History and Documentation of Fashion

The course aims to provide students with the necessary tools to develop a critical thought about the changes that have occurred in the Contemporary Fashion System, along with the processes and major social, economic, political, cultural, and identity transformations between the end of the eighteenth century and the early twenty-first century. In particular, understanding of the discipline will be supported by the comparisons between: fashion and production, market, consumption, communication, and globalisation; fashion and politics; fashion and show business, entertainment, cinema, and music; fashion and the construction of gender and identities, including biopolitical practices of disciplining the body, from the diffusion of the bust to the popularisation of cosmetic surgery. Further details will be provided on the Ariel platform.

At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the evolution of the Contemporary Fashion System in relation to the main social, economic, political, and cultural transformations of the period investigated. Therefore, students will be able to understand the complex dynamics related to these issues and to shape personal judgements on course topics, using a specific and correct lexicon, appropriate to the discipline. Students will also be able to read and critically reflect on the fashion historiographical works, and use the main research and source analysis tools. These specialised skills will be acquired through a continuous and direct lecturer led discussion, insofar as, during the lessons, the debate on the proposed sources will be not only a moment for collective critical reflection, but also a tool for methodological learning.