Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. VOLUME 1: Academic Dress to Eyeglasses

Description

Thomson Gale, 2005. — 457 p.The Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion contains 640 essays ranging from specific topicssuch as African Textiles and Zoot Suit to conceptual articles such as Globalizationand Music and Fashion, the latter cross-referenced to related entries such asHip-Hop Fashion. Naturally, we have tried to include all of the topics that readerswould expect to find, including essays on specific fashion designers: Christian Dior, CocoChanel, Yves St. Laurent, and dozens more. But these essays are neither hagiographies ofgreat artists nor potted biographies of successful businesspeople. Of the hundreds ofpossible candidates for inclusion, we have concentrated on those who made a lasting contributionto the arts of fashion and to fashion culture; each designer’s work is not onlydescribed in detail but also analyzed with reference to its social and cultural context. Readersinterested in, say, Dior can also find related essays on topics such as the New Lookand Paris Fashion. Of course, fashion is a part of most people’s lives, not only becausethey wear clothes, but also because they constantly consume images of fashion. This encyclopediaaddresses the subject of fashion across the media, with essays on Fashion Photography(and on individual photographers such as Richard Avedon, Guy Bourdin, andHelmut Newton), Caricature and Fashion, and Film and Fashion. The encyclopediaalso includes unexpected topics, such as Cross-dressing, Footbinding, and Supermodels.There is even an essay on The Future of Fashion. Because the productionand marketing of textiles, clothing, and accessories is an integral part of the fashion system,the encyclopedia includes a wide range of essays on such topics as Techno-textiles,Sweatshops, Fashion Magazines, and Department Stores.