ANNA TEREZA KRISTÓF
A man in a dress, a woman bearing her breasts and body hair, no longer shock the progressive catwalks of European fashion houses, but for two Prague fashionistas these aren’t just fashion choices, they are decisions about social constructs that need to be broken.
“I felt terrible, so I took the spray can and left the house. I knew I wanted to write something, so right after that I spray painted ‘FUCK THIS’ on the back of the jacket,” Ana says of the jacket she’s currently wearing.
“It was like I got all these negative emotions out of me and onto that jacket. And then I put it on. The process was so liberating.” She describes how important making clothes is to her. It’s like she took all the pressure she was feeling inside and transformed it. She put a piece of herself into it.
Ana Holovatyuk, better known as Cherry to most of her friends, is a young Ukrainian queer woman who has lived in Prague for five years. She is leaving in a few days to travel through India, with no plan of what exactly she will do there, only knowing she wants to experience the world. On Instagram and in real life, people know her as a strong personality who is not afraid to express herself. She makes most of her clothes herself. Sometimes she wears wigs, sometimes she shows her breasts, she doesn’t shave; she says she doesn’t feel any shame. She breaks down all four walls of social conformity by being herself. And she’s not alone.
Fifty years ago, she would have caused a stir in the streets. The fashion boundaries for what men and women could wear at that time were strictly set, and never to be crossed with acceptance of the society. We can see that in the example of David Bowie, whose androgynous fashion took the whole world by a swoosh. America was then shocked and shaken by his fearlessness when it came to his self-expression through fashion. So much that some of his looks had to be taken down, as in the case of his 1971 album cover, where he wore a dress. But for many, that marked the beginning of a fashion revolution and Bowie became a fashion icon and a symbol. In the present central Europe, only a few people give Cherry’s looks a second thought.
“When I was a kid, my mom always dressed me in weird clothes to I guess make me different from the other kids.” On her phone, she shows a photo of her little self with a mullet. She never aspired to be different, she just liked different things than her peers wore.
“I’m from a small village in Ukraine, there difference is taken differently.” She tells a story of a graduation celebration where her dress became a social discussion. “They printed me in the newspaper. I wore a black bodysuit and a see-through mesh skirt, so you could kind of see my butt.”
Shortly afterwards, she left for Prague. Even though she was no longer at school, she was the talk of the town and an example of what was beyond the borders of acceptable.
Cherry‘s style is still evolving. “I’ve had to develop my own eye for things I like.”
She first got into experimenting with fashion through her friends. She liked the way they dressed, so she tried to emulate them. “I wouldn’t say I copied them; I just knew I wanted to wear stuff like them. So, I tried it. I felt it wasn’t my own taste, but I knew I was picking stuff up.”
Now she takes inspiration from everything around her. “I watch how people around me dress, whether it’s in Prague, Berlin or Paris, and I take what I like from everyone.” When she gets dressed, she knows it’s her, Cherry.
For the first time, we’re not a minority
Every era has a fashion subculture. And most of them come with their own style. In the sixties, it was the hippies, with their long hair and loose, colourful clothes often protesting for peace. In the seventies, it was the Punks, with their leather and studs and PVC and head-to-toe black rallying against the establishment. They all have one thing in common – they’re a minority in society. They yearn for change, and by their appearance, they rail against what they don’t like in society and associate themselves with what they identify with. Whether a person cares more or less about what they wear, it always speaks for them.
“Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes,“ Diana Vreeland, a former editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue once said on The Dick Cavett Show.
Today brings its own shift. In the progressive European cities from Berlin to Prague, society is more open to difference than ever. It is increasingly acknowledged that the social constructions of sexuality, gender, and race are simply that. And so it is in fashion – society is increasingly embracing and encouraging diversity. A big part of this is social media, where there is space to express oneself while also using that power to influence people on the other side of the world. By using the media, trends can flow from fashion capitals such as New York, Paris, and Berlin. In the online fashion world, it’s not just okay to be different – it is a vital part of that, too.
Diversity and commercial media
The media is gradually adapting to these trends. Sofie Veselá, a stylist by profession, describes her experience at work. She explains that fashion decisions are often made by people in the higher-up positions, most often coming from clients or producers. “They realise that their clientele wants diversity, that there is a need for it on the market.”
She points out, however, that diversity in fashion shows is demanded by those who pay for the product. “Actually, maybe this is the way to get it to work, but it still irritates me.”
As Sofie irons clothes for her next fashion shoot, she says she’s seen a shift in the media’s approach. She makes a distinction between digital and traditional media, claiming the digital ones tend to be more progressive. She thinks traditional media should learn from them. It’s a fine line for marketers in balancing the need to address diversity, and the need to ensure that the profit-making general public are not turned away by progressive campaigns.
This dilemma can lead to self-censorship. “I think about this a lot. Moreover, for example, in TV projects, costumes have to go through strict approval. People are probably not ready for everything yet.”
Sofia would like more freedom in her work, at least in the Czech Republic. “I feel that I am not free enough in my creativity. Like nipples – those don’t exist in this industry.”
But she admits that she has conformed to the standards of her position and won’t allow herself to say anything. “And it’s probably wrong, but I believe change is coming.”
Fashion as a form of expression
Cherry adjusts her skirt and reflects on how her appearance is perceived by those around her. She realizes she looks different, and people look at her differently, but she’s okay with it.
“I get the most hate for body hair and nudity.” Instagram has deleted her account four times, mostly for what it calls explicit content. She feels comfortable in her body and thinks everyone should have the right to post pictures of their own body. “As long as I’m not hurting anyone, I don’t see why I should be punished for it.”
She says by deleting nudity (even outside of a sexual context), Instagram is hurting a community that is only trying to express itself.
“It’s a part of me,” Cherry says about her style.
When she’s all dressed up, it makes more sense to her. She considers it a piece of her personality that speaks for her wherever she goes.
“People often tell me that I’m making a statement with my outfits. But I don’t really know what kind of statement I should be trying to make. Everything I put on is a reflection of who I am at that moment and how I feel.”
A modern and progressive society needs freedom to flourish. Freedom of expression, freedom of choice. No matter what we read, what we do, who we vote for, who we love. And fashion falls under these freedoms too. For some, style is a fundamental pillar of their identity. It’s a means of communication, and we use our clothes to say who we really are. Fashion can be art, therapy, even political expression. And the more open society is to it, the more room there will be for creativity and diversity.
“I have a need to be special and feel like myself, and fashion offers that,” says Cherry. “I know I’m good at it and that I can do it – so I do it. And in doing so, I hope I inspire those around me to have the courage to do the same. I want society to appreciate it more.”