This is the first anthology of fashion criticism, a growing field that has been too long overlooked. Fashion Criticism aims to redress the balance, claiming a place for writing on fashion alongside other more well-established areas of criticism.
Exploring the history of fashion criticism in the English language, this essential work takes readers from the writing published in avant-garde modernist magazines at the beginning of the twentieth century to the fashion criticism of Robin Givhan—the first fashion critic to win a Pulitzer Prize—and of Judith Thurman, a National Book Award winner. It covers the shift in newspapers from the so-called “women’s pages” to the contemporary style sections, while unearthing the work of cultural critics and writers on fashion including Susan Sontag and Eve Babitz (Vogue), Bebe Moore Campbell (Ebony), Angela Carter (New Statesman) and Hilton Als (New Yorker).
Examining the gender dynamics of the field and its historical association with the feminine, Fashion Criticism demonstrates how fashion has gained ground as a subject of critical analysis, capitalizing on the centrality of dress and clothing in an increasingly visual and digital world. The book argues that fashion criticism occupied a central role in negotiating shifting gender roles as well as shifting understandings of race.
Bringing together two centuries of previously uncollected articles and writings, from Oscar Wilde’s editorials in The Woman’s World to the ground-breaking fashion journalism of the 1980s and today’s proliferation of fashion bloggers, it will be an essential resource for students of fashion studies, media and journalism.
Edited by:
Professor Francesca Granata (Parsons School of Design The New School USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 246mm,
Width: 189mm,
Weight: 528g
ISBN: 9781350058804
ISBN 10: 1350058807
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 15 April 2021
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 PART I Late Nineteenth Century–1960s Introduction to PART I 13 1 Mr. Oscar Wilde on Woman’s Dress Oscar Wilde 17 2 Literary and Other Notes (excerpt) Oscar Wilde 19 3 Philosophic Fashions: Who Fell Asleep on the King’s Highway? Dame Rogue [Louise Norton] 23 4 Philosophic Fashions: Trouser-Talk (excerpt) Dame Rogue [Louise Norton] 27 5 Philosophic Fashions: The Importance of Being Dressed Dame Rogue [Louise Norton] 31 6 Feminine Fashions Lois Long 35 7 Feminine Fashions Lois Long 37 8 Copying a Fancy Name Elizabeth Hawes 39 9 News … News … News … Elizabeth Hawes 45 10 Fashions from Paris: A Suit Story at Balenciaga Eugenia Sheppard 51 11 A Mini for Men? Eugenia Sheppard 53 12 A Campaign Issue—Clothes? Eleni Epstein 55 13 Candidates in a Tie on Fashion’s Slate Eleni Epstein 57 PART II 1970s–1990s Introduction to PART II 61 14 The Wound in the Face Angela Carter 65 15 Feminine Fashions: The Fall Collections II Kennedy Fraser 69 16 Looking with Avedon Susan Sontag 77 17 What Happened to the Afro? Bebe Moore Campbell 81 18 Ralph Lauren’s Achievement Holly Brubach 87 19 In Fashion: Modernism Outmoded Holly Brubach 95 20 Haute Coiffure de Gel Elizabeth Wilson 103 21 Hippie Heaven Eve Babitz 107 22 Calvinism Unclothed Valerie Steele 113 23 Coming Apart Amy Spindler 119 24 The Once and Future Suit Anne Hollander 125 25 Sexualities Anne Hollander 129 26 The Eastern Bloc Lynn Yaeger 133 27 Avant Guardians Lynn Yaeger 137 28 The Only One Hilton Als 139 29 Buying the Fantasy Hilton Als 147 30 Fashion’s Military Fascination: Unsettling, Romantic Esthetic Suzy Menkes 151 PART III Twenty-first Century Introduction to PART III 155 31 Future, Take Note: Raf Simons Was Here Cathy Horyn 159 32 Hussein Chalayan: Nostalgia for the Future Caroline Evans 163 33 The Misfit Judith Thurman 169 34 Dressed to Thrill: Alexander McQueen at the Met Judith Thurman 179 35 Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch (Excerpt) Dwight A. McBride 183 36 The Mystery Man: Margiela, Be Mine Sarah Mower 193 37 All Hail the Leader of the Fashionable World Robin Givhan 197 38 The Revolution Will Be Branded Vetements Anja Aronowsky Cronberg 201 39 Will I Get a Ticket? A Conversation about Life after Vogue with Lucinda Chambers Anja Aronowsky Cronberg 205 40 Trump vs. the Disappearing Tie Vanessa Friedman 209 41 Suket Dhir, Men’s Wear Designer, from Delhi to the World Guy Trebay 213 42 Melania Trump and the Chilling Artifice of Fashion Rhonda Garelick 217 43 Is Wokeness in Fashion Just Another Illusion? Connie Wang 219 Sources and Acknowledgments 222 Index 225
Francesca Granata is Associate Professor of Fashion Studies at Parsons School of Design. She is the author of Experimental Fashion: Performance Art, Carnival and the Grotesque Body, and editor of the non-profit journal Fashion Projects.
Reviews for Fashion Criticism: An Anthology
Seven billion humans on the planet clothe or adorn themselves every day. Yet the subject of dress – it’s language; its influence on the way we express our identities, desires, allegiances, aspirations and (in many cases, our servitude) – has rarely been considered worthy of serious inquiry. This essential anthology of essays on fashion corrects that oversight ... and it does so with exceptional verve and intelligence. * Judith Thurman, The New Yorker * From Oscar Wilde’s musing on corsets to Connie Wang’s discussion of Wokeness, this dazzling compendium of critical fashion writing—with a sweep of over one hundred years—is as fun to read as it is intellectually provocative. * Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, US * [Fashion Criticism: An Anthology] represents a step forward to considering fashion criticism a respected discipline alongside cultural criticism. Moreover, it can be a very useful resource for those who wish to deepen their knowledge on the subject, and it might even help them develop their own critical skills for fashion writing. Eventually, this anthology demonstrates how politics, gender, race, and other socio cultural issues are extremely interconnected with the matters of dress. Fashion criticism can be another way of examining those contexts and enrich the conversation with new, stimulating perspectives. * The Journal of Dress History * Reprints of lesser-known essays (Campbell’s “What Happened to the Afro?”), plus essays that use a variety of approaches, from glamorous description (Long’s “Feminine Fashions”), to social theory (Sontag’s “Looking with Avedon”), make this a solid primer on cultural criticism and fashion journalism. * Library Journal * A welcome anthology of fashion criticism establishing that writing about fashion can be as influential as designing it. Ranging across late nineteenth century gazettes, twentieth century newspapers and twenty-first century posts, it’s a key reference work for reading about how fashion measures up. * Alistair O’Neill, Central Saint Martins, London, UK *
