Fashion History

Fashion History: A Global View proposes a new perspective on fashion history. Arguing that fashion has occurred in cultures beyond the West throughout history, this groundbreaking book explores the geographic places and historical spaces that have been largely neglected by contemporary fashion studies, bringing them together for the first time.Reversing the dominant narrative that privileges Western Europe in the history of dress, Welters and Lillethun adopt a cross-cultural approach to explore a vast array of cultures around the globe. They explore key issues affecting fashion systems, ranging from innovation, production and consumption to identity formation and the effects of colonization. Case studies include the cross-cultural trade of silk textiles in Central Asia, the indigenous dress of the Americas and of Hawai'i, the cosmetics of the Tang Dynasty in China, and stylistic innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. Examining the new lessons that can be deciphered from archaeological findings and theoretical advancements, the book shows that fashion history should be understood as a global phenomenon, originating well before and beyond the fourteenth century European court, which is continually, and erroneously, cited as fashion's birthplace.Providing a fresh framework for fashion history scholarship, Fashion History: A Global View will inspire inclusive dress narratives for students and scholars of fashion, anthropology, and cultural studies.

Provides a comprehensive overview of arguments about non-western dress that prominent fashion scholars have been turning their attention to in contemporary scholarship

List of IllustrationsForeword by Joanne B. EicherAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Europe and the People Without FashionPart I. Understanding Fashion and Its History2. The Lexicon of Fashion3. Fashion Systems4. How We Got HerePart II. Outside the Canon: Alternative Fashion Histories5. Fashion Systems in Prehistory and the Americas6. Fashion Systems and Trade Networks in the Eastern Hemisphere7. Fashion Systems in East, South and Southeast Asia8. Alternative Fashion Histories in Euro-America9. Global Fashion10. ConclusionBibliographyIndex