Fashion, Dress and Religion - Conversation with Alberto Fabio Ambrosio

Is fashion a new religion? It seems that there certainly are many underlying commonalities between fashion and the structures and rituals of a traditional religion: fashion has its dogmas, its rituals, and its aesthetics. It might also be considered as a secular religion, or a kind of spiritual way to live in contemporary society. For example, a catwalk is a new expression of the ancient religious procession, or some other mystical rituals. The idea of a new fashion for every new season comes from the idea of the new or the novel that is grounded in both ancient and Christians tradition.

This talk will introduce the field of Fashion and Religious Studies that Alberto Fabio Ambrosio is developing in Luxembourg and Paris. His recent publications are inaugurating this new field of studies that merits the attention of both fashion scholars as well as scholars of religious studies and, of course, practitioners.

Alberto Fabio Ambrosio is Professor of Theology and History of Religions at the Luxembourg School of Religion & Society and director of research at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris. He previously spent over 10 years living in Istanbul, where he conducted research on Ottoman and Turkish Islam. He holds a PhD in Modern and Contemporary History from the Sorbonne University and his thesis analysed the practices of whirling dervishes in the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century. His recent publications on Islam, Sufism, and interreligious dialogue include: Penser l’islam en Europe. Perspectives du Luxembourg et d’ailleurs (edited with Laurent Mignon), Paris, Hermann, 2021, and Liberté de religion et de conviction en Méditerranée, Paris, Éditions Hermann, 2020. His other recent work focuses on dress and fashion as a system of religious identity in Islam as well as in Western culture. In this new field he has published: Dio tre volte sarto. Moda, Chiesa e teologia, Milan, Mimesis, 2020 (also in French and in Turkish); Moda e Religione. Vestire il sacro, sacralizzare il look, Milan, Bruno Mondadori, 2022.

Entrance is free

For more information and to register: [email protected]

Organized by the Master in: Digital Fashion Communication (www.usi.ch/mdfc)