History of Fashion

Fashion and History
Copyright © AFP / Harlingue / Collection Roger-Viollet

Fashion to me is identity. It’s who you are, your personality, your creativity – you as an individual. It can show status, occupation or gender and can be mixed, reused or restyled. Not everybody may like fashion, or be interested in it, but awkward for some, everyone is involved.

With styles changing constantly, the latest trends are small compared to the history of fashion. We wear what we wear today because of what happened before. The last decade has revisited the past eras to inspire and arouse a nostalgic style that’s enabled a savvy dressed world. Without fashions history designers wouldn’t be creating the clothes we have now. It’s important to understand why we dress how we do, sometimes regrettable or with a sartorial elegance, because it all bases back down to our fashion history.

Culture, artists, musicians and politics have all inspired the way we dress. Fashion history is about all of it, not just the clothes. The people and events that influenced fashion are just as important as the actual clothes.

Visit our History of Fashion Decades: