion, perception, and cognitive functioning.