Covering/uncovering

current and past cultural intertwining

Abstract

According to Jurij Lotman (2006), the cultural intertwining that characterisethe human behaviour in various periods can be defined as mythology of everyday andsocial behaviour. Starting from this methodological assumption, the article investigatesthe dynamics of covering/uncovering in dress fashion along three paragraphs. The first isdedicated to the link between images of veiling and mourning, both in western Christianand pre-Christian cultures. Protective coverings for COVID, and other recent phenomenasuch as the black dress code of the #MeToo movement, have their roots in this tradition. Inthe second paragraph, the reflection is based on the opposition between / must be seen/vs / must not be seen/, which generates regimes of /constraint/, /taboo/, /transgressivestyle/ / and /casual style/. In the western context it seems that a neutral term has now become established, that is a randomness of styles (/neither transgressive, nor casual/)while the more traditionalist Islam seems to remain within the /taboo/ by imposing onwomen, the use of the veil and body cover, albeit with variations. However, in the thirdand last paragraph I will discuss the so-called Islamic modest fashion, a relatively recentphenomenon that seems to create an unprecedented complex term, which combines thetraditional restrictions for women’s dressing with an increased attention to eleganceand ease of movement. In conclusion, we will reflect on the wider cultural context of thischange, since the hegemony of transgression or randomness of Western customs seem tobe largely declining globally, with further examples in television series and films production.