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Abstract
This paper will show how fashion practice in contemporary Cuba plays out as revolt in the face of two productive axes: the mythological machine of the Cuban Revolution, and that of capitalist accumulation. After establishing how the revolt is formulated within historical materialism, pointing out the need for its demythologization, the shared ontological foundations of the capitalist and the socialist models in their horror of the nonproductive are established, in order to show how this ethos is articulated with the revolt, a figure which guides our approach insofar as it differs from dissent. Once the framework is outlined showing how the Cuban State’s sartorial socialization mechanisms contributed to the making of the symbolic-mythological machinery, the groundwork is laid for the socio-historical elements that enable the emergence of a new subjectivity traversed by the representational-specular intersectionalities which are key to our analysis. From the radical perspective of uselessness, waste and potlatch, this essay will then go on to situate the Cuban fashion praxis as destructive revolt that subverts and breaks with the historicist narrative of both capitalism and the Cuban Revolution. In order to illustrate this argument, the paper examines specific examples from among contemporary Cuba’s fashion practitioners in 2019.
Acknowledgments
I am referring not to the social movement that gave way to the political alternative that paved the way for the coup of the military dictatorship led by Fulgencio Batista, but rather to the institution of the totalitarian project and mythological apparatus headed by Fidel Castro and his dynasty.
Notes
1 A concept developed by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the New Man embodies the collectivist and progressivist ideals of the Cuban socialist project; it is a subjectivity which, according to the Che, is never quite finished, insofar as he keeps “his eye on the future and its recompense, although the latter is not viewed as something individual; the reward is the new society in which men will have a different set of characteristics; the society of the communist man.” Translation by the author of this text.
2 Concept developed by Furio Jesi to refer to the production of mythological materials that legitimate power and stabilize its identity.
3 Translation by the author of this text.
4 Translation by the author of this text.
5 Translation by the author of this text.
6 Translation by the author of this text.
7 Translation by the author of this text.
8 The events unfolding at the time of the drafting of this paper (February 2021), around the San Isidro Movement (MSI), involving the persecution of Cuban artists and intellectuals (most of whose work, prior to the events, could not be considered to have a specifically activist or political edge) demanding freedom of expression on the island, are a clear example of both the horror and the incapacity of the Cuban regime to control dissent that is radical insofar as it is symbolic, and one that refuses to leave (a move that would only serve to contribute to the State’s false claims of an alleged mercenary relationship with the enemy), leaving the regime with the only option of placing the artists on individual house arrest, notwithstanding the lack of formal charges. The Cuban State has gone as far as to implement renovated restrictions on the activities of the culture and arts sector, with the pretext of the programmed announcement of a new set of “independent” economic activities. Because the notion of “independence” in this context overtly suggests the pursuit of monetary remuneration outside of State-run industry, and thus an insertion of these activities within the realm of the production of goods and services, these new restrictions seem even more futile, when the work of the artists in question operates within a symbolic value system, rendering State attempts to control their practice, inoperable. The use of Internet on behalf of the members of the MSI, is a key factor, for the reasons detailed in the body of this text.
9 Emphasis by the author of this text.
10 “The Charm” or “The Enchantment”.
11 Translation by the author of this text.
12 Of unknown origin, mistakenly attributed to Galileo Galilei.
13 Movement, happening.
14 Term used to refer to work outside of State-owned industries in Cuba, which operates under a legal, labor and fiscal scheme whose limits and terms are determined by the State and can shift drastically from one moment to the next. Although it is not a new scheme, it was relaunched in 2010 to include a new set of sectors and activities, thus generating a 300% increase in licenses.
15 “99% Cuban design” and “buddy, that’s enough, thanks,” respectively. According to the Gritty Spanish Dictionary, the popular slang term asere (buddy, guy) once used by Cubans to salute Africans, finds its origin in esiere meaning “good night” in Ibibio-Efik, one of the Benue–Congo family of languages from Nigeria. Last seen in July, 2020: https://www.grittyspanish.com/2017/01/28/9-cuban-slang-words-phrases-to-know-when-traveling-to-cuba/
16 Translation by the author of this text.
17 Translation by the author of this text.
18 http://www.ondi.cu Translation by the author of this text.
19 The Movida Madrileña is a term used to refer to the explosive countercultural movement that characterized aesthetic production in the late seventies and early eighties. With its origins in the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña, the Movida eventually spread throughout the country, establishing the paradigms of a new subjectivity, of a transgressive, strident otherness. Among its most representative figures, are filmmakers Pedro Almodóvar, Fernando Trueba, Fernand Colomo and Manuel Iborra, as well as musical ensembles such as Nacha Pop, Alaska y los Pegamoides, and in fashion, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, among many other artists.
