In World 44, members of a niche movement have an unconventional approach to style: they commit to personify a book for a year. The subculture emerged ten years ago from a reading group’s discussions of Fahrenheit 451, and particularly the ‘drifters’ who memorise books to keep them safe.
This self-imposed dress code – which might represent a key character or the mood of the story – is typically expressed subtly through everyday clothes; obviously costume-esque interpretations are generally ridiculed. New personas are unveiled (and discarded clothes, associated with the previous book, exchanged) in the carnival atmosphere of the annual Fahrenheit Fashion festival.
What if …
people subscribed to an alternative dress code that rejected fleeting trends but allowed for the expression of identity?
Issue targeted:
lack of diverse dress codes meaning an over-subscription to manufactured and short-lived trends
Inspiration:
I *think* that I picked this idea up, a long time ago, from halfbakery.com; Fahrenheit 451; Disneybounders
This World was contributed by Amy Twigger Holroyd (located in Nottingham, UK) using a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence which allows others to share and adapt the work in any medium and for any purpose, providing that they credit the author and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.
Related Explorations
Does this World remind you of something?
I am keen to hear about any historical or contemporary real-world examples – whether individual practices, subcultures or mainstream activities – that this fiction brings to mind.
Please share any such examples using this form. Thank you!