Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion places philosophical approaches at the heart of contemporary fashion studies. Considering the mutual relationships between aesthetics, modern society and culture, fashion and the fine arts, and the way these relationships have influenced and shaped our views on identity and taste, this ground-breaking book also explores the various intellectual and cultural movements that inform how people dress. In the context of the most recent debates, the leading fashion and philosophy scholars contributing to this volume refer to and apply theories posed by key thinkers of the modern and contemporary age, from Darwin and Wittgenstein to Husserl and Goodman, in order to answer questions such as: What is the essence of fashion and the reasons behind its fascination? What is 'anti-fashion'? What or who do we imitate when we 'follow' fashion? What is fashion criticism and what should it be? Anyone studying or interested in fashion, philosophy or art will find this book a rich source of ideas, insight and information. Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion is a valuable contribution to contemporary fashion theory and aesthetics, one that revitalizes the way we look at the form, purpose and meaning of fashion and aesthetic experience.

Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion places philosophical approaches at the heart of contemporary fashion studies. Considering the mutual relationships between aesthetics, modern society and culture, fashion and the fine arts, and the way these relationships have influenced and shaped our views on identity and taste, this ground-breaking book also explores the various intellectual and cultural movements that inform how people dress. In the context of the most recent debates, the leading fashion and philosophy scholars contributing to this volume refer to and apply theories posed by key thinkers of the modern and contemporary age, from Darwin and Wittgenstein to Husserl and Goodman, in order to answer questions such as: What is the essence of fashion and the reasons behind its fascination? What is 'anti-fashion'? What or who do we imitate when we 'follow' fashion? What is fashion criticism and what should it be? Anyone studying or interested in fashion, philosophy or art will find this book a rich source of ideas, insight and information. Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion is a valuable contribution to contemporary fashion theory and aesthetics, one that revitalizes the way we look at the form, purpose and meaning of fashion and aesthetic experience.

In Germany, 1969, Eugen Fink's Fashion: Seductive Play was published. This first English language edition, updated with an introduction by Stefano Marino and Giovanni Matteucci, makes available Fink's philosophical investigation into fashion to an English-speaking audience. One of the greatest figures in the “phenomenological movement,” Fink here investigates fashion at various philosophical levels - aesthetic, ethical, social - and in relationship to other forms of human culture, especially contemporary culture. Although there have been many transformations and changes in the world of fashion since the late 1960s, from prêt-à-porter to fast fashion, fashion's connection to both high culture and popular culture, and the new relationship between fashion and the advent of social media, Fink's insights allow wide-ranging and far-reaching inquiries into fashion's philosophical essence. Fink's extraordinary lucidity and his unique conceptual capacities have made his work crucial to the study of the philosophy of fashion today. His work, like that of Simmel's, Veblen's or Benjamin's, is as essential and important now as when it was first published.

If you just can't decide what to wear, this enlightening guide will lead you through the diverse and sometimes contradictory aspects of fashion in a series of lively, entertaining and thoughtful essays from prominent philosophers and writers. A unique and enlightening insight into the underlying philosophy behind the power of fashion Contributions address issues in fashion from a variety of viewpoints, including aesthetics, the nature of fashion and fashionability, ethics, gender and identity politics, and design Includes a foreword by Jennifer Baumgardner, feminist author, activist and cultural critic, editor of Ms magazine (1993-7) and regular contributor to major women's magazines including Glamour and Marie-Claire

Lars Svendsen draws upon the writings of thinkers from Adam Smith to Roland Barthes to analyze fashion as both a historical phenomenon and a philosophy of aesthetics.

Fashion | Sense is designed to explode “fashion,” and with it, the stigma in philosophy against fashion's superficiality. Fashion appears to be altogether differently occupied, disingenuous and insubstantial, even sophistic in its pretense to peddle surfaces as if they were something deep. But is fashion's apparent beguilement more philosophical than it seems? And is philosophy's longing for exposed depth concealing fashion in its anti-fashion stance? Using primarily ancient Greek texts, peppered with allusions to their echoes across the history of philosophy and contemporary fashion and pop culture, Gwenda-lin Grewal not only examines the rift between fashion and philosophy, but also challenges the claim that fashion is modern. Indeed, fashion's quarrel with philosophy may be at least as ancient as that infamous quarrel between philosophy and poetry alluded to in Plato's Republic. And the quest for fashion's origins, as if a quest for a neutrally-outfitted self, stripped of the self-awareness that comes with thinking, prompts questions about human agency and our immersion in time. The touch of reality's fabric bristles in our relationship to our looks, not simply through the structure of clothes but in the plot of our wearing them. Meanwhile, the fashion of our words sharpens our meaning like a cutting silhouette. Grewal's own writing is playfully and daringly self-conscious, aware of its style and the entrapment it arouses from the very first line. The reactions provoked by fashion's flair, not only among the philosophical set but also among those who would never deck themselves out in the title, “philosopher,” show it forth as perhaps philosophy's most important and underestimated doppelgänger.

Perfect for readers of Women in Clothes, this beautifully designed philosophical guide to fashion explores art, literature, and film to uncover the hidden meaning of a well-chosen wardrobe. We all get dressed. But how often do we pause to think about what our clothes say? When we dress ourselves, we are presenting to the world an essence of who we are, who we want to be. Dressed ranges freely from suits to suitcases, from Marx's coat to Madame X's gown. Through art and literature, film and philosophy, philosopher Shahidha Bari unveils the surprising personal implications of what we choose to wear. The impeccable cut of Cary Grant's suit projects masculine confidence, just as Madonna's oversized denim jacket and her armful of orange bangles loudly announces big ambition. How others dress tells us something fundamental about them -- we can better understand how people live and what they think through their garments. Clothes tell our stories. Dressed is the thinking person's fashion book. In baring the hidden power of clothes in our culture and our daily lives, Bari reveals how our outfits not only cover our bodies but also reflect our minds.