Fashioneast

A richly illustrated, comprehensive study of fashion under socialism, from state-sponsored prototypes to unofficial imitations of Paris fashion. The idea of fashion under socialism conjures up images of babushka headscarves and black market blue jeans. And yet, as Djurdja Bartlett shows in this groundbreaking book, the socialist East had an intimate relationship with fashion. Official antagonism—which cast fashion as frivolous and anti-revolutionary—eventually gave way to grudging acceptance and creeping consumerism. Bartlett outlines three phases in socialist fashion, and illustrates them with abundant images from magazines of the period: postrevolutionary utopian dress, official state-sanctioned socialist fashion, and samizdat-style everyday fashion. Utopian dress, ranging from the geometric abstraction of the constructivists under Bolshevism in the Soviet Union to the no-frills desexualized uniform of a factory worker in Czechoslovakia, reflected the revolutionary urge for a clean break with the past. The highly centralized socialist fashion system, part of Stalinist industrialization, offered official prototypes of high fashion that were never available in stores—mythical images of smart and luxurious dresses that symbolized the economic progress that socialist regimes dreamed of. Everyday fashion, starting in the 1950s, was an unofficial, do-it-yourself enterprise: Western fashions obtained through semiclandestine channels or sewn at home. The state tolerated the demand for Western fashion, promising the burgeoning middle class consumer goods in exchange for political loyalty. Bartlett traces the progress of socialist fashion in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, and Yugoslavia, drawing on state-sponsored socialist women's magazines, etiquette books, socialist manuals on dress, private archives, and her own interviews with designers, fashion editors, and other key figures. Fashion, she suggests, with all its ephemerality and dynamism, was in perpetual conflict with the socialist regimes' fear of change and need for control. It was, to echo the famous first sentence from the Communist Manifesto, the spectre that haunted socialism until the end.

This book presents, above all, a study of the establishment and development of the Soviet organization and system of fashion industry and design as it gradually evolved in the years after the Second World War in the Soviet Union, which was, in the understanding of its leaders, reaching the mature or last stage of socialism when the country was firmly set on the straight trajectory to its final goal, Communism. What was typical of this complex and extensive system of fashion was that it was always loyally subservient to the principles of the planned socialist economy. This did not by any means indicate that everything the designers and other fashion professionals did was dictated entirely from above by the central planning agencies. Neither did it mean that their professional judgment would have been only secondary to ideological and political standards set by the Communist Party and the government of the Soviet Union. On the contrary, as our study shows, the Soviet fashion professionals had a lot of autonomy. They were eager and willing to exercise their own judgment in matters of taste and to set the agenda of beauty and style for Soviet citizens. The present book is the first comprehensive and systematic history of the development of fashion and fashion institutions in the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Our study makes use of rich empirical and historical material that has been made available for the first time for scientific analysis and discussion. The main sources for our study came from the state, party and departmental archives of the former Soviet Union. We also make extensive use of oral history and the writings published in Soviet popular and professional press.

The fashion media is in the midst of deep social and technological change. Including a broad range of case studies, from fashion plates to fashion films, and from fashion magazines to fashion blogs, this ground-breaking book provides an up-to-date examination of the role and significance of this field. Winner of the PCA/ACA Ray and Pat Browne Award for Best Edited Collection, Fashion Media includes chapters written by international scholars covering topics from historic magazine cultures and contemporary digital innovations to art and film, exploring themes such as gender, ethnicity, design, taste and authorship. Highlighting the complexity of processes that bind design, design, technology, society and identity together, Fashion Media will be of be essential reading for students of fashion studies, cultural studies, visual culture studies, design history, communications and art and design practice and theory.

This collection arises from an international fashion conference held at Sapienza University in Rome, Italy, in May 2015. It is dedicated to one of the main indicators of social change, fashion, analysed within various scientific fields, historical periods, and geographical areas. It offers a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the world of clothes, starting from a historical perspective, religious clothes, and traditional costumes, and then exploring fashion theories and more recent approaches and developments in the media and advertisements. The book analyses the clothing of various cultures, including the Hittite peoples and the less explored fashion of Eastern Europe, and it deals with craft traditions and national costume in different areas, including China, Greece, Romania and Georgia. It also investigates the style of marginalized groups and youth movements and the interpretation of fashion in the studies and writings of sociologists, philosophers and linguists, such as Fausto Squillace and Christian Garve.

