Fashion and Class

<p>In what ways do changing notions of social class correspond with key developments in the history of fashion? Focusing on examples ranging from 18th-century Britain to aspects of the global fashion industry in the early 21st century <i>Fashion and Class </i>examines the meaning and evolution of the term 'class' from its Marxist origins to modern day interpretations. Did industrialisation technological change and developments in fashion retailing bring about a degree of 'class levelling' or in fact intensify class antagonism? And to what extent does modern mass consumption and cheap labour revive some of the ethical issues faced in 19th-century British textile factories? <p/> Exploring a variety of case studies that examine the changing relationships between fashion and class in different historical contexts from the French revolutionaries of the 1780-90s through to the changing relationships between couture designer and high-street fashion in the mid-20th century and onwards <i>Fashion and Class</i> is essential reading for those wishing to understand the ways in which the fashion system is closely connected with ideas of class.</p>