Many Faces of Patriotism: Patriotic Dispositif and Creative (Counter-)Conduct of Russian Fashion Designers

This article explores the multiplicity of discoursive articulations of patriotism in Russia in the context of “patriotic frenzy” observed in the country and reached in fashion. Patriotism is considered a socially constructed, multi-layered category defined in relation to nationalism and cosmopolitanism. To explore the interpretations of patriotism, this research uses the concept of governmentality of Michel Foucault and proposes the concept of “patriotic dispositif,” which conducts the creative conduct of fashion designers by encouraging them to follow patriotic fashion. At the same time, fashion designers can either support it or have freedom for counter-conduct, which is manifested in cosmopolitan, cultural and economic patriotic discourses. The article is based on nineteen in-depth interviews and secondary data analyzed with the use of post-structuralist discourse theory.