Fashion history: Couture today, fast fashion tomorrow, superfakes the day after

Lady Di made history with her “Revenge Dress”. She wore it the evening an interview with her husband Charles about his infidelity was broadcast on British television.

Photo: Anwar Hussein/Avalon

The last century was a chaotic and innovative one in fashion (and in every other way too): it was the century of designers and mass production. Haute couture was first founded in Paris by the British tailor Charles Frederick Worth, who signed his creations like works of art; Then the idea of ​​prêt-à-porter became established – collections that were no longer made to measure, but were made ready to wear and in large quantities. At the beginning of the 20th century, the corset was abolished; Women began to wear shorter, black dresses and even trousers. For men, the tuxedo replaced the tailcoat, which, not unlike the corset, seems almost forgotten today.

Textile Texte

Fashion and desperation: This summer the nd feature section is dealing with trousers, shirts, hats and everything else that belongs to the style.

After the Second World War, Western fashion became more democratic and comfortable: men and women wore T-shirts, jeans, sweaters and even shorts in summer; Sneakers also became suitable for public use. The invention of nylon and polyester enabled the production of tights and sportswear such as leggings. The Sexual Revolution normalized the wearing of bikinis, miniskirts and over-the-knee boots for women, but cross-dressing didn’t take long either. Through cinema, television, photography and magazines, fashion became an omnipresent part of society. Who doesn’t know the legendary dresses of the last century like Marilyn Monroe’s “Naked Dress” or Lady Di’s “Revenge Dress”? Fashion is not only a reflection of social development, it also gives historical events a stylish cover.

The 21st century is at a crossroads in terms of fashion. On the one hand, the fashion industry is constantly in the negative headlines: responsible for a full ten percent of global C02 emissions, notorious for precarious working conditions and exploitation of its employees and criticized for a constant decline in quality. The latter applies not only to low-cost companies, but also to large design houses like Chanel. The fashion company has increased the price of its famous “Flap Bag” by over 5,000 euros within a few years; However, the gilding of the buckle and handles on the bag was abolished.

On the other hand, fashion has more fans than ever before. Rising global prosperity means that in many places young working women can own just as many clothes and pieces of jewelry as noble ladies-in-waiting once did. While a few decades ago luxury items were only available to a small circle, today teenagers from all over the world wear Hermès belts and Prada backpacks. You don’t even have to be wealthy to own designer goods anymore: many people get into debt in the name of fashion and become addicted to shopping; This also damages the reputation of the industry, but does not change its pull.

The noughties gave us fashion blogs; From then on, the so-called street style dictated the trends and made fashion journalists fear for their position (they still have their jobs, but some influencers are now sitting further up the front of the fashion shows). Thanks to the Internet, people in all situations have access to in-depth knowledge of fashion history that was previously only available to a few experts: artistic influences on collections are discussed on social media, authentication is carried out and price comparisons are made. Fashion seems more tangible than ever, it is part of our personality and inevitably linked to our well-being.

But it’s not just fashion tastes that are shaped online; the need for more and more clothing is also fueled by social media channels, which has led to the rise of fast fashion chains such as Zara, H&M, Primark and Forever 21 in recent decades. Since not every consumer can afford designer items, or at least not on a monthly basis, as fashion influencers demonstrate, fast fashion chains have invented so-called dupes: legal quasi-copies of expensive accessories and prints such as the Hermès Oran sandals or the famous Missoni zigzag pattern, which look authentic at first glance. But the fake craze has recently gone even further: “superfakes”, no longer legal copies of expensive designer bags such as the Birkin Bag (which can cost at least 10,000 and sometimes even 450,000 US dollars), mostly made in Asia, are self-proclaimed Prices of luxury goods rise and are supposedly indistinguishable from the original. These goods are reminiscent of lab diamonds, which are also trendy right now – but unlike them, the dupes are neither humane nor environmentally friendly.

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This excessive and logo-obsessed consumption in turn gives rise to anti-trends such as minimalism, the “capsule wardrobe” (a wardrobe limited to very few items of clothing; the rest are probably disposed of in a more or less environmentally friendly way), and the restriction to second-hand shopping (a decision that only applies to people from big cities and with one size fits all). The desire for sustainability and the return to quality and tailoring are very legitimate. But actually they are just as much a trend created by influencers as the currently popular oversize blazer.

You simply can’t escape the pull of the fashion industry, no matter how much you try to stay away from it. The fashion industry is basically like the food industry: we need clothes to live – and like the gourmets who want to enjoy their food, we fashion lovers want to feel beautiful and elegant. Very few of us have the moral high ground to become vegan – or minimalist.

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