This research documents the fashioning of Charles Pierce, a prominent female impersonator in the mid-to-late twentieth century. During his career of over forty years, Pierce delivered acclaimed comedic impressions of gay icons such as Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. This paper contextualizes and interprets the development of Pierce’s cross-dressing from tuxedo and a few woman’s fashion accessories

Abstract Despite the potential to support ageing in place, there is still low Assistive Technology (AT) uptake among older adults. Smart Materials (SMs) have the potential to play an important role in AT innovation without detracting from the aesthetic appearance and ease of use. The MATUROLIFE project aims to develop enhanced AT products for older adults by employing smart metallised textiles, through

(2021). Editorial. Fashion Practice: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 189-191.

(2021). Designing Fashion’s Future, Present Practice and Tactics for Sustainable Change. Fashion Practice: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 324-325.

Abstract The aim of this study is to learn what is needed to improve the user’s experience of the purchase and wearing of used clothing from the secondhand marketplace. In South Korea user experiences related to purchase of secondhand clothing have been most positive when related to luxury accessories, such as designer handbags. Few studies explore the experience of South Koreans with other categories

(2021). Editorial Introduction. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 1-3.

(2021). Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice: An Introduction to a Special Edition. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 1-6.

(2021). Gracious Hospitable City. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 1-2.

Abstract This article analyses the oeuvre of the Venetian artist Gigi Bon whose distinctive attitude to her city and the rhinoceros inspired this special issue and the exhibition which preceded it. To enter the Studio d’Arte “Mirabilia” of Gigi Bon is to be introduced to a world of sculptures, prints, and objects of wonder in the tradition of the sixteenth-century Wünderkammer or Cabinet of Curiosities

Abstract In 1741, a Dutch sea captain succeeded in transporting a live female Indian rhino calf from north-east India to his home town of Leiden. Named “Clara,” she was only the fifth Indian rhinoceros to be seen on European soil since the fall of the Roman empire and the only rhinoceros on the continent in the mid-eighteenth century. From 1741 to 1758, Douwemout Van der Meer displayed Clara across

Abstract The Orientalist Museum in Qatar has a small, but important, Meissen porcelain statue of a rhinoceros. This rhino is none other than Clara, the same rhinoceros which toured Venice in 1751, and enjoyed a career spanning some twenty years touring Europe. She became so famous that she was commemorated in art of a variety of media and is represented in the two famous paintings by Pietro Longhi

Abstract In early modern Iberia, rhino horns were widely consumed by high-ranking persons. Rhino horns were often confused with the horns of the legendary unicorn, which were said to be able to transform poison into water with their touch. Consumption of rhino horns is often explained either by their ascribed prophylactic properties or by their use as the symbolic representation items for social manifestation

(2021). The Last Sacrifice: The Potential of a Revived Venetian World. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 105-116.

Abstract Most luxury consumers link rarity to higher status. It may be a luxury car, yacht, haute-couture fashion and accessories, prestige holiday destinations such as Venice, or purchasing “exotic” wildlife products. For some, legal luxury is not enough to fulfil their status need and they take a step into a world of illegal consumption; this is the case for the buyers of rhino horn in Viet Nam.

(2021). The Night the Rhinos Came. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 163-164.

(2021). Luxury and the Ethics of Greed in Early Modern Italy. Luxury: Vol. 8, Special Issue: Luxury’s Fragile Frontier: The Rhinoceros and Venice; Guest Editor: Catherine Kovesi, pp. 165-168.

(2021). Women’s Lives and Clothes in WW2: Ready for Action. Dress. Ahead of Print.

Abstract Fashion in old age has been of increasing interest within various disciplines, including social gerontology and fashion studies. However, there remains a scarcity of research concerning older men’s everyday dress practices. This paper redresses this imbalance through a detailed exploration of the everyday dress practices of a group of three sartorially minded older men. A series of in-depth

(2021). Letter from the Editor. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 593-595.

(2021). Worn: Footwear, Attachment and the Affects of Wear. Fashion Theory. Ahead of Print.

