Culture to Catwalk

This book explores the roots of today’s ready-to-wear fashion in “traditional costume” clothing styles from more than sixty cultures around the world. The Japanese kimono, the burka, Imperial Chinese robes, and Turkish harem pants—all were inspirations for top Western designers from Coco Chanel to Christian Dior to Diane von Furstenberg’s classic 1972 wrap dress. Culture to Catwalk looks at the trajectory of fashion design from the birth of the industry when European colonies were established in Africa and India and exotic themes became inextricably mixed with ethnic and cultural sartorial traditions. The book’s narrative comes full circle, going from local to global and back to local again to see what’s happening today in fashion worldwide and how local or “street” fashions are influencing catwalks in fashion capitals from New York to Paris. This is the first book to explore the cyclical and global nature of fashion’s roots, and includes interviews and quotes from leading designers such as Amanda Wakeley and Donna Karan.

Kristin Knox is a fashion journalist who has written for InStyle UK and Financial Times Weekend. She is a top fashion blogger at her Web site www.theclotheswhisperer.co.uk.