I constantly get DM’d asking for Fashion Theory recs, so I made a short thread 🫡 
Fashion education is still very much inside baseball, so if there’s any way I can flatten that knowledge gap for you, LMK. You can absolutely learn all this stuff for free — it’s out there if you look for it (or if you DM me, hint hint) 👀
Anyways, in no particular order:
Anyways, in no particular order:
001 | “THE FASHION SYSTEM,” Roland Barthes (1967)
If you’re going to read one thing on this list, read this one. Barthes digs into semiotics; fashion as a visual language; and the fashion magazine as a kind of art object. Impenetrable language, though, but that’s all of Barthes.
If you’re going to read one thing on this list, read this one. Barthes digs into semiotics; fashion as a visual language; and the fashion magazine as a kind of art object. Impenetrable language, though, but that’s all of Barthes.
002 | “THINKING THROUGH FASHION: A GUIDE TO KEY THEORISTS,” Agnès Rocamora and Anneke Smelik (2016)
Good overview of fashion-as-theory in general, with selected writings from Marx, Foucault, Derrida, etc. (and does an excellent job marrying those writings with runway visuals).
Good overview of fashion-as-theory in general, with selected writings from Marx, Foucault, Derrida, etc. (and does an excellent job marrying those writings with runway visuals).
003 | “WHO IS THE CELEBRITY ENDORSER?,” Grant McCracken (1989)
Why do we need Kendall Jenner to sell us Pepsi? Will Lady Gaga doing migraine commercials convince us to switch prescriptions? Not entirely about fashion, but you should know about McCracken’s Meaning Transfer Model.
Why do we need Kendall Jenner to sell us Pepsi? Will Lady Gaga doing migraine commercials convince us to switch prescriptions? Not entirely about fashion, but you should know about McCracken’s Meaning Transfer Model.
004 | “FASHIONING IDENTITY: STATUS AMBIVALENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FASHION,” Maria MacKinney-Valentin (2017)
Explorations of normcore, fashion-as-seduction, blue-collar chic, + if there’s any kind of “right” zeitgeist. Plays off of Fred Davis’ book “Fashion, Culture, and Identity."
Explorations of normcore, fashion-as-seduction, blue-collar chic, + if there’s any kind of “right” zeitgeist. Plays off of Fred Davis’ book “Fashion, Culture, and Identity."
005 | “DIFFUSION MODELS AND FASHION: A REASSESSMENT,” Diana Crane (1999)
I ♡ everything Diana Crane touches but this is one of the best. Examines how Paris created (and destroyed) top-down fashion diffusion, and how luxury fashion doesn’t actually mirror bourgeois tastes.
I ♡ everything Diana Crane touches but this is one of the best. Examines how Paris created (and destroyed) top-down fashion diffusion, and how luxury fashion doesn’t actually mirror bourgeois tastes.
006 | “FASHION,” Georg Simmel (1904)
Despite it being (almost) 120 years old this essay is STILL essential to any popular understanding of fashion and political power — from Simmel’s view of the practice as imitation, to social equalization, to a method of class distinction.
Despite it being (almost) 120 years old this essay is STILL essential to any popular understanding of fashion and political power — from Simmel’s view of the practice as imitation, to social equalization, to a method of class distinction.
007 | “REVISITING THE GAZE: THE FASHIONED BODY AND THE POLITICS OF LOOKING,” Morna Laing and Jacki Wilson (2020)
Divisive, but some lovely chapters in here on fashion in post-revolutionary Iran, boudoir photography, etc.
Divisive, but some lovely chapters in here on fashion in post-revolutionary Iran, boudoir photography, etc.
008 | “THE EMERGENCE OF TRENDSETTERS FOR FASHIONS AND FADS,” Tadashi Suzuki and Joel Best (2003)
Explores the Kogaru subculture (stylish high-school girls) in 1990s Japan — as well as the consequences of ephemeral fashion objects and desirability as a commercial selling point.
