ISSUE N° 2
By: Chloe S Lee
Our identities add to layers and complexities to our lives. Everyday interactions that foster opportunities to identify ourselves and to be identified by others not only serve as introductions, but as wider ritual functions. In the same way, fashion is used to make statements and represent identities, like sharing one’s piece of mind.
Ranging from complex styles that channel through history to flamboyant and glamorous alternatives that allow us to escape from reality from time to time, fashion transcends clothes.
Different elements of style are used as a conduit through which elements of personality and identity are filtered and shaped, sometimes to magical or surreal effect. Sometimes, however, people portray themselves in a stark and honest way. With the use of social media platforms, this refashioning of our identity cultivates a multi-layered approach to self-presentation, in which representations of ourselves to the public are not always straightforward.
Because of these layers, personal identity becomes far more complex than a person’s particular gender, race, or ethnicity. Additionally, forms of expression are not only limited to apparent characteristics, but also the ones hidden in the layers of disguise and narrative. Each of our personas shifts with time as time is the greatest innovator which specializes in alterations. Such dynamics provide the cognitive paradigm for young people and shape the expectations for the way a person should be treated. Our understanding and conversation surrounding our varying identities are integral in our responsibility of molding the minds of impressionable youth.
This refashioning of our identity cultivates a multi-layered approach to self presentation.
Commonly, everyone assumes each other’s identities are no deeper than surface level. Perhaps our desire to be free from other people’s judgment can never be fulfilled. Many people try to fit their identities into the standards and societal norms set by others. But those attempts are similar to the impossible task of creating a versatile wardrobe that is tailored to all professions, genders, and people.
Regardless, dictating one’s own persona and layers of identity and celebrating them is important. From time to time, we should take time to peel our layers away to see ourselves the core of our being.