London

by O'Neill, Alistair

• ISBN13: 9781861893154
• ISBN10: 1861893159
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-15
• Publisher: Reaktion Books

Summary

London Fashion Week is the pinnacle of the fashion season, and it features an array of native designers, from Burberry to Vivenne Westwood to Alexander McQueen and Nicole Farhi. The roots of London's place as the international epicenter of haute couture and pret-a-porter stretch back centuries, and they are explored here by Alistair O'Neill. Arguing that fashion was central to the impact of modernity in late nineteenth- and twentieth-century London, O'Neill maps the progress of fashion against the city's neighborhoods and streets. Carnaby Street, Soho, Jermyn Street, and King's Road each get their turn inLondon, along with many others, revealing the intersection between London's urban history and the development of fashion. O'Neill's analysis is not merely confined to clothingfrom the popularity of tattooing in the 1890s to the diverse uses of chintz in the 1980s design aesthetic, he traces the history of fashion in its various manifestations and explores how particular figures were key to disseminating fashion throughout British and international cultures. Participating in fashion,Londonshows, was not only a pleasurable aspect of modern urban life, but also a fundamental element of contemporary cultural sensibilities.Londonunearths vital moments of revolution in fashion that reflect deeper changes in London's history and culture, contending that these historic changes are unfairly marginalized in accounts of transformation in the city's culture. A fascinating look at fashion and urbanism,Londonoffers an intriguing reconsideration of the role of fashion in city life and fills in long overlooked gaps in the social history of London and modern design.

Author Biography

Alistair O’Neill is a senior research fellow and lecturer in cultural and historical studies at the London College of Fashion in the University of Arts, London. As a curator, his recent projects include Fashion Lives at the British Library in London.
 
 

Table of Contents

Introduction

References

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

Photo Acknowledgements

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.