Explores the Kogaru subculture (stylish high-school girls) in 1990s Japan — as well as the consequences of ephemeral fashion objects and desirability as a commercial selling point.
009 | “FASHION: A PHILOSOPHY,” Lars Svendsen (2004)
Very refreshing to read philosophical considerations around fashion that don’t punch down. I come back to this one a lot, especially Svendsen’s writing on *taste* as a central concept in the formation of identity.
Very refreshing to read philosophical considerations around fashion that don’t punch down. I come back to this one a lot, especially Svendsen’s writing on *taste* as a central concept in the formation of identity.
010 | “FASHION AND THE FLESHY BODY: DRESS AS EMBODIED PRACTICE,” Joanne Entwistle (2000)
JOANNE! THE WOMAN IN QUESTION! She rules so hard actually. So much fantastic writing here, especially her ideas on modesty, sexuality, + the misogynistic underpinnings of office dress codes.
JOANNE! THE WOMAN IN QUESTION! She rules so hard actually. So much fantastic writing here, especially her ideas on modesty, sexuality, + the misogynistic underpinnings of office dress codes.
011 | “FASHION VICTIMS: ON THE INDIVIDUALIZING AND DE-INDIVIDUALIZING POWERS OF FASHION,” Bjørn Schiermer (2010)
Excellent reading on the advent of the “fashion victim” and the garment as an inherently powerful force — one that can incarnate the loss of individual autonomy.
Excellent reading on the advent of the “fashion victim” and the garment as an inherently powerful force — one that can incarnate the loss of individual autonomy.
012 | “FASHION THEORY: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK,” George B. Sproles (1974)
More into the mechanics of the fashion process, a la McCracken — and defines fashion behavior as a unique tentpole of consumer behavior writ large. Short and sweet.
More into the mechanics of the fashion process, a la McCracken — and defines fashion behavior as a unique tentpole of consumer behavior writ large. Short and sweet.
013 | “ENCLOTHED COGNITION,” Hajo Adam, Adam D. Galinsky (2012)
A very cool study in here on the mental effects of non-doctors donning lab coats and how their personalities changed.
A very cool study in here on the mental effects of non-doctors donning lab coats and how their personalities changed.
014 | “FASHION: THE GAME OF SOCIAL MEANING AS THE CYNICAL STRATEGY OF CONSUMPTION,” Valeriya V. Petrenko (2015)
What has fashion consciousness to do with transformation? How does fashion force our hands and seduce as as consumers? I think about this piece 24/7.
What has fashion consciousness to do with transformation? How does fashion force our hands and seduce as as consumers? I think about this piece 24/7.
015 | “ADORNED IN DREAMS: FASHION AND MODERNITY,” Elizabeth Wilson (1985)
Can’t begin to describe how wonderful this is! But if you read anything, you should read Wilson’s chapter on fashion and eroticism — from fashion-as-fetishism to corsetry to pornography.
Can’t begin to describe how wonderful this is! But if you read anything, you should read Wilson’s chapter on fashion and eroticism — from fashion-as-fetishism to corsetry to pornography.
016 | “TOWARD FORMALIZING FASHION THEORY,” Christopher Miller, Shelby McIntyre, Murali Mantrala (1993)
Fashion theory etc but the best part of this is on preference selection — how do we attach symbolic meanings to styles and use those meanings, however subconsciously, to dress?
Fashion theory etc but the best part of this is on preference selection — how do we attach symbolic meanings to styles and use those meanings, however subconsciously, to dress?
I could’ve listed a billion more but this feels like a good starter pack for anyone even vaguely interested in fashion theory. I also write about theory at @HALOSCOPEMAG, so subscribe to our mailing list <3
haloscope.org
haloscope.org
tagging everyone interested btw: @molllyelizabeth @pacino_girl @calmdagarcons @jzs2004 @chloesposts @apron_dress 🤧
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