Distance: 6 Miles, Yoga Stretch
If you love textiles,
Jewels,
Exquisite fabrics and fabrication,
the de Young's current show, Contemporary Muslim Fashion, is a feast for your eyes. But even as the show dazzles, it also provokes many questions about the ways the sumptuous garments on view fit into the contemporary world. Unfortunately, not many of those are answered.
For openers, the show does not mention that all of the fashion on display could only be afforded and worn by exceedingly wealthy women. Then there is the matter of why some mannequins have covered heads and others don't when they only thing most Americans think they know for sure is that Muslim women are obliged by their faith to wear a veil.* You might also wonder what occasions the fashions are worn, in what Muslim countries, whether the fashions are also worn by non-Muslims, and many other things.
Those answers are skimpy. But, oh those lush fabrics and colors!!
* Since she didn't find any signage that explained this, Ciwt consulted Professor Internet and found that wearing the hijab or veil Muslim is a complex and debated issue with some/many thinkers on the side of women having free choice about whether to veil themselves.
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