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Why Fashion Matters
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. 0 illustrations
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. 0 illustrations
128 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2014
34 people are currently reading
832 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 26, 2015
Interesting title grabbed me. A more accurate title would be "what should matter to fashion". Because of this I didn't learn what I hoped to learn.
Lots of small chapters, I read half of it in under an hour.
Quite a big proportion was on issues like environmental effects of clothing production, working conditions, and the images put forward an issues that result for people from it. There are issues to be dealt with, but not reasons for why fashion matters. They're reasons for why it needs to be more responsible and caring for things other than profit.
Lots of small chapters, I read half of it in under an hour.
Quite a big proportion was on issues like environmental effects of clothing production, working conditions, and the images put forward an issues that result for people from it. There are issues to be dealt with, but not reasons for why fashion matters. They're reasons for why it needs to be more responsible and caring for things other than profit.
August 25, 2014
This petite book is perfect for people with short attention spans looking for a crash course on fashion. That being said, it was pretty informative, and occasionally inspiring.
April 27, 2018
An interesting book, there is also a helpful list of sources for the further reading. It is a must-read book for any person, who plans to be anyhow connected to the world of fashion
August 13, 2019
A very good introduction to the world, history, and influence of the fashion industry. As a complete novice, it was extremely accessible, with no complex jargon or overly in-depth analyses. At the same time, I do think that those who are in the industry, or at least studied the topic, could still get a fair amount out of it simply because it covers such a broad range of topics that I'm sure one could get inspired to dive more deeply into other areas. Topics covered range from the the environmental and social impacts of garment manufacturing, to the consistent popularity of black in fashion, to the history of T-shirts.
Topics are presented in bite-sized chunks, each separate from the next, making it easy to jump in-and-out at will, although sometimes topics are re-visited at a later time, often from a slightly different angle. Nothing is explored in great depth, but it's clear that the author has a great depth and breadth of knowledge on each topic. This makes it seem almost encouraging to go and explore topics more deeply in your own time, without the sense of gate-keeping that you sometimes get in fashion, and art as a whole.
A couple of times, I would've liked her to go into a bit more depth, for example, point 39 'Men in High-Heels'. This spoke of the origins of high-heels in Persia, when they arrived in Europe, and how they were embraced by the wealthy men of the 17th century. However, there was no mention of how many men today are embracing high-heels as part of the general counter-culture movement against expectations of gendered fashion.
Something to note is that the book is beautifully formatted. I know nothing about the design and presentation of books, but this factor did stand out to me in this case.
Overall, a great introduction to how and why fashion has such a great impact of us as individuals, and societies as a whole.
Topics are presented in bite-sized chunks, each separate from the next, making it easy to jump in-and-out at will, although sometimes topics are re-visited at a later time, often from a slightly different angle. Nothing is explored in great depth, but it's clear that the author has a great depth and breadth of knowledge on each topic. This makes it seem almost encouraging to go and explore topics more deeply in your own time, without the sense of gate-keeping that you sometimes get in fashion, and art as a whole.
A couple of times, I would've liked her to go into a bit more depth, for example, point 39 'Men in High-Heels'. This spoke of the origins of high-heels in Persia, when they arrived in Europe, and how they were embraced by the wealthy men of the 17th century. However, there was no mention of how many men today are embracing high-heels as part of the general counter-culture movement against expectations of gendered fashion.
Something to note is that the book is beautifully formatted. I know nothing about the design and presentation of books, but this factor did stand out to me in this case.
Overall, a great introduction to how and why fashion has such a great impact of us as individuals, and societies as a whole.
November 25, 2015
Overall, an interesting collection of very short essays on the fashion industry, its impact on culture, economics, and the environment. Unfortunately many of the assertions are not sourced. Many of the essays could be expanded into books of their own, which could be interesting.
Quotes:
"To some, couture is an anachronism, elitist and irrelevant. But I admire it as a system that has preserved and protected a vast range of skills and crafts, such as fine embroidery, beadwork and the decorative use of feathers or precious stones. Many of these skills are no longer practised anywhere else in the world..." -p. 11
Quotes:
"To some, couture is an anachronism, elitist and irrelevant. But I admire it as a system that has preserved and protected a vast range of skills and crafts, such as fine embroidery, beadwork and the decorative use of feathers or precious stones. Many of these skills are no longer practised anywhere else in the world..." -p. 11
April 16, 2015
Picked this up on a whim from my library. It is organized well, with short, intelligent, thought-provoking numbered chapters/essays. Frances Corner looks at fashion, and at its proponents and industry, from a variety of perspectives: economic, artistic, ecological, psychological. Worth the read.
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January 1, 2016Collection of 101 thoughts about fashion as industry, personal engagement, and global impacts by the head of a London fashion school. Absolutely delightful, and if you want more indepth treatments of some of the topics (as they are well worth) there is a bibliography at the end.
September 25, 2025
2.5 i guess. this book was short and informative, i learnt many new things, made my a bit scattered knowledge as a casual fashion mf more substantial - however it was at times very repetitive, and i felt that in over 50% of the book, the question posed in its title was not answered. what the author tried to say could have easily been much more coherently and effectively demonstrated in around 30 pages.
Read
June 8, 2022DNF @ 26%
This is completely useless. It just covers the surface level of the issues that fashion poses/creates and doesn't go into any sort of depth. I thought this would be an interesting read, but it's just a waste of time.
This is completely useless. It just covers the surface level of the issues that fashion poses/creates and doesn't go into any sort of depth. I thought this would be an interesting read, but it's just a waste of time.
April 24, 2018
An interesting book,where the thoughts of an author are arranged into 101 quotes about different issues within the fashion industry. What I loved about it is a powerful statement of the author about each point and attention-grabbing info on the topic of recycle and protection of the people and environment if the context of clothes consumption. At the end there is also a helpful list of sources for the further reading which I definetly going to follow. It is a must-read book for any person,who plans to be anyhow connected to the world of fashion.
