The Fashion behind Pose & the Ball Culture
The remarkable drama series Pose, has managed to position itself and influence trends in the fashion industry. Bringing back the fashion icons of the 80’s and 90’s. The proposal on stage has managed to captivate viewers, inviting them to embark on a journey through the history of fashion, seeing Victorian influences, camp style and the outstanding ball culture.
The show´s fashion designer, Lou Eyrich, has commented on the big challenge that it represented to bring the characters to life through fashion, and to generate a connection between the character and their different costumes. The designer also underlined on her creative inclination based mainly on “Paris is Burning”; in this way she achieved a closer and more structured contact on ball culture and its influence on industry trends.
Eyrich proposed a direction of the creative process with a more realistic perspective on the individual situation of each of the characters, moving away from the editorial style that could have been out of tune with the plot of the television program as such. Part of this process of creating fashion outfits took place through thrifting and looking for vintage items.
The influence of fashion goes further, enriching the experience of each persona who describe it as an empowerment journey through fashion, contemplating the expectations of the industry, especially for women. Dominique Jackson highlights the possibility of accentuating her features in a creative way. She also emphasizes the combination of influences, the structural side of clothing and the mix of textures in the outfits.
By focusing on the relevance of Ball Culture, we return to The Harlem Renaissance, which was characterized by an artistic, cultural, and intellectual expression, developed around the celebration of the Afro-descendant community. These social activities were built through pageants and the famous Houses; where a group of people belonging to a competitive affiliation used to fight among themselves based on their appearance and creative development.
The creative expression behind this movement puts in perspective the greater role of fashion, reaching a point where many Houses created their names from major fashion brands (Balenciaga, Saint Laurent). And this is where the impact of fashion is palpable, specifically in ballroom culture clothing, where it´s often used as a form of expression, categorizing styles, and creating fantasy. Fashion and extravagance allowed the community to construct their own worlds, spaces, and identities.
The changes in the fashion industry that the ballroom culture provided, generated notable changes from an personal point of view, allowing each person to find a set of skills to locate their unique self-fashioning, and at the same time enabled the collective to find its own subcategories and create spaces where fashion and aesthetics were the main connection between people, adding elements such as makeup and accessories, the creation of fantasies stopped having limits.
The influence of ballroom culture continues to have a massive influence, even more with the huge success of the TV show. Allowing a strong and independent influence on the pop culture nowadays and keeping as a main source of inspiration.
