Fashion is a dynamic global industry that plays an important role in the economic, political, cultural, and social lives of an international audience. It spans high art and popular culture, and plays a significant role in material and visual culture. This book introduces fashion's myriad influences and manifestations. Fashion is explored as a creative force, a business, and a ...

Fashion is a dynamic global industry that plays an important role in the economic, political, cultural, and social lives of an international audience. It spans high art and popular culture, and plays a significant role in material and visual culture. This book introduces fashion's myriad influences and manifestations. Fashion is explored as a creative force, a business, and a means of communication. From Karl Lagerfeld's creative reinventions of Chanel's iconic style to the multicultural reference points of Indian designer Manish Arora, from the spectacular fashion shows held in nineteenth century department stores to the mix-and-match styles of Japanese youth, the book examines the ways that fashion both reflects and shapes contemporary culture. Using historical and contemporary examples, it gives a clear understanding of how fashion has developed since the renaissance, while raising questions about its status, ethical credibility, and influence on consumers. The book provides insight into the structure of the fashion industry and how fashions are designed, promoted and consumed, in relation to relevant historical, social and cultural contexts. It is structured thematically, to look at the role and development of designers, the growth of shopping and the different businesses involved in making and selling fashionable clothes. Fashion's relationship to the wider culture is also explored, by considering its representation in art and collaborations between designers and artists, the moral controversies surrounding fashion, and attempts to produce ethical clothing, and the effects of globalisation on the fashion trade.

麗貝卡·阿諾德 英國考陶爾德藝術(shù)學院服裝與紡織品史專業(yè)講師，曾是英國皇家藝術(shù)學院設(shè)計系研究員以及維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館的訪問學者。于2006—2007年擔任斯德哥爾摩大學時裝研究中心客座教授，并在包括紐約時裝學院、紐約大學、巴德研究生中心、喬治·華盛頓大學和史密森學會在內(nèi)的許多學院機構(gòu)發(fā)表過關(guān)于時裝的國際演講。著有《時裝、欲望和焦慮：20世紀的意象和道德準則》《30秒時尚》《記錄時尚：1920—1960年美國的現(xiàn)代性和意象》等著作。