 True Faith, 2008 Discussions on laicism, like the most recent one on the so-called German "Kopftuchurteil" [headscarf ruling] from 2003, show, on one hand, the potential for political conflict that can open up out of nothing more than wearing particular clothing. On the other, clothing has always expressed social attachments and been a visible medium of philosophical convictions. Wearing the uniform vestments of an order, as, for instance, a nun’s habit, emphasized the communal adherence to that order, does not express individuality and is meant to serve as a sign of a simple life devoted to God. So the prescribed clothing was a costume devoid of colour and decoration and made of humble material like cotton or linen. Miuccia Prada, a qualified political scientist and the head designer of her renowned italian fashion house, went on to combine elegantly luxurious haute couture materials like fine lace and brocade with formal idioms drawn from religion. Her staging of six nuns for the cover of the British fashion magazine POP is equally an avant-garde device as a symptom of the current trend towards a fashionable piety. The fashion photography of the British stylist, Katie Grand, links into that and she stands in the tradition of the blasphemous use of religious elements by pop stars like Madonna or Boy George. Miuccia Prada, * 1949 in Mailand (I), lives and works in Mailand (I)  Miuccia Prada, True Faith, 2008 Concept, Styling and Casting: Miuccia Prada photographs by Sebastian Faena Sittings Editor: Katie Grand POP Magazine, issue 19, Sept. 2008, 6 covers, pp. 201–209 Katie Grand, Nun Head, 2008 photographs by Sebastian Faena fashion editor: Katie Grand POP Magazine, issue 19, Sept. 2008, pp. 210–239
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