(2021). Fashion and Beauty in the Time of Asia. Dress. Ahead of Print.

(2021). Letter from the Editor. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, I International Cristobal Balenciaga Conference, pp. 451-455.

Abstract Cristóbal Balenciaga is widely recognized as one of the leading twentieth century couturiers. His dynamic designs redefined fashionable silhouettes internationally. This paper will consider the impact of his designs in Britain, focusing upon how London wholesale couturiers copied, adapted and took inspiration from his garments. The majority of London wholesale couturiers’ garments were copied

Abstract Textile converter Garigue (founded in 1947 in London, United Kingdom) and manufacturer Agnona (established in 1953 in Borgosesia, Italy) both became, shortly after their foundation, notable haute couture woolen suppliers. The House of Balenciaga played a crucial role in their success. This paper will analyze the history of these businesses and the marketing strategies they employed in order

Abstract This article takes a new look at Balenciaga: Ein Meister der Haute Couture, the exhibition held at the Museum Bellerive in Zurich from May 31 to August 16, 1970. By exploring the materials preserved in the museum’s archives (now at the Zurich University of the Arts), the study sets out to reconstruct this retrospective dedicated to Cristóbal Balenciaga and to consider its relevance to the

Abstract The Kunstmuseum Den Haag (hereafter KMDH) in the Netherlands holds one of four known La Perse Cristóbal Balenciaga jackets made in 1946. Previously owned by the opera singer Else Rijkens (1898–1953), the bolero-style jacket is richly hand-embroidered and constructed from white satin silk in the front and a contrasting black crepe silk in the back. The jacket has a matching toque, and a black

(2021). Patch Work, a Life Amongst Clothes. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, I International Cristobal Balenciaga Conference, pp. 585-592.

(2021). Correction. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, I International Cristobal Balenciaga Conference, pp. i-i.

Abstract This paper explores the implications of contemporary sharing—a central cultural activity in the twenty-first century related to social media, the shared economy and ways of communication—on fashion. First, it maps the connection between fashion, body and personality. Later, following a theoretical model presented by John, it argues that sharing and fashion are internally connected and that

(2019). Editorial Introduction. Luxury: Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 201-202.

Abstract Setting out from the Simmelian premise that fashion is the site of tension between conformity and distinction, this essay enquires into the element of distinction heightened in minimalist luxury fashion. Minimalist luxury reveals the inherently divisive nature of fashion, putting distance between “us”—the nonchalant, productive, and moral—and “them”—the vulgar, useless, and amoral. Its seeming

Abstract This article offers the reader an encounter with crucial writings on the globalisation of luxury fashion. In so doing, it introduces an original conceptualisation of luxury fashion. The historical meaning of the globalisation of luxury fashion from Roman times up until the present period is examined. The globalisation of Gucci, the Italian luxury fashion brand specialising in leather goods

Abstract The current pandemic is demanding a radical reconceptualization of fashion. In the context of an unprecedented economic decline, the collapse of physical fashion retailing and a fundamental interrogation of previous clothing consumption patterns, can the same be said of haute couture luxury fashion? Taking the current couture season’s promotional films as a starting point, this article discusses

Abstract This paper examines the Japanese crown prince and emperor Hirohito during the 1920s to think more critically about how fashion historians can analyze “western” dress in non-western contexts. In particular, this essay looks at Hirohito’s embrace of new forms of middle-class menswear—particularly sportswear and the lounge suit—to signal fundamental shifts in the relationship between monarch

(2021). Welcome to Vol. 47, No. 1. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. i-ii.

(2021). Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 107-111.

(2021). WOMEN EMPOWERED: Fashions from the Frontline. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 113-117.

(2021). Biki: French Visions for Italian Fashion. Fashion Theory. Ahead of Print.

