A14 • FEBRUARY 28, 2023
THE CHRONICLE
OPINION
The views and opinions expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors. They are not an endorsement of the views of The Chronicle or its staff. The Chronicle does not discriminate based on the opinions of the authors.
The discussion about school shootings is hard but neccessary CONTINUED FROM A1 it up again; I didn’t want to be a downer on everyone’s excited mood. The thought of the summit scratched the back of my head in a way unfinished ideas only can. It bugged me that everyone was hyperfixated on Valentine’s Day when something so tragic happened to a campus just like ours. I woke up early on Wednesday morning and drove to campus. I found somewhere to park after a few minutes of searching and walked over to the University Club. Quietly slipping into a seat, I found one of my fellow writers next to me, along with a lot of doctors and lawyers. Although it made sense given which schools were hosting it, I was unnerved to see almost
no undergraduates there. One came in a few minutes later and asked if I was also here for extra credit. I didn’t have a chance to reply, as the next set of speakers began. The students’ question bounced on the back of my head; in a sense of indignation, I suppose. All thoughts quieted when the summit began. The gun violence summit lasted from 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. The sessions I sat in for focused on the gun industry’s marketing (discussed by the law school) and violence risk screening (discussed by the school of medicine). The material was enlightening yet disheartening at the same time; doctors and lawyers went over both misconceptions and how we approach gun violence. The Washington Post reported that gun violence
research funding only kicked off in 2019, split between the National Institute of Health and the CDC. Each institution receives $12.5 million for gun violence research, even though the NIH receives over $45 billion in taxpayer dollars for research. That’s 0.027% of their funding. The issue seems to be, in part, how we discuss gun violence. Doctors pointed out that a better approach would be focusing on viewing gun violence as a public health crisis and referenced the U.S.’s immediate response to COVID-19, which the NIH received over $4.9 billion over for research. Part of gun violence is how we approach the conversation. Wanting to also be part of my conversation, I raised my hand, full of righteousness, wanting
to ask how I could bring this discussion to our undergraduate portion of campus. My train of thought started clearly, but my hands started wavering and I lost my train of thought halfway through. I got through my question and listened to the responses, focusing on having the conversation even through simple ways like fundraisers for families to create a sense of community. I walked out during the next panel switch a little dumbfounded that my body had lost its composure – something it never had done before. I went on to grab some lunch with friends after, yet I could not find the energy to participate at all. I didn’t realize how draining the conversation was and decided to just go home with my body
working on autopilot. It’s not that we don’t want to have conversations about gun violence, gun control or mental health. It’s just exhausting. When we think of campus, we want to think of mixers and Valentine’s Day and annoying assignments. We worked for years to get to college and having to question our safety wasn’t one of our goals. That being said: every time we push ourselves a little further to discuss gun violence and mental health, we get closer to making our campus a little safer. We don’t have to think about it alone. Savith Collure is an economics and public policy major. You can reach out via savithcollure@gmail. com
Hands-off haute couture By Ava Dela Pena William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s famous painting, “Dante and Virgil,” sits in Paris’ Musée d’Orsay. Made in 1850, the painting illustrates Dante and Virgil of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” in a gruesome fight. It is difficult to look at it. It is upsetting. It is, undeniably, art. Two hundred years later, Schiaparelli opened Paris Fashion Week 2023 (PFW23) with three gowns that were equally hard to look at for some distressed onlookers. The designer caused controversy after representing “the leopard, the lion and the she-wolf” of the “Divine Comedy” in hyperrealistic garments. Three gowns portrayed the heads and bodies of the animals. Although the designer assured audiences that the garments were painstakingly made from faux fur and no animals were harmed, many observers still voiced that they were “uncomfortable” with what they were afraid would “normalize” taxidermy and
poaching. One of the top comments on Schiaparelli’s Instagram post asks why the designer would, “with all the creativity that the human mind can create, choose dead animal heads” to craft. The same comment also expresses that they feel “a strong pain and displeasure” due to the garments. The comment has received over 6,000 likes, and Schiaparelli’s PFW23 posts have been flooded with a myriad of similar complaints. I am reminded of the horrifying nature of Bouguereau’s painting, and how it is still widely regarded as a masterpiece. Daniel Roseberry, the creative director of Schiaparelli, describes the animalistic gowns as “terrors” he aimed to represent from “Dante’s Inferno.” Whether onlookers of Schiaparelli’s show are valid in their feelings of discomfort or not, isn’t art often uncomfortable? Those that describe the gowns as “disgusting” and “insensitive” seem to ignore the intent and context behind the
garments. Fashion, especially haute couture, is an art form, and Roseberry’s show only exemplifies that. Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, has a wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art displaying garments, drawing attention to both the historical significance and the artistry behind them. Wintour’s wing aims to convey to the public what Roseberry and other designers believe: that fashion deserves to be respected and analyzed in the same way that other ‘traditional’ art forms are. One article from Vogue expressed that “it’s a shame” how the knee-jerk reactions to the garments “overshadowed the extraordinary work Roseberry and his team lavished on molding, sculpting and embellishing the majority of the collection.” Art is often problematic. Art incites emotions, even negative ones. Art does not tread on everyone’s individual comfort. These are sentiments people seem to accept when it comes to traditional art forms, but why can’t audiences seem to regard
fashion in the same way? Why is fashion considered less important? An article from Observer argues that “the convergence of art and fashion is symbiotic” and likens the relationship between designer and model to “performance art.” Fashion is the only art form that every single person must personally engage with every single day of their lives, making it arguably one of the most significant art forms that exists. Roseberry’s garments have also been criticized for not being cruelty-free, despite his claims that “no animals were harmed” in the making of each look. Critics argue that the gowns are unethical and unsustainable because the faux fur is made of wool and silk. These claims ignore the fact that ethically sourced wool and silk exist. Articles from the Council of Fashion Directors of America (CFDA) claim that silk and wool are environmentally friendly textiles that can be made cruelty-free. Massproduced alternatives such as
acrylics are often praised for being cruelty free but have a major negative impact on the environment due to microplastics. In fact, since haute couture produces one-off, well-crafted garments, one Vogue article on fashion week argues that it is one of the most sustainable genres of fashion that exists. New York Fashion Week took place from Friday, Feb. 10, to Wednesday, Feb. 15. Everything from the sketches to the construction of the garments was a major artistic endeavor for each designer, just as Bouguereau’s paintings were. Consider Thom Browne’s fabulous textile work or Marc Jacob’s structural boldness with the same appreciation you might give to artwork in the Louvre Museum or the Museum of Modern Art.
Ava Dela Pena is a first-year student, majoring in journalism. You can find her @avadlpn on Twitter.