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Roland Barthes was one of the most widely influential thinkers of the 20th Century and his immensely popular and readable writings have covered topics ranging from wrestling to photography. The semiotic power of fashion and clothing were of perennial interest to Barthes and The Language of Fashion - now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series - collects some of his most important writings on these topics. Barthes' essays here range from the history of clothing to the cultural importance of Coco Chanel, from Hippy style in Morocco to the figure of the dandy, from colour in fashion to the power of jewellery. Barthes' acute analysis and constant questioning make this book an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the cultural power of fashion.
Preface
I. Clothing History
1. History and Sociology of Clothing: Some Methodological Observations
2. Language andClothing
3. Towards a Sociology of Dress
II. Systems and Structures
4. 'Blue is In Fashion This Year': A Note on Research into Signifying Units in Fashion Clothing
5. From Gemstones to Jewellery
6. Dandyism and Fashion
7. [An Early Preface to] The Fashion System
8. Fashion, a Strategy of Desire: Round-table Discussion with Roland Barthes, Jean Duvignaud and Henri Lefebvre
9. Fashion and the Social Sciences(interview)
10. On The Fashion System
III.Fashion Debates and Interpretations
11. The Contest Between Chanel andCourreges, Refereed by a Philosopher
12. A Case of Cultural Criticism
13.Showing How Rhetoric Works
Afterword: Clothes, Fashion and System in the Writings of Roland Barthes: 'Something Out of Nothing', Andy Stafford
Editor's Note and Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Glossary of Names
Index.
Description
Roland Barthes was one of the most widely influential thinkers of the 20th Century and his immensely popular and readable writings have covered topics ranging from wrestling to photography. The semiotic power of fashion and clothing were of perennial interest to Barthes and The Language of Fashion - now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series - collects some of his most important writings on these topics. Barthes' essays here range from the history of clothing to the cultural importance of Coco Chanel, from Hippy style in Morocco to the figure of the dandy, from colour in fashion to the power of jewellery. Barthes' acute analysis and constant questioning make this book an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the cultural power of fashion.
