Dress, Fashion and Technology

Technology has been an essential factor in the production of dress and the cultures of fashion throughout human history. Structured chronologically from prehistory to the present day, this is the first broad study of the complex relationship between dress and technology.Over the course of human history, dress-making and fashion technology has changed beyond recognition: from needles and human hands in the ancient world to complex 20th-century textile production machines, it has now come to include the technologies that influence dress styles and the fashion industry, while fashion itself may drive aspects of technology. In the last century, new technologies such as the electronic media and high-tech manufacturing have helped not just to produce but to define fashion: the creation of automobiles prompted a decline in long skirts for women while the beginnings of space travel caused people to radically rethink the function of dress. In many ways, technology has itself created avant garde and contemporary fashions.Through an impressive range of international case studies, the book challenges the perception that fashion is unique to western dress and outlines the many ways in which dress and technology intersect. Dress, Fashion and Technology is ideal reading for students and scholars of fashion studies, textile history, anthropology and cultural studies.

“"Most books on the history of fashion present dress as the dependent variable, the passive beneficiary of technological change. Tortora instead makes a convincing case for fashion being the driving force that has stimulated technology and propelled it forward. This book will become a classic and essential text for teaching the history of fashion." -- Kathleen E. Campbell, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA " Technology as a means of controlling nature is not the focus here. Rather, the author highlights the use of technology in social mass communication of fashion, resulting in power acquisition. This new approach to clothing history is particularly meaningful for 21st-century scholars and students who are surrounded by constant technological changes, experimentation, and globalization. Tortora, a seasoned scholar in her own clothing and textile field, draws from specialists in other disciplines to interpret and successfully 'weave' a broad narrative that is broken into short sections of text and embellished by selected illustrations that represent the results of the underpinning technologies. With her many insights, Tortora opens potential directions for future interdisciplinary research within the arts and sciences. Summing Up : Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." -B. B. Chico, Regis University, CHOICE "This book can be a very strong resource for both the textiles and the historic costume professor who wants to add depth to their classes. This book is also written in a manner that can speak to the person who is simply interested in historic costume. The book is easily readable for a topic that takes a strong 'behind the scenes' look at the integral forces that shaped fashion development beyond the Zeitgeist that we typically study in a fashion curriculum." - Fashion, Society & Popular Culture”

Most books on the history of fashion present dress as the dependent variable, the passive beneficiary of technological change. Tortora instead makes a convincing case for fashion being the driving force that has stimulated technology and propelled it forward. This book will become a classic and essential text for teaching the history of fashion. Kathleen E. Campbell, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
Tortora’s ambitious study examines the technological tools and processes involved in creating clothing and textiles. [...] Using exemplary case studies from throughout the centuries, Dress, Fashion and Technology will serve as an exceptional resource and textbook, particularly for students studying the history of dress. Dress: The Journal of the Costume Society of America

Phyllis G. Tortora is Professor Emerita at Queens College, The City University of New York, USA.

Technology has been an essential factor in the production of dress and the cultures of fashion throughout human history. Structured chronologically from pre-history to the present day, this is the first broad study of the complex relationship between dress and technology...Over the course of human history, dress-making and fashion technology has changed beyond recognition: from needles and human hands in the ancient world to complex 20th century textile production machines, it has now come to include the technologies that influence dress styles and the fashion industry, while fashion itself may drive aspects of technology. In the last century, new technologies, such as the electronic media and high tech manufacturing have helped not just to produce but to define fashion: the creation of automobiles prompted a decline in long skirts for women while the beginnings of space travel caused people to radically rethink the function of dress. In many ways, technology has itself created avant garde and contemporary fashions...Through an impressive range of international case studies, the book challenges the perception that fashion is unique to western dress and outlines the many ways in which dress and technology intersect. Dress, Fashion and Technology is ideal reading for students and scholars of fashion studies, textile history, anthropology and cultural studies.

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