Fashion: The Twentieth Century

by François Baudot

Originally published in 1999 and now fully revised and updated, Fashion is a photographic celebration that surveys all the preeminent couturiers and fashion houses from the era before the Great War through the revolutionary changes wrought by the Jazz Age and the Swinging Sixties to designers at work today. Everything is included in this authoritative volume, from Chanel's little black dress to the latest Prada or envelope-pushing boutiques.What distinguishes Fashion from other overviews or histories of the subject is that it also examines the ancillary driving forces that have propelled fashion trends and fuelled the rise of styles. In many ways, this book makes clear that these supposedly secondary influences (fashion editors, advertising, newspapers, magazines, department stores, boutiques) became increasingly important during the course of the twentieth century. Included in the book are overviews of key figures in the fashion industry and design community.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Reference

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

François Baudot was a French journalist and author of several books on decorative art and fashion.

Reviews

[Susan Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good general overview of all the Who's Who in fashion history. It doesn't go into much detail into history and biographies of each designer because this is a general overview book. Each major designer gets a small paragraph only. I've read this book for the photographs. A large amount of 1960s+ is covered for over half the book. I've learned a lot of names of obscure fashion designers in the 1960s and beyond.

[Maria Raquel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rápido mas completo guia da moda europeia e estadunidense do século XX

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, specially for aspiring fashion designers with ADD like me because it is mostly pictures! Dont get me wrong it's full of info, but it's condensed. If you are a broke aspiring fashion designer, you should own this book yesterday, because you can find it for very low prices, I bought mine for $1 on amazon. Its perfect for when you are out of ideas; just open it up in a random page, go back to a decade and unblock your brain. Most inside it is from the 30's-60's period and 90's, a bit of 70's but not much 80's.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite fashion history read thus far.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short introductory history of high fashion in the 20th century. Very much recommended to anyone looking for a way to understand the history behind this month's Vogue or BlackBook.