Fashion as Communication [Paperback]

Malcolm Barnard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0415260183 | ISBN-13: 978-0415260183 | Edition: 2

What kinds of things do fashion and clothing say about us? What does it mean to wear Gap or Gaultier, Milletts or Moschino? Are there any real differences between Hip-Hop style and Punk anti-styles? In this fully revised and updated edition, Malcolm Barnard introduces fashion and clothing as ways of communicating and challenging class, gender, sexual and social identities.
Drawing on a range of theoretical approaches from Barthes and Baudrillard to Marxist, psychoanalytic and feminist theory, Barnard addresses the ambivalent status of fashion in contemporary culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'One of the best compact intros to this fascinating topic.' - i-D Magazine

About the Author

Malcolm Barnard is at the School of Art and Design at the University of Derby. He is also the author of Art, Design, and Visual Culture (1998).

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (October 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415260183
• ISBN-13: 978-0415260183
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Primer on Fashion Theory, July 29, 2011

By 

R.S. Covolo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fashion As Communication (Paperback)

Malcolm Barnard is one of the leading fashion theorists alive today. His expertise in the literature (see his reader Fashion Theory: A Reader (Routledge Student Readers) and his forthcoming Four volume Fashion (Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies) by the same publisher) is matched with this very concise and important survey of fashion theory utilizing the lens of communication. Malcolm is one of the few fashion theorists publishing these days who has the philosophical tools to think through semiotic theory. His chapter on fashion clothing and postmodernity is worth the price of the book. I've read tens of books on fashion theory, but keep returning to this clear and concise summary of so many essential themes. No wonder it is in the second edition! If you are looking for costume history with lots of examples of clothing styles and anecdotes, this book is not for you. But if you are interested in one of the best primers on fashion theory in print today, this is your book.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No communitcation!, February 11, 2011

By 

ToughCustomer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fashion as Communication (Paperback)

This book, with such an important and wonderful premise, says very little.

I had purchased this book thinking it would be a marvelous introduction book for costume design students to help them understand the communication power of clothing and fashion.

But the author ultimately makes no real independent observations or helps to make sense of the numerous references provided by past historians.

He introduces every topic (nearly every two pages) by stating "We just discussed x and we will now discuss y" and yet one marvels at what little was in fact actually said.

He also spends an inordinate amount of time defending fashion as "important" by ridiculously comparing it to things like medicine yet he utilizes no clear examples or "proof" of the actual import of fashion to support his claims at any level - not even pertaining to the title of communication.

This was quite frustrating and disappointed and an extremely boring read.