Massive rallies and marches fail to result in change, unless they are supported by organizations. It takes political parties to win elections, military forces to stage a coup, pressure from organized religions, and labor unions to change corporations and institutions of learning.
Individuals with ideas for reform can write books, but organizations need to put these ideas into operational form. When would-be reformers approach Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, for her endorsement, she asks if they can muster a group of at least one thousand. Crowdfunding on social media suggests one way to gain support for causes.
Where are groups already assembled? On college campuses, war and South Africa's apartheid protesters gained traction. Members of Jewish temples, Muslim mosques, African-American and other Christian churches share common causes.
In Prague, dissidents hung out at the Art Deco cafe, Kavarna Slavia, to plot the Velvet Revolution that ended communism in Czechoslovakia. The Cafe Gallery and Bassiani night clubs in Tbilisi, Georgia, now attract young people ready to break out of post-Soviet police and interior ministry restraints and to embrace liberalized Western culture. The clubs serve as a gathering space, not only for locals, but also for tourists, rappers, and DJs with European followings. Young Russians received social media news of a club protest that led demonstrators to the steps of Georgia's parliament.
Showing posts with label Tbilisi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tbilisi. Show all posts
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Back to the Fashion Future
Want to wear the latest fashion? Head to Pyongyang or Tbilisi.
Back in 1970, when composer Lenny Bernstein hosted an Upper East Side New York City gathering of guests invited from high society and the leather-clad Black Panther U.S. revolutionaries, recently deceased author, Tom Wolfe, termed the unconventional party mix, RADICAL CHIC. "Radical Chic" could resurface with a new application to the back-to-the-future fashionistas strutting streets in Pyongyang and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
The couple who skated for North Korea in the Winter Olympics wore outfits indistinguishable from those worn by contestants from other countries. At home in Pyongyang, women who enjoy the perks of close association with Kim Jong Un's government also find tailors with pre-communist roots who are willing to stitch up unique designs, sometimes from customer sketches, unlike the dark, loose fitting clothes available for the masses. Rather than local fabrics, the fashion savvy even look for clothes made from Chinese and, occasionally, Western textiles.
Over in Tbilisi, the latest fashion is a downscale look. Georgians discovered Demna Gvasalia, a local designer who made good when he escaped and set up a fashion house, Vetements, in Zurich, Switzerland. Other local designers followed his lead, but stayed at home. Just as North Korea's communist style clothing is boring, before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the local "fashion" industry in Georgia, the dominant look also was dull and drab. The current trend may not be drab, but it is basic, jeans, T-shirts, tote bags, and the like, at couture prices.
What makes Georgia's everyday items worth the price is their rare origin from a place only jet setters have the funds and time to visit. For the same reason, North Korea's new headlines might motivate the fashion oneupsmanship that attracts wealthy tourists who have been everywhere else in the world.
Back in 1970, when composer Lenny Bernstein hosted an Upper East Side New York City gathering of guests invited from high society and the leather-clad Black Panther U.S. revolutionaries, recently deceased author, Tom Wolfe, termed the unconventional party mix, RADICAL CHIC. "Radical Chic" could resurface with a new application to the back-to-the-future fashionistas strutting streets in Pyongyang and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
The couple who skated for North Korea in the Winter Olympics wore outfits indistinguishable from those worn by contestants from other countries. At home in Pyongyang, women who enjoy the perks of close association with Kim Jong Un's government also find tailors with pre-communist roots who are willing to stitch up unique designs, sometimes from customer sketches, unlike the dark, loose fitting clothes available for the masses. Rather than local fabrics, the fashion savvy even look for clothes made from Chinese and, occasionally, Western textiles.
Over in Tbilisi, the latest fashion is a downscale look. Georgians discovered Demna Gvasalia, a local designer who made good when he escaped and set up a fashion house, Vetements, in Zurich, Switzerland. Other local designers followed his lead, but stayed at home. Just as North Korea's communist style clothing is boring, before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the local "fashion" industry in Georgia, the dominant look also was dull and drab. The current trend may not be drab, but it is basic, jeans, T-shirts, tote bags, and the like, at couture prices.
What makes Georgia's everyday items worth the price is their rare origin from a place only jet setters have the funds and time to visit. For the same reason, North Korea's new headlines might motivate the fashion oneupsmanship that attracts wealthy tourists who have been everywhere else in the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)