How Fashion Works: Couture, Ready–to–Wear and Mass Production

Fashion deals with a world of illusion on the one hand and a hard–bitten, multifaceted and multi–billion pound industry on the other. This stimulating book clarifies how fashion operates on all its levels: the mystery of haute couture is explained, the complexities of ready to wear are simplified, and the power of mass production assessed and evaluated. Fashion terms, their use and meaning are explained in plain words and the complicated stages of design, manufacture and distribution are described in detail. Also included are sections on bespoke tailoring, wholesale menswear, dressmaking, millinery and accessories, the fashion calendar and short biographies on the most influential designers. Every follower of fashion, whether at college or in big business, will welcome the information presented in this book. Cover illustration drawn by the author from a photograph by Franco Rubartelli of Veruschka wearing the famous safari shirt by Yves Saint Laurent from his spring/summer 1968 collection.

Introduction. Couture. Ready–to–wear. Mass production. Tailoring. Menswear. Dressmaking. Millinery and accessories. The designers. Distribution. Fashion organisation and calendar. Considerations for the future. Appendices. Glossary. Bibliography. Useful addresses and websites

Gavin Waddell , whose experience of fashion is wide ranging, has worked as a designer for two of London’s top couturiers, as a ready–to–wear designer with his own label, as a forecaster, menswear designer and illustrator and more recently as a writer on the subject. As an educator he has run three of Britain’s foremost fashion schools and performed the role of assessor, external examiner and advisor to many of the country’s leading colleges and universities. He studied fashion design at Saint Martin’s School of Art London and has had his work featured in, amongst others, Womenswear Daily, Vogue, Harpers and Queen and The Times .

It is thoroughly researched, attractively presented and appealing in its unpretenious style. It is accessible, pertinent to different levels of expertise, and provides a distinctive insight to the fashion industry. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol 10, no 1; 2006