Fashion Zeitgeist: Trends and Cycles in the Fashion System

by Barbara Vinken, Mark Hewson (Translator)

Although it is appealing to think that fashion has taken a sharp turn away from conventions established in the industry over the past century and more, is this really the case? Or are 'pioneering' designs simply part of a cyclical revival of forgotten fashions? Looking at some of the most influential designers of the twentieth century, Vinken considers the politics and philosophies that have been the driving forces directing their sense of style.Vinken describes 'Fashion Zeitgeist' as a trend characterized by representations of traces of the past. She considers the key concepts behind designers such as Yamamoto, Gaultier, and Lagerfeld. The originality of Yamamoto's multi-layered look stems from his philosophy that it is the individual sum of experience that is important, not the collective consequences of history. Martin Margiela, although he himself refuses to be photographed or appear in the public eye, brings new individuality into fashion. Chanel, under the direction of Karl Lagerfeld, is viewed as the only fashion house to have remained fresh after 100 years, yet is this success essentially proof of the self-referential qualities fashion has adopted? What inspired the fetish for labels at the end of the twentieth century? Answering these questions and many more, this concise and thought-provoking book shows how beauty, gender, sexuality, commerce and dandyism have persisted in defining the fashion system.

Genres: Fashion, Nonfiction, Art

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2005

Reviews

[Benji]

Reading clothes and post-fashion the way one would read a poem for example.

Learning fashion as the subtle play of Geist und Kleid, the erotics of intelligence, is described as

equivalent to learning the art of reading literature.

[Kevin]

how you gon mit cast o paris is burning a ballroom bez jediny zminky o trans women...

[Vashti Braha]

This one I started and put down months ago because I want to read it very closely when I have the chance.

[S]

I want to absorb this, but it's extremely academic and putting me to sleep.