Attend & Learn
Silk Routes Symposium will be held virtually on YouTube on February 5, 2023. We encourage participation from costumers around the globe. Classes on fashion, beauty, or culture that pertain to any of the cultures the Silk Road routes passed through are welcome. Please read this entire page for all the details on #silkroutes2023
To learn how to become an instructor or lead a panel for this event click here.
The network of routes now known as the Silk Roads / Silk Routes operated for more than 1,500 years and contributed to the exchange of goods, ideas, and services for a diverse array of cultures (National Geographic). Silk Road was coined in the 19th-century and is still used, but Silk Routes more accurately describes the web of land and sea routes connecting East and Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe (National Geographic).
The map below shows some of the great variety of routes available to merchants transports good by both land and sea (UNESCO). Many of the goods transported along the Silk Routes play into the fabrics and fashions that we, as historical costumers, use during our projects.
The Silk Routes, for POC, aren’t just a series of routes that moved goods. It is also a network connecting cultures that are still very much alive, vibrant, and nuanced. Respect for the history of how these cultures existed is imperative. Understanding how the descendants of these cultures would like modern costumers to treat the fabrics, fashions, and truths of the past is key to having honest relations among the entire historical costuming community.
This is a POC-led (Person of Color) event and a safe space for those of the global majority to share, not just info on fashion, but a glimpse into their cultures. Many of our instructors will be providing information from their own heritage. The organizers of this event want to be clear that information doesn’t come with blanket permission to wear all of the fashions discussed. Cultural appropriation is more than a faux-pas. Links for self-education on the topic of cultural appropriation will be provided.
Event Creator
Gigi @costumersofcolor
Sources:
National Geographic https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/silk-road
Costumers of Color 