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In:Translation Studies between Disciplines and Practices
Edited by Luc van Doorslaer and Yves Gambier
[Benjamins Translation Library 174] 2026
► pp. 311–330

Chapter 16
Fashion and translation

 | University of Vienna
 | University of Bari Aldo Moro
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter explores how translation and fashion are not just interconnected but entangled with one another. It does so through a conversation on this topic between the two authors, each representing their respective fields (translation studies for Zwischenberger and fashion theory for Calefato). Taking transdisciplinarity as both a method and a target of research, they discuss how each engages with the other’s object of study. Delving into concepts from both fields such as the clothed body, look, and style, and translation as a transformative movement between all sorts of sign-systems, they discuss the role of translation in fashion theory and fashion in translation studies and how the act of imitation in fashion can be compared to the relationship between the “original” and the “copy” in Translation Studies.
Article outline
  • 1.The role of translation in fashion theory
    • 1.1Fashion, clothing, style, look
    • 1.2Fashion as cultural translation
    • 1.3Cultural studies and TS: Their influence on fashion theory
    • 1.4Translation between cultures
    • 1.5Transculturality
  • 2.Fashion as the driving force of TS as a discipline
    • 2.1Fashion as an academic concept
    • 2.2Translation and fashion as transformation
    • 2.3(Cultural) translation and transculturality
    • 2.4Translation as an academic concept in and beyond TS
    • 2.5Towards transdisciplinarity: A translation concept focusing on the semantic and pragmatic level
    • 2.6(Future) challenges: Artificial intelligence in TS and its practice
  • 3.Concluding remarks
  • Author queries
  • References
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