The uniform was one of the methods through which fashion was applied in the men’s bodies. This happened, especially during the World War II. Battle prejudiced the guys’ physiques were socially shaped by the substantial forces that profoundly affected not only the texture of the body and row shape, but also the castigations applied machismo and the principles applied to the body. The uniforms were able to outline the men’s body in that, those that were physically fit, others personnel could admire their hard effort they inflicted to look that amazing. The outfits clung onto their bodies while giving ideas to interested designers ways of improving their presentation. Through their dressing, society was able to associate them with courage and boldness. In addition, the more the badges men wore, the more respect they received while depicting their achievements in life. It should be noted that kinsmen in better professionals and influential positions preferred to have their uniform attire made heavier- leather jackets, boots, and armbands.
Fashion is a widespread practice through garments, footwear, decorations, cosmetics, physique or furniture. It is usually a routine trend and unique way that persons dress. Fashion can be used to express individual behavior, expressions, status or mood. Thus, fashion tells a lot about the wearer. The Nazi aesthetic is an inventive and socio-political style created by Adolph Hitler that idealized the masculine human form. Nazi chic is the use of Nazi- period style by different individuals, imaginings, and paraphernalia in the clothing industry, mainly for taboo- breaking or shock value unlike the genuineness of sympathizing with Nazism population. During this period, the military group did not put on their normal outfits, that is, the chain mail which was made of metal rings that interlinked and plated armor that they would have worn, it was replaced with the heavy black leather outfit (Bolaño, 2011).
The men’s fashion sense developed during the war era when, they wore uniforms. The male bodies are believed to have been traditionally produced using the materials affected the values attributed to the body, discipline, shape and texture of male body. Therefore, the dress code of the men exhibited social personalities attributed to masculinity. The infamous black outfit was designed by Karl Diebitsch and Walter Heck but not Hugo Boss as perceived by many. The uniform secluded the civilians and grouped them. After that, they were selected to fight in warfare. Just as their dressing was “loud” seeking attention, so were the soldiers. They were ruthless during the war. All the countries that participated in the world war had identical uniforms for its armies and soldiers. The Nazi defense force of the German military with their craze for black leather, medals, brass buttons, and armbands were the most outstanding. On the battlefield, the soldiers were unflinching and ruthless just as their fashion trend. As much as the system was shattered, the style continued to exist both in television films and cinemas. The black jacket was associated with being rebellious when reinstated while the black boots were modified from the Nazi jump boots. Since the swastika was regarded to be more about the Nazi governance, the fashion designers have neither been able to convert the interpretation nor use due to the massive Jewish extermination at the German camps.
After the German army seized power in 1933, their leader Adolf Hitler came up with a totalitarian state where all the citizen members- civilians and soldiers to have a standardized dressing. The designs were meant to make the citizens develop a feeling of belonging to the nationwide boldness. The elegant looking attires for each one exhibited a sense of unity in German as a country. The apparel gave the military an identity. They alleged it represented a contemporary recreation of the Teutonic Knights whereby the black leather was used. All the leaders, as well as the renowned individual only, felt fulfilled once their wardrobe had large collections of hefty leather clothing. To date, their choice of dressing still survives (Bannister, 2009).
The Nazi aesthetic appeared around the 1960s and 1970s Britain’s punk sub-culture. The punk fashion flourished because of hullabaloo in the nation. Some of the items include garments, ornaments, and armbands embroidered with the Nazi symbol, in particular, the swastika which had taken fashion as a street style then translated into the retail industry. Those that dressed in Nazi outfits were rebelling against the British post-war society, economic and political status as well as their cultural beliefs and traditions. Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood were among the fashion designers that incorporated the street style into retail punk clothing.
The racist skinheads also used the Nazi symbols. The skinheads used the images and cryptograms to provide a sense of belonging to a particular group. The culture took place between the 1970s and 1980s. They adopted the symbols to differentiate themselves from the traditional skinheads who did not champion chauvinistic views. The traditional skinheads arose in support of the black music and black culture. The anti-racist peers also dominated it. They were used by the white section of the group to display their sovereignty philosophy. However, over time, a section of the group had deviated that made the vision and the mission to be tainted of the rest of the assemblage. They were regarded to be violent and racist as the white movement expanded its boundaries. As much as their fashion was introduced into the mainstream, the Nazi symbols and imagery were not used. Some of the features that reflected the skinheads include shaved heads, black boots, and all-black clothing. In the 1980s, the Nazi culture was rejected by consumers and designers as it was seen as a conventional power to the whites hence neo-Nazi subculture. After that, more and more designers created collections with their theme being “Nazi”. However, they were rejected on account of fostering the neo-Nazi culture (Hirsch, 1995)
Neo-Nazi squad wears bomber jackets, stonewash denim, and big waders as some of the identifiers. In Europe, many organizations are shocked by the widespread trademarks and aspects that have been designated by the racist groups as well as the fascists. They distinguish themselves from the ignorant society while still being visible to individuals who are like minded. The neo-Nazi community are despised by the rest of the realm’s populace; thus, their ideologies of persecution, hate, and racial discrimination do not hold any importance. In doing so, they are forced to voice their opinions in a way that will gain them sympathy from the mainstream population and not get them desecrated or detained.
In German, the use of the symbols is illegal as the citizens pursued a new equilibrium for its inhabitants. The companies that sell their neo-Nazi brands have been forced into hiding their products and presence from the mainstream market since they are attacked. Furthermore, their products are destroyed through stoning the organizations, distributors and vendors while in some extreme cases they are burnt. The companies have had to set up their building away from the public scrutiny. The labels still exist because exist because of the available market.
