Description
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.
Table of Contents
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
by "Nielsen BookData"
