Transient Vogue: The Commodification and Spectacle of the Vagrant Other

As creative director of Christian Dior, John Galliano received substantial press attention in early 2000 when he debuted his haute couture collection portraying models dressed as if they were homeless. Galliano’s couture collection is one of numerous ‘homeless chic’ examples, a trend referring to the resignification of symbols denoting a marginalized social identity into fashion statements by commodity culture. While there has been a re-emergence of ‘homeless chic’ within the contemporary context, the motif encompasses an extensive history which has not yet been properly acknowledged by the media outlets comprising what Angela McRobbie refers to as the fashion industry. A content and critical discourse analysis of the mainstream news media places ‘homeless chic’ within its significantly larger social and intertextual context, an element best illustrated through a comparison with its sister trend, ‘heroin chic,’ and a visual analysis of W’s “Paper Bag Princess” photo editorial.