FASHION IS DEAD Research Reflection
My research project informally began two years ago. I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a targeted ad for Alice & Olivia’s Grateful Dead-inspired capsule collection.I remember being struck by the absurdity of this — to see a high-end label deriving inspiration from my favorite band made very little sense to me at the time. Up until that very moment, I viewed these two worlds — fashion and the Grateful Dead, that is — as two diametrically opposed worlds. Since then, however, I’ve seen this relationship transpire in so many forms and instances. Even six months ago, I still couldn’t quite make sense of it (why was this happening?), but I became determined to discover an answer. The original “Grateful Dead” formed in 1965 and continued to tour until 1995, when front man Jerry Garcia tragically died of a heart attack at age 53. So then, if the band broke up over 20 years ago, what engendered this sudden cultural resurgence of the Grateful Dead, particularly in the realm of fashion?
As I began to formally research the intersection of fashion and the Grateful Dead, I noticed myself becoming highly critical of what was going on. Growing up, I always wanted to find a way to merge these two worlds, and now that it was finally happening right before my eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to feel totally supportive of the intersection. I felt that there was still such a huge disconnect between Deadheads and the realm of fashion. More than anything else, I wanted to find a way to restructure the relationship so that it felt more authentic and inclusive to Deadheads; the relationship felt very one-sided. When given the opportunity to take all of my research and present it in the form of a research paper, I knew I wanted to take on a strong (and, to some degree, controversial) opinion in the form of thesis. I wanted to see if I could effectively find a way to frame this phenomenon as a mild form of cultural appropriation.
Because I am the first person to assume this particular position on this phenomenon, the research process was not always easy. I had to take what I knew and what I understood to be true about the historical stigmatization of Deadheads and subsequently relate that to the fashion industry’s current obsession with Deadhead culture. I had no scholarly articles or essays I could pull from to support this particular facet of my argument; I could rely only on information regarding the stigmatization of Deadheads, and information regarding the resurgence of the Grateful Dead. I had to find a way to merge these two topics on my own.
I can recognize that my position on the subject is not objectively true, but I also recognize that it doesn’t have to be. At the very least, I think I’ve allowed my readership to consider a brand new position that hasn’t been presented before, and I’ve been fortunate enough to engage in countless stimulating debates on the subject matter in the past few months. Through dialogue and discussion, I’ve become exposed to brand new viewpoints, and I’ve been acquainted with aspects of the subject that I had not considered before. I’m writing about this phenomenon as it’s unfolding, which is largely why I don’t feel as though I’m done with this topic. I intend to continue my research, and I hope to write several more iterations of my paper in the future.
Admittedly, I’m not completely satisfied with the outcome of my paper, only because I don’t feel as though I’m done with this project; I still feel as though I have so much more to say, and that I still have so much more research to conduct in order to strengthen and solidify my argument of appropriation. That being said, I’m proud of myself for taking on such a challenge. I covered a topic that has not been covered before in an academic paper, and, to my knowledge, I am the first person to make the argument about cultural appropriation with regards to fashion and the Grateful Dead.
