Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
Praise for Roland Barthes:
"One is able to hear the voice of a sensitive and sensible critic who was alive to the symbolic vitality of the world."--New York Times
"A wily observer of 'naturalness' and the 'falsely obvious.' A vivid polemicist, Barthes has something too of the classic artistry of Montaigne. Indeed, unlike most structuralists he is a pleasure to read."--New York Review of Books
"..the great student of signs"--Edmund White
"One of the great public teachers of our time, someone who thought out, argued for, and made available several steps in a penetrating reflection on language sign systems, texts and what they have to tell us about the concept of being human. His work is always partial, passionate underneath its cool, and preliminary, ready to be superseded or contradicted, yet its pedagogical power is durable."--Peter Brooks, Yale University"[T]he content is most useful alongside Barthes's other works (particularlyThe Fashion System ) and will be practical to anyone needing further resources on Barthes. Recommended for academic libraries only." - Jason Moore, Madison City Library System, MS
Synopsis
Roland Barthes, widely regarded as one of the most perceptive critics of the twentieth century, was particularly fascinated by fashion and clothing. This collection brings together all of Barthes' untranslated writings on fashion, revealing the breadth and insight of Barthes' long engagement with the history of clothes. The essays range from an analysis of the significance of gemstones and jewelry, to an exploration of Courrèges and Chanel, to a discussion of of hippy style in Morocco, and the role of color in fashion.
Synopsis
Roland Barthes, widely regarded as one of the most subtle and perceptive critics of the 20th Century, was particularly fascinated by fashion and clothing. The Language of Fashion brings together all Barthes' untranslated writings on fashion.The Language of Fashion presents a set of remarkable essays, revealing the breadth and insight of Barthes' long engagement with the history of clothes. The essays range from closely argued essays laying down the foundations for a structural and semiological analysis of clothing to a critical analysis of the significance of gemstones and jewellery, from an exploration of how the contrasting styles of Courrges and Chanel replayed the clash between ancient and modern to a discussion of the meaning of hippy style in Morocco, and from the nature of desire to the role of the dandy and colour in fashion.Constantly questioning, always changing, Barthes' ideas about clothes and fashion remain to provoke another generation of readers seeking to understand not only the culture of fashion but the fashion of culture.
About the Author
Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was a French cultural and literary critic, whose clever and lyrical writings on semiotics made structuralism one of the leading movements of the twentieth century. Barthes had a cult following and published seventeen books.
Table of Contents
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.