'Her Infinite Variety': Representations of Shakespeare's Cleopatra in fashion, film and theatre

Osmond, S

'Her Infinite Variety': Representations of Shakespeare's Cleopatra in fashion, film and theatre

Osmond, S

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Publisher:: Intellect
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Film, Fashion & Consumption, 2012, 1 (1), pp. 55 - 79
Issue Date:: 2012-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Osmond, S	en_US
dc.date.issued	2012-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Film, Fashion & Consumption, 2012, 1 (1), pp. 55 - 79	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2044-2823	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18715
dc.description.abstract	The 'Cleopatra look' has recurred regularly in fashion marketing, advertising, masquerade balls, fashion trends and in the salons and catwalk shows of haute couture since the beginning of the twentieth century. The 'look' embraces the kitsch spectacle of excessive opulence associated with the stereotypical Orientalist image of Ancient Egypt: that of palm trees, pyramids and odalisques. It also reflects the various cultural attitudes to female power and the seductive exotic 'Other' that have consistently pervaded western societies in the last two centuries. This article extends on the contribution which feminist scholarship has made to the way in which the female body generates meaning in film, literature and fashion. It focuses on theatrical performance, as well as on representations of Cleopatra in film and fashion. It presents an analysis of some of the most influential representations of Cleopatra, which viewed together begin to form a 'collective mythology' in which the shifting relationships between fashion, costume and feminine ideals are apparent.	en_US
dc.publisher	Intellect	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Film, Fashion & Consumption	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1386/ffc.1.1.55_1	en_US
dc.title	'Her Infinite Variety': Representations of Shakespeare's Cleopatra in fashion, film and theatre	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.for	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.volume	1	en_US

Abstract:

The 'Cleopatra look' has recurred regularly in fashion marketing, advertising, masquerade balls, fashion trends and in the salons and catwalk shows of haute couture since the beginning of the twentieth century. The 'look' embraces the kitsch spectacle of excessive opulence associated with the stereotypical Orientalist image of Ancient Egypt: that of palm trees, pyramids and odalisques. It also reflects the various cultural attitudes to female power and the seductive exotic 'Other' that have consistently pervaded western societies in the last two centuries. This article extends on the contribution which feminist scholarship has made to the way in which the female body generates meaning in film, literature and fashion. It focuses on theatrical performance, as well as on representations of Cleopatra in film and fashion. It presents an analysis of some of the most influential representations of Cleopatra, which viewed together begin to form a 'collective mythology' in which the shifting relationships between fashion, costume and feminine ideals are apparent.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/18715