As much as the Nazi chic fashion was rejected in the western region, the Asian countries embraced the trend. This is because there is less ethnic baggage linked with the Hitler reign. The logic behind its acceptance in the Asian countries is that the World War II has little to no importance as it is in The West. Thus, the swastika does not pose a lot of intrinsic shocks. At the Southeast Asia, it is a common phenomenon to sport the youths dressed in garments embedded with the Nazi symbol. One of Thai’s designers {Hut} is quoted saying: as much as she is not a fanatic of the Hitler regime, she looks hilarious, and the T-shirts are a hit with the young generation. The most popular Hitler design being him outfitted into a McDonald cartoon cladding a voluminous cherry-red hairstyle and a serious facial expression. The popularity is associated with the youth’s ignorant of the account of the symbols. The images are termed as a novelty that could result in misapprehensions with the Jews.
Since the group was not accepted, Hugo established a factory whose sole purpose was to manufacture brown shirts. Later on, the factory began manufacturing uniforms, and eventually on behalf of the Waffen SS as well. As of 1940, Boss began using forced workers especially women. The laborers did not have a choice on whether they can be employed at the institution or not. A shelter was established around the company’s environs. They were extremely populated to a point that the hygiene conditions and food were scarce. (Moorehead, 2011)
The men’s bodies are traditionally associated with the fashion design of the Nazis since they are depicted to be ruthless in some situations. They are not as emotional as the females. Hence, in case they were to defend or carry out a particular task. Then, the men would without holding any second thoughts. This is captured with the symbols that exhibit ruthlessness with which the German soldiers attacked the Jewish community in their campus massacring them possibly during the night. The attack was carried out when the Jewish soldiers were less alert, therefore, unable to defend themselves from their assailers.
The Nazi fashion has grown among the Asian population that the citizens use it as the theme during their weddings. This is because they don't have any issue tolerating the way of life as they were never influenced at an individual level. In doing so, they embraced an ethic group that the westerners find it difficult to isolate from violence and murder. As much as immigrant or foreigners visiting may publicly display their disapproval of the outward affection to the Hitler fashion craze, there is nothing more they can do to salvage the situation. The merchants selling related products make continuous profits that they simply ignore the comments of those who are disappointed. In addition, during the fancy dress sports day, several youths could be seen wearing the Hitler attire to their amusement. This simply shows how trendy the branding has grown in certain regions of the world. Another explanation as to why the youths are ignorant is because, in China, the schools do not teach about their history since it is a recurring phenomenon. Hence, they are not adequately exposed to the past events of their nations in order to stop them from having fun with the circumstances which were otherwise oppressive (Moorehead, 2011)
A less popular T- shirt was introducing Hitler and it was giving the Roman salute and a yo- yo dangling from his hand. When the clothing was sold to people, a case was presented before the courts of laws in Germany. The case was put in motion to ban the sale of the attire since it was “praising genocide” crimes which were associated with Adolf Hitler. The local judicial courts ruled out in the case, though Bavarian courts and later on overthrew the ruling in favor of the company. In 1988, Ralph was condemned after he hosted a party and his bartenders were dressed in the controversial shirts. In another episode where the glorification was not upheld was: where a student was told to remove a T-shirt that he was wearing which had the image of Adolf Hitler, or risk going home for suspension because of the same. The cases whereby anything related to the Nazis are numerous that one cannot exalt them by simply stating the actions. It displays that the society has taken upon itself to ensure that the Nazi generation is overthrown, and they cannot continue to carry out their activities as though they are not offending anyone.
The German dressing was closely associated with the French- German rulings. The critics did not approve of the German ladies dressing up like the French. Their fashions were almost similar which many were not happy with the developments. It was during the Napoleonic wars that the German fashion sense was featured widely hence showing patriotism. The sense of togetherness was reiterated on so many occasions that by the time the Nazi uprising came into existence, they were already expecting it. The women were only allowed to wear clothes that had been manufactured by specifically by Aryan as they were well designed. In order to eliminate the influence of France fashion and Jewish industry growing, racism had to be practiced in the expanse.
In conclusion, the Nazi culture has influenced the current male body fashion. The designers have taken upon themselves to create clothing that has been modelled around Nazism. However, it should not be taken easily since there are other communities still feeling offended by its adoption in the society.
References
IX Daily, 2016. NAZI-CHIC IS TRENDING IN ASIA: A SORDID KIND OF LOVE AFFAIR. [Online] Available at: http://www.ixdaily.com/drop-your-skirt/sordid-kind-love-affair-nazi-chic-asia-0[Accessed 12 April 2016].
Bannister, N., 2009. The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of. 1st Edition ed. s.l.:Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Bolaño, R., 2011. The Third Reich. s.l.:Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Foreman, R., 11 Dec. 2012. Warsaw. 1st Edition ed. s.l.:CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Hirsch, H., 1995. Genocide and the Politics of Memory: Studying Death to Preserve Life. 1 edition ed. s.l.:The University of North Carolina Press.
Kidd, L. K., 2016. The Nazi Aesthetic in Fashion. Berg Fashion Library.
Moorehead, C., 2011. A Train in Winter (The Resistance Trilogy Book 1). Book 1 edition ed. s.l.:Harper; The Resistance Trilogy.
