This is not a veil | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton
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0:07 - 0:09I should start by telling you something:
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0:09 - 0:13I have been a fan of fashion
since the age of seven. -
0:13 - 0:16I design, I sew, I patch clothes up.
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0:17 - 0:23So, my idea of heaven is the aptly named
"Marché Saint-Pierre" in Montmartre. -
0:23 - 0:28A place filled with all the fabrics
you can dream of: -
0:28 - 0:32poplins, muslins, twills, cretonnes;
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0:33 - 0:37a place also filled with
a very distinctive atmosphere -
0:37 - 0:40of friendliness and shared interest
among the clients, -
0:40 - 0:44as if we recognize each other
and respect each other, -
0:44 - 0:47us weekend fashion designers
and fashion professionals; -
0:47 - 0:51a place which brings people
together from very different backgrounds, -
0:51 - 0:53who don't necessarily mix anywhere else,
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0:53 - 0:55but who, here, are alike,
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0:55 - 0:58because they are only defined
by this same thing, -
0:59 - 1:02the love of scissors
sliding across fabric, -
1:02 - 1:05the pattern you trace,
the needle going in and out, -
1:05 - 1:08and the material that falls
just right on the mannequin. -
1:09 - 1:10That's why, for me,
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1:10 - 1:13clothes serve, above all,
to weave together - -
1:13 - 1:14if you'll excuse the pun -
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1:14 - 1:16the threads that form
bonds between people. -
1:17 - 1:21For instance, have you ever
expressed empathy towards someone -
1:21 - 1:23by complimenting them on their outfit?
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1:24 - 1:26What we decide to wear
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1:26 - 1:29has that certain ability
to distinguish us from one another, -
1:30 - 1:33while reinforcing and marking
our belonging to a group, -
1:33 - 1:35or to several groups,
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1:35 - 1:41social, religious, regional,
professional, generational. -
1:42 - 1:47In France, we are proud to be home to
such strong cultural diversity -
1:47 - 1:50in a relatively reduced space.
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1:50 - 1:52In France,
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1:52 - 1:56a country recognized throughout the world
for its elegance and its way of life, -
1:56 - 2:00we attach a lot of importance
to what we wear on our backs, -
2:00 - 2:01and on our heads.
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2:02 - 2:05Let's talk about headwear.
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2:15 - 2:17You don't notice anything?
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2:27 - 2:30These photos were taken
during different periods -
2:30 - 2:33and represent women
from various backgrounds and regions. -
2:34 - 2:36However, they have two things in common.
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2:36 - 2:40Firstly, all these photos
were taken in France. -
2:40 - 2:43Secondly, they show that,
at all times in history, -
2:43 - 2:45French women covered their heads
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2:45 - 2:49at some point in the day,
in the year, even in their lives. -
2:49 - 2:53The function and form of headwear
evolves according to customs and fashions, -
2:53 - 2:57but it continues to be
an integral part of our clothing. -
2:58 - 2:59And here you go!
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2:59 - 3:03Headband, fascinator, sunhat, woolly hat,
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3:03 - 3:06cap, balaclava, hood, hat,
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3:06 - 3:09headscarf, veil, toque, turban, visor ...
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3:09 - 3:14Put up your hand those of you that haven't
worn anything on your head this year - -
3:15 - 3:17those who have never done so
in their lives. -
3:18 - 3:20(Laughing) It's unlikely!
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3:21 - 3:23These family photos are mine.
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3:23 - 3:26They're those of my friends'
or of friends' of friends, -
3:26 - 3:28but they could also be yours, right?
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3:28 - 3:32So when I hear that covering
your head isn't French, -
3:32 - 3:34it makes me laugh.
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3:34 - 3:35Not French?
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3:35 - 3:37But that's to ignore our history!
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3:37 - 3:40That's not looking beyond
the end of your nose! -
3:40 - 3:45Covering your head, for women,
has always been a subject of debate. -
3:45 - 3:47As for the ancient Greeks,
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3:47 - 3:50the veil distinguished
married women of high virtue -
3:50 - 3:54from prostitutes that could and must
go out with nothing on their heads. -
3:55 - 3:56In "Corinthians",
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3:56 - 4:00Saint Paul urges believers
to cover their women. -
4:00 - 4:02In the Muslim tradition,
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4:02 - 4:06only prophet Muhammad's wives,
initially, wore a veil, -
4:06 - 4:11thus marking their belonging to an elite
that was both social and religious. -
4:12 - 4:17For centuries, even millenniums,
a covered head has by turns meant: -
4:17 - 4:19modesty and archaism,
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4:19 - 4:22conservatism and decorum.
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4:23 - 4:25Even in my own family,
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4:25 - 4:28each generation of women has given
a different meaning to headwear. -
4:28 - 4:30Take for example,
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4:31 - 4:33that for my paternal great-grandmother,
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4:33 - 4:34at the start of the 20th century,
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4:34 - 4:38wearing a hat meant conforming
to a group she was part of, -
4:38 - 4:42and asserting her belonging to an area,
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4:42 - 4:45the Redon area in Brittany.
