Fashion Theory: A Reader

by Malcolm Barnard

From its beginnings in the fifteenth century, intensified interest in fashion and the study of fashion over the last thirty years has led to a vast and varied literature on the subject. This collection of essays surveys and contextualizes the ways in which a wide range of disciplines have used a variety of theoretical approaches to explain, and sometimes to explain away, the astonishing variety, complexity and beauty of fashion. Themes covered include individual, social and gender identity, the erotic, consumption and communication. By collecting together some of the most influential and important writers on fashion and exposing the ideas and theories behind what they say, this unique collection of extracts and essays brings to light the presuppositions involved in the things we think and say about fashion.

Genres: Fashion, Art, Nonfiction, Theory

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Malcolm Barnard is Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at Loughborough University and an internationally recognized theorist of visual culture. He has degrees in philosophy and in sociology and his PhD concerned Derrida and other French philosophers.

Reviews

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prof Higonnet gets it

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

heavy on "exhaustive" read

[Kateřina Musilová · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Reader" je všeobecně dobře udělaný a zpracovaný koncept antologií, jejichž autoři jsou v dané oblasti zběhlí a sami se jí dlouho věnují. Ukázky z jednotlivých děl jsou dobře vybrané a slouží jako dobrý úvod do problematiky. Pokud si člověk neví rady, odkud čerpat při analýze určitého problému z oblasti společenských věd, tyto knihy jsou inteligentním pomocníkem.

[Cauchy09 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some dated excerpts from interesting writings on fashion theory from design, social and cultural perspectives. It's a good taste of many things that refers one on to the canon. Contrasts with current trends are fun to identify and speculate on.