Fashion

The book opens with an exploration of all the possible meanings encompassed by the word 'fashion', as Svendsen probes its elusive place in art, politics, and history. Ultimately, however, he focuses on the most notable type of fashion: clothing. With his trademark dry wit, he deftly dismantles many of the axioms of the industry and its supporters. For example, he points out that some of the latest fashions shown on catwalks aren't actually 'fashionable' in any sense of the word, arguing that they're more akin to modern art works.