20 From the chinook patshatl, potlatch is a ceremony practiced by the original cultures of western North America, according to the reports from the 19th century. Luxury goods accumulated mainly by top hierarchical members within the community, were offered as gifts, or were destroyed in a spectacular manner as a demonstration of superiority toward rival communities.
21 Commonly used as part of the Cuban greeting ¿Qué bolá?, the precise origin of the term bolá (bo.ˈla) is unknown. Similar to the American “What’s up?” when used in conjunction with ¿Qué? (“What?”), the term is used to mean thing, deal, undertaking. Other Cuban uses for bola (literally, “ball”) without the tonal accent on the last syllable, according to the People’s Cuban Glossary, jointly published by the universities of Murcia, Glasgow and Havana (https://ruc.udc.es/dspace/bitstream/handle/2183/8201/LYT_20_2003_art_12.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y), refer to a malicious rumor, and to describe a fad or fashion, when used in the phrase arriba de la bola (“on the ball”), which is to say, estar arriba de la bola (to “be on the ball”) is to be on trend, or in fashion.
22 Mentioned at the beginning of this essay, Clandestina is a fashion brand founded and directed by the cuentapropistas Idania del Río and Leire Fernández (of Spanish origin, residing in Cuba), with a workshop and concept store in Old Havana, and whose small-scale production and urban aesthetic has become the emblem of the new wave of fashion on the island: https://www.facebook.com/clandestina99/
23 Originally from the Soviet Republic of Georgia, Gvasalia, born in 1984, is the main founder and creative mind behind the collective fashion label Vetements.
24 Originally from Soviet Russia, born in 1981 and founder of his eponymous label.
25 Term coined by K-Hole, a trendspotting collective, “normcore”, as per the Urban Dictionary, refers to the act of deconstructing fashion by intentionally dressing with clothing that bears no distinction; it began as an anti-fashion, post-ironic tendency worn by “hipsters,” as a way to distance themselves from the massive commercialization of countercultural fashion. Normcore is characterized by the use of unflattering, oversized, boxy jackets, oversized sweatshirts, baseball caps, or “anything that looks like 1998 Calvin Klein.” Last seen 8th February, 2021: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Normcore)
26 Dover Street Market International is a multimillion dollar retailer founded by Rei Kuwakubo of Comme des Garçons fame, and her husband, the businessman Adrian Joffe. With shops in London, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing and Los Angeles, DSM’s stores mix Street and athleisure brands such as Gosha, Supreme, Vans, Stüssy, Palace or Nike, with luxury labels such as Balenciaga, Céline, Gucci, Hussein Chalayan, J.W.Anderson, Lanvin, LOEWE, Maison Margiela, Marni, Proenza Schouler, Raf Simons, Rick Owens, The Row, Thom Browne, Valentino, Vetements, among others.
27 Gvasalia founded the brand along with his brother and a Group of Friends from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Gvasalia’s alma mater), each with his or her own experience having worked at luxury brands such as Maison Margiela, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Céline.
28 Kering Group is a corporation with an annual revenue of nearly 16 billion euros; its multiple luxury brands include not only Balenciaga, but also Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, Puma, Cartier, Alaia, just to name a few.
29 I have taken the liberty of borrowing elements from Hannah Arendt’s development of the charismatic leader.
30 Beginning with the actual shelf-life of the aesthetic proposal that Clandestina shares with Gvasalia and Rubchinskiy, a fact which becomes all the more patent when one considers that both the Gosha and the Vetements labels came to a close in 2018 and 2019, respectively, perhaps in acknowledgement of the finite nature of their aesthetic within the marketing logic in which they were inserted.
31 Translation by the author of this text.
32 In fashion, the establishment is an expert in appropriation and subsequent marketing of that which attempts to subvert it, while these subversive forces almost always dissolve, becoming, themselves, a canon.
33 Ramón Fonst was a Cuban fencing champion who was awarded five gold and silver medals in the 1900 and 1904 Olympic Games.
34 Interview with the designer. Last seen in December, 2019: https://www.facebook.com/clandestina99/videos/483775655815224/ Translation by the author of this text.
35 Translation by the author of this text.
36 Translation by the author of this text.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jeannine Diego
Jeannine Diego is a critical fashion theorist with a background in fashion design, with an interest in Cuba, Mexico, counterculture, and self-making narratives. She has lived and worked in Mexico City, New York, Miami and New Delhi. She is currently at work on a documentary film on the challenge of dressing in Cuba, titled Un ropero, una isla (A Wardobe, an Island). 17, Institute of Critical Studies, Agricultura 55, #B403, Colonia Escandón, Del. Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, 11800, Mexico. [email protected]