vienna

The huge façade of this boutique for young fashion is decorated with several
mannequins. They are standing upright like soldiers. And they are wearing a red
paper roll with the following inscription in white letters: “SALE”.
Yet another case of the sacred ritual dress. The mannequins are white; their hair
is abstracted. Since they are not wearing any clothes that would help identify
their gender easily, they look androgynous. The sacred dress de-sexualises the
body, creating an impression of saintliness. 369 The holy paper dress of the
seasonal sale also perfectly fulfils what Turner has prescribed for the dress of
the liminal phase, namely, that it should not be mundane, nor should it be worthy
or express a social role. 370 And we can add the following rule for our consumer
society: it should not be purchasable.
369 Keenan (1999:389).
370 Turner (1997:95).
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