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Abstract:

The academic interest to fashion has grown during last twenty years that can be explained by the increased presence of fashion in cultural and social context due to booming of Internet mass-media. This article studies historical, cultural, and literary sources of body image of fashion model as a doll, its controversy and ways of playing with, interpreting and overcoming this image in fashion industry and in the art of fashion from 1998 till 2020. For analysis I choose the editorial photoshoot of Paralympic athlete, actress and model Aimee Mullins for Dazed & Confused, editorial photoshoot of Natalia Vodianova with the most influential designers at the turn of 20^th–21^st century as characters from “Alice in Wonderland”, fashion shows “Barbie” and “Paper Dolls” by Moschino, fashion shows “Cyborg” and “Commedia del arte” Gucci, and also iconic image of designer Karl Lagerfeld and collectible Barbie doll in his image. The research shows that literary motifs, especially those from Romanticism, make an important inspiration source for fashion; the images of doll / marionette / automaton / android is interpreted in different ways, ranging from child’s game till Hoffmann’s and Freudian uncanniness, while fashion is gaining not only its commercial, but also its cultural value, approaching and influencing important social problems such as inclusivity, body image and perception of beauty