Date of Award
2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Anthropology
Supervisor
Andrew Walsh
Second Advisor
Kim Clark
Abstract
This thesis draws on three months of multi-sited ethnographie research conducted in Lima, Peru. Initially, the aim was to understand how micro and small-scale textile producers in Gamarra internalize global fashion trends, however, it eventually became necessary to include actors outside of Gamarra. This thesis problematizes what it means to "copy" by viewing the activities of small-scale textile producers as tactics to resist the strategies deployed by department stores, brands, and the government to channel and control their activities. In addition, I consider the relationship that local small-scale textile production may play in challenging the distinctions between different social groups in Lima, especially between popular actors and more elite social groups arguing that the discourse of "copying" may also serve to maintain social distinctions. In order to destabilize the discourse of copying further, I juxtapose small-scale textile production in Gamarra and the production of ethnic fashion.
Recommended Citation
Rouleau, Brandon E., "AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF CLOTHING PRODUCTION IN LIMA, PERU" (2024). Digitized Theses. 4494.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4494