Abstract Fashionable femininity is a complex discursive terrain. Multiple discourses compete to assert meanings for fashionable femininity and these discourses influence women’s experiences of their bodies. This article focuses upon oppressive and celebratory discourses as two powerful forces within designer fashion boutiques. From philosopher Michel Foucault, I consider how these discourses operate

From 1841 to 1844, the Auburn Prison in New York State, now the Auburn Correctional Facility, was the location of an early experiment in the manufacture of sewing silk, a type of thread used in garment production. Incarcerated men worked in throwing mills to transform cocoons into sewing silk; they reeled, combed, and dyed silk filaments, added twist, and wound the thread onto bobbins. The Auburn Prison

Abstract Kat von D (KvD), a social media influencer, uses her tattooed body, artwork, make-up brand, and narrative via YouTube to convey her lived experiences as a tattooed cis-gendered woman. KvD’s YouTube platform provides valuable data to explore the phenomenon of using social media for self-presentation and online social networking among the group of heavily tattooed women. Informed by Écriture

(2021). Editorial. Fashion Practice: Vol. 13, Fashion and Aging, pp. 1-6.

Abstract Vital Involvement (VI) in older adulthood is a construct that underlies multiple aspects of elder well-being, engagement, activity, and psychosocial health. Designers’ term “active aging” fits well within this construct, and it offers a social-science and developmental scaffolding on which to “hang”/“pin” many elements of designing (e.g., clothing, accessories, objects, spaces, and social

Abstract Women in the United States are often subjected to unrealistic standards of ideal appearance. These ideals are even more extreme in the fashion industry. Because professional women who hold creative positions in the fashion industry are in the business of creating style and beauty, there is a high level of expectation toward them to maintain their dress and appearance at a not explicitly stated

Abstract This research investigated the experiences of women, average age of 72 years with active lifestyles and living in one locale in the USA. Experiences of these 54 women with desired appearances and dressing patterns were determined through a survey and selected follow-up interviews. Keeping an up-to-date appearance was important to these women, as was dressing in a coordinated manner and to

Abstract Older adults are at higher risk for fire-related injuries and deaths than younger people due to their impaired physical and sensory functions. However, current fire-safety products could not satisfy their requirements. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel fire-safety product to help older adults safely evacuate from fire. A multifunctional fire-retardant clothing item was developed

Abstract Functional clothing products for older individuals are plentiful in the consumer market, and they are developing rapidly. However, the evaluation methods used for these products are relatively subjective and lack reliability. In this study, we reviewed some objective and quantitative indicators for evaluating functional clothing products and proposed a new method for evaluating functional

Abstract Unlike previous generations, aging American women continue to be active and to purchase new clothing based upon their expressed needs and values. Based on the literature review and interviews of a cohort of women 50+ years, this group can be considered an underrepresented market in the fashion industry. Through the design of four ensembles, the design process is outlined: techniques, procedures

(2021). Book Review. Fashion Practice: Vol. 13, Fashion and Aging, pp. 185-188.

Abstract Women’s upper body changes with age are categorized and analyzed. The researchers validated shape-related measurement variables, extracted principal components, and classified the shapes of 423 women ages 40–69 using 3 D body scans from the CAESAR database. Shape and posture differences were quantified according to four age groups based on 47 measurements processed into 27 shape-related variables;

(2021). Fashion Theology. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 721-725.

(2021). Letter from the Editor. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 307-309.

(2021). Seamlessness: Making and (Un)Knowing in Fashion Practice. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 447-450.

(2021). On the Uses and Abuses of Benjamin for Thinking about Fashion. Philipp Ekardt on “Benjamin on Fashion”. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, I International Cristobal Balenciaga Conference, pp. 563-583.

Abstract This article examines life writing as a research method to uncover new insights about the interrelationships between beings and place including with fashion and clothing. In it, the practice of using oneself as a site of enquiry is presented as a route to ecological understanding where finite, direct experience builds towards rooted, embodied, plural and relational knowing about how we live

(2021). Clothed in Meaning: Literature, Labor, & Cotton in Nineteenth Century America. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 715-719.

(2021). Letter From the Editor. Fashion Theory: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 153-155.

(2021). Reading Fashion in Art. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 103-105.

(2021). In Memoriam. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 119-120.

(2021). Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion. Dress: Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 99-102.