April 5, 2015
Well done fashion industry history and information for beginners. Give to those who think fashion and clothing is frivolous.
July 24, 2016
Exactly the intro to fashion I was looking for
August 3, 2022
Why Fashion Matters? If anything, this book did a better job explaining why fashion should not matter at all anymore. The most prominent takeaway is that the clothing industry is an environmental enemy. How does that main idea answer the question of how fashion matters to individuals, economies, and society? Well, that’s just it- it doesn’t!
Essentially, this book had the wrong title. It’s not an argument as much as a contemporary account of the fashion industry. It also was so poorly organized that I have second-hand embarrassment. How hard would it have been to sort what appears to be a collection of sticky notes into the 1) past, 2) present, and 3) future of fashion? Or one of the other hundred ways they could have been sorted logically? Literally anything would have been better than just putting them all in a randomizer.
As you can probably tell, I did not like this book at all. Why the second star, then? Because about 10 of the 101 points were actually interesting. Ouch…
Essentially, this book had the wrong title. It’s not an argument as much as a contemporary account of the fashion industry. It also was so poorly organized that I have second-hand embarrassment. How hard would it have been to sort what appears to be a collection of sticky notes into the 1) past, 2) present, and 3) future of fashion? Or one of the other hundred ways they could have been sorted logically? Literally anything would have been better than just putting them all in a randomizer.
As you can probably tell, I did not like this book at all. Why the second star, then? Because about 10 of the 101 points were actually interesting. Ouch…
September 10, 2018
Hands down the MOST IMPORTANT book of the year for me. It has such a deep and objective insight on the Fashion Industry which I just started growing an extreme interest in. It's like Frances Corner was reading my mind and answered to every single thing of my confusion and unclearness about the field. The way he broke down the book into 101 thoughts of no intended order was refreshing too. That helps not to make a topic too heavy, long or dragging. I'm eager, curious about what topic he would bring up next and utterly feel agreed with his thoughts/ conclusions. Now I am a bit more confident when talking about fashion thanks to him! 5*/5*
February 27, 2021
The modern format of this book - 101 thoughts, arranged in an eye catching sequence - made for easy and fun reading, more like little blog blurbs than book chapters. Catchy format aside, the author has a solid grasp of writing and expresses her thoughts well. This was an impulse library book, outside my normal reading genres, and it was thought provoking and gave me a peep into a world of which I know very little. Lots of thoughts on environmental responsibility in fashion, as well as how clothes reflect us as people.
October 3, 2020
If I understand correctly, this is a coffee table book. It’s interesting and thought provoking. Most of this might be trivial to those in the fashion industry but new to me.
Interestingly, I kept thinking of parallels between the fashion and software industries, in terms of environmental impact, ethical work conditions and more.
All in all, I actually want to read this again in the future.
Interestingly, I kept thinking of parallels between the fashion and software industries, in terms of environmental impact, ethical work conditions and more.
All in all, I actually want to read this again in the future.
November 16, 2020
Great snippets into the fashion world! Perhaps a bit too much repeat on ecological issues (they could have filled a book of their own!), and some information is outdated now in 2020. Most interesting parts were those that reflected the philosophy on fashion.
Beautiful book, easy to read.
Found a new fav designed, Yohji Yamamoto!
Beautiful book, easy to read.
Found a new fav designed, Yohji Yamamoto!
December 26, 2021
A fantastic book for people who wear clothes but have never thought about it ever in their entire life. If you have already begun considering the environmental, social, and historical significance of fashion, you will not learn anything from this book. I was really hoping this read might challenge me to shop or dress differently, but all its anecdotes are totally uninspired.
March 14, 2024
A collection of thoughts on fashion, that's a great starting point for people beginning to get into fashion or find new topics. With the further reading list being very helpful to continue that journey.
Easy to pick up and read a point or two when I have a few minutes to spare
Easy to pick up and read a point or two when I have a few minutes to spare
December 1, 2019
Informative and fun, I enjoyed every second!
October 28, 2020
the only thing I gained from this book is the fear of buying clothes ever again
February 10, 2022
It has a lot of information, history about the Fashion industry . It also contains general knowledge about todays world in fashion. It contains feminism and supports it with human rights and others.
April 6, 2022
THE BEST GIRLBOSS
February 28, 2024
Interesting book but not what I expected.
August 11, 2024
The author used to be the head of my uni which was cool
October 4, 2018
Well written, with some good points but mostly too introductory
March 20, 2025
Fashion is shallow and frivolous? Wrong. Fashion is actually deep and important—or at least that’s what this book sets out to prove, and honestly, I’m inclined to agree. Corner delivers 101 bite-sized essays on why clothes are more than just fabric: they’re politics, identity, culture, and, occasionally, a form of soft power (or hard power, if you’re wearing a really good suit). Reading this feels like having a conversation with the cool fashion professor—the one who doesn’t just talk about trends but about why they matter. It’s a mix of history, social commentary, and just enough industry critique to make you feel intellectual while flipping through Vogue.
July 7, 2015
Me gusto demasiado. Si bien no profundiza mucho en los temas, si es un buen inicio para reflexionar sobre el alcance que realmente tiene la moda, considerando aspectos políticos, medio ambientales, identitarios, etc. En ese sentido, el libro deja planteadas varias preguntas y viene con una linda bibliografía para seguir investigando al respecto :)
October 20, 2016
For someone that is so worried about fashion's impact on the environment, she really wasted a lot of pages in her book with the creative layout and typography. Otherwise, some interesting thoughts, not entirely what I was expecting but it was a very fast read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews