Creatures of Fashion: Animals, Global Markets, and the Transformation of Patagonia by John Soluri. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2024. 272 pp. $27.95 (pbk); $99.00 (hbk); $21.99 (e-book). ISBN: 978-1-4696-7572-5; ISBN: 97814696-7571-8; ISBN: 97814696-7573-2

Abstract

Desert … remoteness … the end of the world … are some of the ways in which the history of the Patagonian region, in the extreme south of the American continent, has been characterised. In recent decades, this narrative has been challenged and reinterpreted by a new generation of regional historians employing diverse approaches and analytical perspectives. These scholars have endeavoured to transcend geographical and political boundaries, integrate the historical processes of the region with global dynamics, contextualise the narratives of individual and family biographies within the dominant social groups and recognise and value the presence of indigenous populations in the construction of social history (Bandieri 2021; López and Gattica 2000). Likewise, Patagonia has been the focus of an increasing number of studies that seek to transcend the conventional boundaries of agrarian history, with the aim of (re)constructing an environmental history that examines the intricate relationships and conflicts between production and the exploitation of nature (Andrade 2003; Blanco and Mendes 2006; Ejarque 2014; Haller 2023).

In this context, Creatures of Fashion represents a significant contribution to both fields of study. The book proposes a reconstruction of the history of the southernmost extremity of the continent (currently Argentinean and Chilean territories) by examining the impact of the commodification of animals (native and exotic) on the relations between society and nature, as well as between the social groups that inhabited the area. In the process, it illuminates how nation states established administrative territories that extended well beyond the boundaries of the nation-state system itself.

This book will enrich the historiography of Patagonia in at least two ways. Firstly, its approach is expanded to involve the analysis of the diversity of animals present in the region and their relations (and tensions) established with local and global societies. These links included breeding for productive purposes; the exploitation of wildlife for commercial gain; the recognition of some native species as part of the pristine landscape and their preservation through conservation mechanisms; and the role of domestic animals as part of the social reproduction of the people who worked in livestock activities. The second contribution of the book is that it moves beyond the agrarian perspective to examine the impact of the world of consumption of fibres and skins on the social relations of production. This is achieved by adopting a ‘from the field to the hanger’ approach. Consequently, although the author acknowledges that commodification does not encompass the myriads of relations between animals and people in Patagonia, it is the most impactful phenomenon and enables him to illustrate ‘how certain individuals acquired power from and over specific species of animals’ (Soluri 2024, 2). Thus, the exploitations of both animals and people are articulated, seeking to prioritise the socio-historical construction of both over their biological definitions.

Creatures of Fashion is a book written by Professor John Soluri, who has an extensive background in the study of Latin American environmental history and decades-long experience conducting research and living in Patagonia. The book is the result of extensive archival work, not only in the United States but also in different parts of Argentina and Chile, in which a range of previously untapped sources have been recovered, including travellers' diaries, newspapers, government documents and photographs.

In addition to the introduction and epilogue, the book comprises six chapters that, although presented in chronological order, address problematic topics that were most developed at a particular historical moment but whose effects are still evident today.

Chapter 1, entitled ‘Birthplaces’, identifies the initial phase of animal exploitation by the capitalist economy, focusing on the hunting of fur seals for their hides in the late 19th century. It demonstrates the transition from a society structured around a prison (a penal colony) to one based on fishing and hunting. In the latter, the animal life cycles, the differential valuation of fur types and the violence (and more indirect forms such as spreading diseases) towards Yamana populations were central in developing a productive model that extracted resources without investing in social and animal reproduction.

The subsequent chapters concentrate on two further animals, the sheep and the dog. This approach is fundamental to the authors' view of environmental history, as it implies not only the reconstruction of the process of social construction but also of animalities.

Chapter 2, called ‘Displacements’, describes the violence of the introduction of extensive sheep farming on the indigenous populations, their animals and the habitats in which they reproduced. It addresses the ways in which the criteria of civilisation shaped practices, mobilities and governmental actions in the area. This criterion also defined animals and populations: While native inhabitants and the dogs that accompanied them needed to be eradicated, the European migrants, their pedigree dogs and their culture were more than welcome to settle.

‘The Labor of Reproduction’, the third chapter, examines the extensive sheep farming model of production and the mechanisms through which it achieved reproduction. In this way, the author examines the processes of selection and refinement to which the animal population was subjected to meet the demands of global markets and adapt to environmental conditions. Wire fencing represents an additional method of ensuring animal reproduction in a manner that is well suited to capital interests. In concluding this chapter, the author develops the concept of a mixed labour force by also valorising the participation of dogs and horses in livestock work. ‘This triad of migrant men, horses, and dogs was crucial for carrying out the routine work that enabled the profitable reproduction of sheep’ (Soluri 2024, 9). As it has been seen, the commodification of animals and the associated technologies lay the foundations for the implementation of an agrarian development model. But this model not only implied the abandonment of violence to animals and social groups but also generated the conditions for its eventual downfall.

Social and environmental inequalities can also be identified within the clothing industry and markets. Chapter 4, ‘The Work of Fashion’, outlines the journey of fibres from Patagonia to the global hubs of fashion. It examines the diversification and specialisation of fibres, their differential valuation and how they impact primary production. In this way, punta wool journey from the shearing sheds and the work of animals and migrant men to retail stores shows that its value did not come just from Patagonia: It was challenged by a persisting animality, by ideas of health and fashion related to wool and changes in labour and factories.

The hunting of wild animals for their pelts continued throughout this period of imposition of a pastoral economy. Chapter 5, entitled ‘The Wild Side’, is specifically dedicated to the study of wildlife and the impacts it suffered as a direct consequence of the implementation of the wool model. It introduces the particularities of the hunting of guanacos, which was primarily focused on the use of their skins, particularly those of young animals (guanaquitos). This practice was eventually prohibited due to the identification of the guanaco and other wild animals as a pest that threatened sheep production. The chapter also presents a reconstruction of the contradictory policies that permitted, regulated and prohibited hunting, with justifications that demonstrated the tension between domestic livestock production, the natural ecological balance and the demands of fashion.

The abuse of wildlife and the consequences of certain agrarian models became part of the global public agenda in the 1970s. Chapter 6, ‘Making a Place for Guanacos’, illustrates how transformations in landownership in Chile, shifts in the global fibre market (driven not only by the emergence of synthetic textiles but also by the standardisation of clothing and changes in the associations attached to each fabric), tourism and the establishment of protected natural areas have shaped and (re)defined the material and symbolic role of native fauna in the recent history of Patagonia. The analysis demonstrates the impact of policies and fibre markets on the decline of the wool model and commercial hunting while simultaneously illustrating the growing significance of tourism (linked to scientific research) in natural areas. Even though the book does not examine the geopolitical objectives of national park strategies as a means of reinforcing national borders between Chile and Argentina (Caruso 2015; Navarro Floria 2008), it considers how conservation gave new means of linking animals and people in Patagonia with transnational networks and markets. This transformation has not happened without contention, new forms of violence and differential valuation of species and social groups. As Andrade, Paredes, and Riquelme observe in the Argentinian province of Santa Cruz, it still creates a ‘tension of territorialities’ (2023, 13).

Creatures of Fashion accomplishes its objective of transporting readers not only to Patagonia's remotest boundaries but also to a critical examination of the ways in which environmental inequalities are reproduced and how the lessons of the past can be employed to advocate for environmental justice in processes that are currently underway. As Soluri asserts, ‘people and animals in Patagonia continue to be entangled in transboundary networks whose power operates in crosscutting ways’ (Soluri 2024, 182).