Introducation to Fashion of the 20th Century

Throughout the course, we will examine the transformations of fashion across the twentieth century, exploring how social, geographical, and political changes shaped the evolution of both women's and men's dress, and how this binary gradually dissolved over time. We will investigate the influence of designers such as Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent on popular culture and modern fashion, discuss the relationship between subcultures such as the Mods and Punk movements and fashion, trace acts of resistance to mainstream fashion through independent designers, and demonstrate how, since the late twentieth century, major fashion corporations have come to dominate the ways in which we consume fashion, trends, and fashion media.