Chic Thrills: A Fashion Reader

This collection of essays goes beyond the history of fashion to reveal the underlying financial and political forces that shape it, showing how fashion relates to the economic realities and motivations of those who create what we buy and wear. The contributors address key issues in fashion theory and practice, including fashion photography and the media representation of fashion, ecological concerns versus the livelihood of impoverished communities, the evolution of haute couture in relation to street fashion and retail, the politics of dress, and the relationship of black designers and non-European cultures to western fashion. Extensive illustrations and black and white photographs offer visual accompaniment for the trends and issues discussed.