Lesbian Styles in Cinema
by Vicki Karaminas and Judith Beyer
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Book Presentation:
While there are a great many books on the Hollywood star system and its costuming, and a number of books on queer cinema, the role of lesbian dress styles in constructing lesbian characters has yet to be the subject of a discrete, detailed book study.
Lesbian Styles in Cinema examines how dress constructs lesbian characters as a form of representation and visual communication in film. By focusing on a set of independent and studio films that highlight lesbian dress practices, from Leontine Segan’s Madchen in Uniform (1931) and other lesbian classics such as Donna Dietch’s Desert Hearts (1985) to the Wachowski sisters Bound (1996) and Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding (2024), this book unpacks the role of sartorial codes in producing narratives of lesbian subjectivities, representation and desire.
About the authors:
Vicki Karaminas is Professor of Fashion at Massey University Aotearoa New Zealand. She was awarded the University Medal in the Social Sciences (1997) by the University of Technology Sydney and the Humanities Aronui Medal (2024) from the Royal Society Te Apārangi, Aotearoa New Zealand. She holds an honorary Professorial position at the University of Sydney and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Melbourne. She has published over 20 books on fashion, gender and sexuality. Her latest book publication (with Adam Geczy) is the revised second edition of Queer Style (2024). Her work has been translated and published into several languages other than English.Judith Beyer is a teaching fellow at AMD Akademie Mode und Design, Germany. She earned her doctorate degree from Massey University Aotearoa New Zealand and is the recipient of the Dean’s List (2023) for academic excellence. Her research focuses on the intersection of fashion and culture, and the concepts of gender fluidity, sexualities and masculinities in contemporary fashion. Her first monograph is titled Antigender Fashion: The Possibilities of Gender-Fluid and Non-Binary Fashion Design (2025).
Press Reviews:
Karaminas and Beyer’s Lesbian Styles in Cinema is a book that I would have loved to have written, or at least, have been part of its writing. It’s theme – the variation and meaning of lesbian styles in mainstream and independent cinema from the 1920s – is engaging, enjoyable and indeed very topical. In times when queer sexualities and genders are increasingly being pressured and questioned, a book like this plays a significant role in showing the richness and multitude of lesbian representations on screen, whilst also unveiling the very meaning and force that these representations hold in celebrating and illuminating diverse lesbian styles and identities. For anyone interested in the relation between (queer) cinema and the history of lesbian styles, this is a definite and pleasurable must read. ― Louise Wallenberg, Professor of Fashion Studies at Stockholm University
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