No. 5 (2025)
Creative & reflective works

Joyful under the Dragonfly: An Autoethnographic Fashion Account of Helsinki Pride 2025

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  • Anna-Mari Almila
Anna-Mari Almila
Sapienza University of Rome
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-3613

Published 30-06-2025

Keywords

  • dress and comfort,
  • Pride dress,
  • visibility and invisibility,
  • minority dress,
  • dress and politics

How to Cite

Almila, A.-M. (2025). Joyful under the Dragonfly: An Autoethnographic Fashion Account of Helsinki Pride 2025. Fashion Highlight, (5), 130–137. https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-3613

Copyright (c) 2025 Anna-Mari Almila

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

This paper offers an autoethnographic account of Helsinki Pride 2025, June 28. Reflecting upon comfort, visibility, invisibility, joy, and resistance, the complexities of dress, embodiment, and multiple dressed bodies are discussed. It is concluded that although Pride is a demonstration for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, its significance reaches beyond these in times when conservative, anti-democratic forces are increasingly gaining power in Europe. Beyond individual style, as great as its importance is, the joyful coming together of masses, irrespective of their dress choices, holds enormous potential for mass power and individual empowerment.

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