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4:46 - 4:47For her daughter,
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4:47 - 4:48my paternal grandmother,
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4:48 - 4:50in the 1940s,
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4:50 - 4:53to go out with your hair on show
had a certain nuance at the time. -
4:53 - 4:55It meant escaping the peasant headscarf,
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4:55 - 4:58which marked both your rural origins
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4:58 - 5:00and the fact you worked in a field,
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5:00 - 5:03where it was used
to protect against sun and dirt. -
5:03 - 5:07Going out with no headwear was
to proclaim oneself a lady of the town, -
5:07 - 5:11even one of those blow-dried
cinema stars who always looked perfect. -
5:11 - 5:16In the countryside, still in Brittany,
we used to go out bareheaded, -
5:16 - 5:18keeping headscarves
that were tied under the chin -
5:18 - 5:20for Sunday mass,
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5:20 - 5:22hats for attending weddings,
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5:22 - 5:24and veils for marriage ceremonies
and for communions. -
5:25 - 5:27As for my maternal great-grandmother,
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5:27 - 5:29more urban and middle-class,
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5:29 - 5:32headscarves and hats,
like gloves and pearls, -
5:32 - 5:36were mandatory attire
for all women in high society, -
5:36 - 5:39an accessory that both marked her status
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5:39 - 5:42and stopped her styled hair
from getting tousled -
5:42 - 5:43when she found herself
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5:43 - 5:46going from a promenade by the sea
to a game of bridge. -
5:47 - 5:50As for my mum, who grew up
with the May '68 events, -
5:50 - 5:51the majority of headwear,
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5:51 - 5:55middle-class or working-class,
aesthetic or religious, -
5:55 - 5:58represented an infringement
of women's bodily freedom. -
5:59 - 6:02She didn't think
she really had a head for hats, -
6:02 - 6:05but nonetheless sported
a boater in summer, -
6:05 - 6:08and a hood or a headscarf in winter.
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6:09 - 6:10Finally, for me,
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6:10 - 6:12wearing something on your head
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6:12 - 6:15is to multiply the fashion
potential of an outfit, -
6:15 - 6:18to tell a story, to invent a persona.
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6:19 - 6:21My weaknesses are:
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6:21 - 6:24wedding hats, which I create myself;
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6:24 - 6:27tweed caps, which fill my cupboards;
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6:28 - 6:30fur toques, to the great disgust of some;
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6:30 - 6:32and silk headscarves,
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6:32 - 6:37which, tied in a headband around my neck,
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6:37 - 6:39allow me to dream of myself
as a reincarnation -
6:39 - 6:41of Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn,
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6:41 - 6:43although most often I end up
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6:43 - 6:46looking like one of my great aunts
when they were twice my age. -
6:47 - 6:52So, this relationship that we maintain
with what we wear on our heads -
6:52 - 6:54is indicative of each period.
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6:54 - 6:58It also reflects the concerns
and evolutions of our society, -
6:58 - 7:02here in France, but also abroad,
in other countries. -
7:03 - 7:06So, the next time
you pass by a haberdashery, -
7:06 - 7:08think about this bond woven by fabric.
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7:09 - 7:12And when you pass a woman
wearing something on her head, -
7:12 - 7:14remember that that headwear,
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7:14 - 7:18as full of memories,
symbols, and history, as it is, -
7:18 - 7:21remains a piece of fabric or straw
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7:21 - 7:24that only has the meaning
that we want to give it, -
7:24 - 7:27and that a head, covered or uncovered,
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7:27 - 7:29so long as the decision is free,
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7:29 - 7:34need not obscure
much more troubling concerns. -
7:35 - 7:39To finish, let's go back
to these walls and these shadows. -
7:39 - 7:42What we wear on our backs,
and on our heads, -
7:42 - 7:44protects us from fair and bad weather,
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7:44 - 7:47from the gaze of others or of the divine.
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7:47 - 7:51It can also make the wearer stronger,
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7:51 - 7:54and drive them to assert themselves,
show themselves at their best. -
7:54 - 7:57It's the shy people's flag.
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7:57 - 7:59Outfits and headwear have nothing,
of wall or of shadow, -
7:59 - 8:03than there ability to protect.
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8:03 - 8:07If they establish, in effect,
physical barrier between individuals, -
8:07 - 8:10they scream: "Look at me!
Interact with me! -
8:10 - 8:12Identify with me!"
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8:13 - 8:16So, let's look beyond these barriers,
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8:16 - 8:19and not make a wall of this material
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8:19 - 8:20but a door.
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8:20 - 8:21Thank you very much.
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8:21 - 8:22(Applause)
- Title:
- This is not a veil | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton
- Description:
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"This is not a veil" is a photographic exhibition bringing together archive images and selected portraits of French women, of all ages and from all social backgrounds, wearing headwear. Coline Houssais gives testimony to the continuity of French headwear through the centuries.
Born in 1987 in Brittany, Coline Houssais is a researcher, curator, and writer, specializing in the Arabic world and Arabic culture. Among her recent projects, there is: "Karaokitsch", a thematic evening devoted to Western and Eastern influences on French and Arabic pop music at the Institute of Islamic Cultures in Paris, and "Inseparable from Baghdad", a musical and artistic experience exploring the golden age of Iraqi music presented at the Institute of the Arabic World. As a writer, Coline regularly works with several French media companies, including Wahed, a Franco-Arabic magazine about culture and current affairs from both sides of the Mediterranean. A graduate of Sciences Po, LSE, INALCO and IFPO, Coline currently teaches political history and Arabic cultures in Europe, as well as music and contemporary politics in the Middle East and North Africa, at Sciences Po.
This talk was given at a local TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized from Ted conferences. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- French
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 08:26
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker approved English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Robert Tucker edited English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton | ||
Martin Bermudez accepted English subtitles for Ceci n’est pas un voile | Coline Houssais | TEDxSciencesPoCampusMenton |