Clothing and Culture in Sout Asia Clothing may or may not “make the man,” but what we wear definitely expresses
who we think we are. For the 1.6 billion people living on the Indian
subcontinent, getting dressed each day – whether in traditional handmade,
exuberantly-ornamented clothing, or mass-produced Western garb – affirms and
communicates individual social identity. South Asian dress is as varied as its
people, from Gandhi's simple, handspun cotton dhoti or the lovingly embroidered
hem of a village girl's skirt, to the bejeweled silk turban of a Rajput prince
or the urban chic of a sari made in China and worn by a manager in Mumbai.
Courtesy of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, University of Wisconsin
at Madison, this exhibition explores the intricate, intimate connections between
clothing and culture. Presented by Oakton’s Global Studies Program with support
from the Pathways to South Asia Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign
Language Grant.
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