Fashion Myths

Besides products and services multinational corporations also sell myths, values and immaterial goods. Such »meta-goods« (e.g. prestige, beauty, strength) are major selling points in the context of successful marketing and advertising. Fashion adverts draw on deeply rooted human values, ideals and desires such as values and symbols of social recognition, beautification and rejuvenation. Although the reference to such meta-goods is obvious to some consumers, their rootedness in philosophical theories of human nature is less apparent, even for the marketers and advertisers themselves. This book is of special interest for researchers and students in the fields of Cultural Studies, Media Studies, Marketing, Advertising, Fashion, Cultural Critique, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology and Psychology, and for anyone interested in the ways in which fashion operates.

From corsets to skinny jeans, we have always fretted about our body shapes and why it’s so damn difficult to find a good fit. In this bold and entertaining book, Mel Campbell examines the tensions between our cultural ideals and our own bodies. Combining lively interviews and personal experiences with visits to museums, galleries and vintage fairs, Mel explores why we are still so critical of our various shapes and restricted by old-fashioned values. Out of Shape reveals how, when it comes to clothes and sizing, the past and present are cut from the same cloth.

Myths and Fictions — the third in a series of books on comparative philosophy and religion — is a collection of original essays, none previously published, on the theory and the actuality of myths and fictions in the different cultures of the world. Through all the essays there runs the question of the relation of literal truth to truth conceived in other ways or dimensions. Taken as a whole, the book makes a serious attempt to get beyond the confines of any single culture and enter into the mythical imagination of the ancient Hindus, Chinese, Hebrews and Christians, and by this act of imagination to escape (in Italo Calvino's words) "the limited perspective of the individual ego, not only to enter into selves like our own but to give speech to that which has no language..."

A compilation of myths from cultures around the world which have been translated from their original languages.

Alice Temperley, one of the most accomplished British designers working today, creates clothing that is coveted by the likes of Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Olga Kurylenko, Rita Ora, Poppy Delevingne, Helen Mirren, Adele, Naomie Harris, and The Duchess of Cambridge. This book is conceived as a celebration of Alice Temperley's aesthetic and conveys the effortless decadence and handcrafted allure of her brand. This book highlights the key moments that have inspired the last decade of work—focusing on the personal moments that have shaped her brand. Filled with captivating photographs from Temperley London photo shoots and fashion editorials, ALICE TEMPERLEY: ENGLISH MYTHS AND LEGENDS gives an in-depth look into the inspirations and processes behind the creation of the collections. While her first Rizzoli book, TRUE BRITISH (2011), was a chronological story about the first 10 years of the brand, ENGLISH MYTHS AND LEGENDS gives a more intimate view of what defines Temperley London today and its evolution; revealing both practical and sentimental moments of the designer’s generative history.

Learning how to think through fashion is both exciting and challenging, being dependent on one's ability to critically engage with an array of theories and concepts. This is the first book designed to accompany readers through the process of thinking through fashion. It aims to help them grasp both the relevance of social and cultural theory to fashion, dress, and material culture and, conversely, the relevance of those fields to social and cultural theory. It does so by offering a guide through the work of selected major thinkers, introducing their concepts and ideas. Each chapter is written by an expert contributor and is devoted to a key thinker, capturing the significance of their thought to the understanding of the field of fashion, while also assessing the importance of this field for a critical engagement with these thinkers' ideas. This is a guide and reference for students and scholars in the fields of fashion, dress and material culture, the creative industries, sociology, cultural history, design and cultural studies.

This book collects fifteen essays and book sections written over thirty years, about the Jesuits in India. The volume looks back into this long missionary history, but asks as well, how ought interreligious learning take place in the 21st century?

In Discovering World Religions, author Gabriel J. Gomes provides a comprehensive overview of a wide range of world religions, including Native American, African traditional, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and more.

Settler-native conflicts in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and South Africa serve as excellent comparative cases as three areas linked to Britain where insurgencies occurred during roughly the same period. Important factors considered are settler parties, settler mythology, the role of native fighters, settler terror, the role of liberal parties, and the conduct of the war by security forces. Settlers and natives in each area share similar attitudes, liberal parties operate in similar fashions, and there are common explanations for the formation of splinter liberation groups. However, according to Mitchell, the key difference between the cases lies in the behavior of British security forces in comparison to South African and Israeli forces. Mitchell's chapter on liberal parties includes an independent account of the Progressive Federal Party of South Africa, the official parliamentary opposition from 1977 to 1987, along with the first major published account of the Alliance Party in Northern Ireland. His study of splinter group formation contains the first major account since 1964 of the Pan-Africanist Party of Azania, including its insurgency campaign in the 1980s and 1990s. Mitchell also contrasts behavior among the Inkatha Party and Labour Party in South Africa with the Social Democrat and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.

Through ten detailed case studies on groundbreaking brands like Vivienne Westwood, Vera Wang, Levi's®, and The Gap Inc., Fashion Brand Stories shows how fashion retailers and designers use storytelling to establish and maintain relationships with their customers. These entertaining case studies explore the evolution of each brand as a cultural entity with its own carefully crafted personality. Aided by interviews with industry professionals, you'll learn how brands start out, grow and encounter success or failure and how to apply those hard-won lessons to your own thoughts on branding. This beautifully illustrated third edition covers the changing role of social media, celebrity endorsements, quality over quantity, and more ethical sourcing, manufacturing, and consumption. Instructor's resources to accompany this edition are available at bloomsbury.pub/fashion-brand-stories-3e