Were the priests the first fashionistas in the Bible? The ones with the richest colors and wearing the most luxe jewels? If they were, then God would have been the first creative director. In Exodus 28:1-2, God gives the order: “Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve Me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty.” God has a specific vision of how he wants the priests to appear before him and oversees the entire process–from choosing the best materials to the construction of the materials by capable craftsmen. Here we can see how fashion (clothing and accessories) itself was used by God to bring about his purpose.
Georg Simmel made the keen observation decades ago, yet it rings ever more true in today’s culture:
“We can discover one of the reasons why in these latter days fashion exercises such a powerful influence on our consciousness in the circumstance that the great, permanent, unquestionable convictions are continually losing strength, as a consequence of which the transitory and vacillating elements of life acquire more room for the display of their activity…it may almost be considered a sign of the increased power of fashion, that it has overstepped the bounds of its original domain, which comprised only personal externals, and has acquired an increasing influence over taste, over theoretical convictions, and even the moral foundations of life.”
Fashion may have overstepped its boundaries in today’s culture but when placed back in its proper context, we can use it to highlight the pillars of truth, goodness and beauty. The transcendental trifecta can be found everywhere, but we must be searching for it and bringing awareness to its permanence. Secular culture tends to promote a fleeting and superficial lifestyle but as believers, we can reorient and re-influence, being called to be both salt and light (Matthew 5:13-14).
TRUTH: God has established the reality of the world in which all creation is operating under. As truth corresponds to reality, God is Truth. God is not a liar: “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2). Creation inhabits the world that God created, and it is operating in a world that God sustains. God is still directing things as how He wants them to be. This is not a virtual world. This is a real world. God created real tangible materials, objects like stones, and everything that humans craete, He made (like textiles, etc.). Everything God orders for the construction of items, including the fabrics and materials, is of the highest quality. The materials used in the construction of garments consist of quality fabrics and designated colors: “blue, purple and scarlet yarn,” and “finely twisted linen.” Hammered gold is intricately woven into the fabrics.
Fashion designers and stylists (and really anyone who puts together an outfit) use the objects and materials that exist on earth. Humans cannot create another world ex nihilo (out of nothing). Abraham Kuyper writes, “no human artist can create substance and splendor in reality; only God can do that. Even though art is actually a life expression that shows that people created in God’s image can create like God, nevertheless with people it always remains a creating out of imagination, creating for appearance to the eye, creating the representation of the thing, rather than the thing itself.” The items that we wear on our bodies are tangible; we can feel them and we use them for protection and ornamentation. Even Artificial Intelligence cannot create out of nothing; it is using already existing data.
GOODNESS: God is the ultimate source of goodness. In Exodus, this goodness comes across as remembrance. The priestly clothing consisted of a 12-stoned breast piece, each stone engraved with the name of one of the tribes of Israel and two shoulder stones for the breast piece, on each of which is engraved the names of 6 of the 12 tribes of Israel. There is meaning in the items used and in the priestly ceremony—to bring to remembrance that they are God’s chosen people, and He is their God. The worship ceremony, including the vestments of the priests, all serve as anamnesis. The clothes point the people toward God, and they also unite the people with one another (all the tribes represented in one outfit) and they unite the people to God, which is the highest purpose.
Clothing itself is a good thing as it allows us to cover ourselves and provide a sense of dignity. Fashion allows us the freedom of individuality and a way to express ourselves. Though the fashion industry has serious issues, we can look for more quality materials (like the priestly attire model) and/or seek after more ethical clothing brands.
BEAUTY: God directs Moses to “make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful.” These garments must be supremely beautiful because they will reflect the beauty and glory of God. The priests will act as refractors, reflecting the beauty and glory of God. The excellence of each piece, as well as the decked-out priests themselves, unite into a collective prismatic refraction—bouncing off and pointing towards ultimate divine brilliance and majesty.
Theologian Thomas Aquinas notes that the priests may be “attired in more costly apparel than others, not for the sake of their own glory, but to indicate the excellence of their office or of the Divine worship.” The priests are not decked out for their own glory but to point to the One to whom they serve. By dressing in such an elaborate manner, the priests match the dress code (albeit on an earthly level) of the great I AM. The priests will wear these beautiful garments for a limited amount of time, during their time of service. Yet God is perpetually clothed in splendor and majesty. God is continuously beautiful. Dionysius describes God as “absolutely and in every way beautiful…God is beautiful “according to Himself.” Not only is He beautiful but He is the Source of all beauty.
Through fashion, we experience the realness of our humanity (human qua human) as we embody clothing and accessories that are tangibly created objects, we can express our individuality and feel good about ourselves (and also gives us a chance to purchase from ethical brands) and lastly, fashion allows us to put on beauty, reflecting back a speck of glory to the One who is most glorious.
Sources:
Simmel, Georg. “Fashion.” In On Individuality and Social Forms
Image: Photo by Adam Gonzales on Unsplash