Most women’s swimwear leaves something to be desired for those lumped into its targeted audience. These kinds of exclusions are important because they tell us something about what a “woman” is imagined — maybe even “supposed” — to be.
All tagged Fashion History
Carlo Casini: We Invented Bell Bottoms
“You know what we did one time? I can’t believe it… we invented bell-bottoms,” the innkeeper admitted, shaking his head and laughing. It was startling to hear, even from Carlo Casini, a natural raconteur with a long career as a serial entrepreneur in the storied Monte Argentario peninsula of Tuscany.
The Life and Work of Ruby Bailey, Zelda Wynn Valdes, and Ann Lowe
Ruby Bailey, Zelda Wynn Valdes, and Ann Lowe were three very different designers, united by their experiences as black female designers in mid-century New York City. Despite their differing design aesthetics, they faced the same racial and gender discrimination in their efforts to make names for themselves as designers in a burgeoning fashion capital.
Tailoring Cultural Change in the 1960s: Pierre Cardin’s Cylinder Suit Jacket
Though the Cylinder suit jacket itself saw limited sales, Cardin used it to set a mass market template that allowed him to incorporate influences from outside the fashion capitals. Democratizing fashion in this way reinvigorated the menswear industry through the ideas it communicated: new-look masculinity, cultural inclusivity, and a massive generational shift.