The Book

The hundred years of fashion from the 1860s to the 1970s was a time when a succession of haute couture designers—most notably, Charles Worth, Paul Poiret, Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent—were the arbiters of fashion, and their creations the weapon of choice for power-seeking members of the aristocracy and upper class. Fashioning Society explores the ways in which high-fashion designers and their maisons influenced—and were influenced by—the fine arts as well as sociological, technological, philosophical, and political developments. By addressing the question, "What has happened to high-fashion design?" the author discusses what readers should consider when trying to understand and predict long-term trends.
Instructors, contact your Sales Representative for access to Instructor’s Materials.

Table of Contents

Contents:
Modernity Rising: The Age of Worth
An Empire of Fashion
Revolution in the Air
Into a New Century: Backward, Forward, and Sideways
The Fading of Europe: The American Age Begins
The Ground Shifts
"What a Drag It Is Getting Old"
The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In)
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle
High Fashion and Art
The "End of History"
Millennium Schmillennium
We Are Caught: Trendspotting in the Early Twenty-First Century
Thresholds

About The Authors

Karl Aspelund is based at the University of Rhode Island, USA.