Communist chic are elements of

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

such as fashion and commodities based on

communist symbols Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. Communist states, parties and movements use these symbols to advance and create solidarity within ...

and other things associated with

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. Typical examples are T-shirts and other memorabilia with

Alberto Korda Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, better known as Alberto Korda or simply Korda (September 14, 1928 – May 25, 2001), was a Cuban photographer, remembered for his famous image ''Guerrillero Heroico'' of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. ...

's iconic photo of

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

. Journalists Christine Esche and Rosa Mossiah argue that in former communist countries, Communist Chic originates from disappointment in capitalist society. The trend gained some momentum with the 150th anniversary of ''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...

'' in 1998. A 'Modern Edition' was released in New York City that year, and style expert

Simon Doonan Simon Doonan (born 1952 He worked at Barneys until it closed in 2019. He writes a column on style for ''Slate''. In his book, ''Eccentric Glamour'', he decried porno chic in Western society in general. Interviewed for an article for the ''Ne ...

viewed the book as a desirable

fashion accessory In fashion, an accessory is an item used to contribute, in a secondary manner, to an individual's outfit. Accessories are often chosen to complete an outfit and complement the wearer's look. They have the capacity to further express an individua ...

regardless of its contents. He argues "People are forgetting the Gulag and Stalin and the negative imagery ... it could be time for it to come back as pure style."

References

Communist propaganda Communist nostalgia Popular culture Fashion aesthetics {{popular-culture-stub

See also

References