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Paper abstract:

This paper focuses on identity through the prism of fashion in Azerbaijan. I argue that a significant shift in clothing practices has taken place since the 1990s, which is connected to wider economic and political changes in society. This paper unravels the reasons for the changes that have taken place. For example, men started to dress in black and darker colours in the 1990s, which can be related to several factors, one of them being Black January, when the Soviet troops entered Baku to crush popular protests. I further argue that the changes in clothing practices have to do with feelings of uncertainty, which can be seen in the light of “liquid modernity” (s. Z. Bauman). At the same time, there is continuity in terms of certain elements of dress, related to the cultural and religious heritage of Azerbaijan. This paper studies the discourses surrounding the changes in fashion through interviews with Azerbaijanis who were born during the Soviet times and with young people who were born at the beginning of the 90s to compare and account for the fashion changes over time. Furthermore, photo material gathered from online sources and informants is analysed drawing on social semiotic techniques to record how fashion has changed visually. Identity in Azerbaijan is a complex issue and a dynamic variable, considering that the country was on the fault line between the Persian, Ottoman, and Russian empires. Fashion helps to look at Azerbaijani identity in manifold ways and to trace the changes which have taken place since the country’s independence in 1991. This paper seeks to show how identities are renegotiated, generations are changing, and how life in the post-Soviet space has taken shape. This paper adds to the yet sparse literature on Azerbaijani identity and is an application of social semiotic ethnography.