An illuminating introduction to the expanding influence of fashion from the perspectives of design, technology, sustainability, and business Fashion matters for the economy, to society, and to each of us personally. Faster than anything else, what we wear tells the story of who we are—or who we want to be. It is the most immediate form of self-expression. Yet even as fashion touches the lives of each and every one of us, its influence and the vast creative industry that it supports can seem mysterious to outsiders. In Why Fashion Matters Frances Corner, Head of London College of Fashion, guides readers into the dizzying world of this rapidly expanding, increasingly global, always exciting industry. In provocative and intriguing entries, Corner teases out the glorious intricacies and contradictions of an industry that simultaneously values technology and craft; timeless style and fast fashion; the bespoke and the mass-market; consumption and sustainability; cold, hard numbers; and creative expression. From “Shop 'til We Drop” to “The White Shirt” to “The One Trillion Dollar Business” each entry offers a unique avenue into fashion and its impact, both positive and negative, on lives around the globe.

How does a style become a fashion? Why do trends spread and decline? Introducing Fashion Theory explores these questions and more to help you quickly get up-to-speed with fashion theories, from scarcity to conformity, through clear practical examples and fascinating case studies. This second edition, re-titled from Key Concepts for the Fashion Industry, includes expanded coverage on cultural appropriation, corporate greenwashing, and the criminal world of counterfeit goods. - Illustrated examples, from Apple's post-postmodernist iWatch to Savage X Fenty's body image message on diversity - Covers core fashion theories, from trickle-down to trickle-up, to political dress and conspicuous consumption - Filled with learning activities, key terms, chapter summaries, and discussion questions to inspire and inform

From the first animal skin body coverings, to today’s high fashion collections, fashion has held an important role in the evolution of mankind. The fashion industry has, and continues to make, major contributions to our cultural and social environment. It is an industry that responds to our inherent longing for tribal belonging, our socio-economic needs, individual lifestyles, status stratification and profession apparel requirements. The fashion industry is fast-paced, complex and ever changing, in response to consumer needs. Throughout the world, vast numbers of people contribute to this industry, each with the shared goal of supplying an end product of a particular price point directed at a target consumer. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,400 cross-referenced entries on designers, models, couture houses, significant articles of apparel and fabrics, trade unions, and the international trade organizations. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the fashion industry.

Over the last century there has been a complete transformation of the fashion system. The unitary top-down fashion cycle has been replaced by the pulsations of multiple and simultaneous styles, while the speed of global production and circulation has become ever faster and more complex. Running in tandem, the development of artificial fibres has revolutionized the composition of clothing, and the increased focus on youth, sexuality, and the body has radically changed its design. From the 1920s flapper dress to debates over the burkini, fashion has continued to be deeply involved in society's larger issues. Drawing on a wealth of visual, textual and object sources and illustrated with 100 images, A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion in the Modern Age presents essays on textiles, production and distribution, the body, belief, gender and sexuality, status, ethnicity, and visual and literary representations to illustrate the diversity and cultural significance of dress and fashion in the period.

Stylists have become increasingly influential in shaping fashion imagery. They have moved from the backstage, as unrecognised players, to the frontstage of fashion, becoming celebrated for their creative work as image makers for magazines, advertising and fashion designers. Yet little is known about the profession, its diverse incarnations and its aesthetic economy. Featuring contributions from leading experts and stylists, this collection is the first to explore the history, meaning and practice of fashion styling through interviews and historic and present-day case studies. Featuring in-depth contributions from prominent fashion scholars, chapters span historical periods, cultural contexts and theoretical frameworks, employing a range of methodologies in the international case studies upon which they're based. Interspersed with interviews with innovative fashion stylists working today, and drawing on examples from advertising, the catwalk and magazines, this book explores the challenges faced by stylists in a fashion system increasingly shaped by commercial pressures and by growing numbers of collections and seasons. Fashion Stylists is an invaluable resource for students and professionals interested in image-making, the representation of style and fashion, entrepreneurship and the history of fashion professionals.

How did you decide what to wear today? Did you base your selection on comfort or style? Did you want to blend in or stand out - or was it just the cleanest outfit available? We each make these decisions every day, reflecting how we view ourselves and impacting how others see us. Our choices matter - not just to us personally, but also to the magazine editors, brand ambassadors and trend forecasters who make a living by selling to us. Communicating Fashion introduces key concepts from the intersecting worlds of fashion and communication studies to connect how we all use clothing to express ourselves and how media systems support that process. In doing so, Myles Ethan Lascity explores social, cultural and ethical issues through the work of fashion journalism, brand promotions and the growing role of online influencers as well as the impact of film, television and art on self-image and expression. Key topics: - Advertising, Branding and Fashion Retail - Clothing, Art and Cultural Significance - Clothing as Group and Cultural Norms - Clothing, Identity and Interpersonal Communication - Fashion News and Tastemaking - Fashion, Social Media and Influencers - Meaning within the Fashion System - On-screen Clothing