Shanghai Street Style

Although fashion fixtures and A-list celebrities pack the front rows at the biggest, most glamorous shows at fashion week, the most creative attire is often found not on the catwalks or inside the auditoriums but on the streets. Nowhere is this more evident than in the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai, where a vintage Vivienne Westwood frock pairs perfectly with a chic puffer, and neon brights elevate distressed denim to veritable haute couture.Shanghai Street Style marksthe inaugural volume in an exciting new street style series from Intellect. With an array of up-and-coming young designers like Coko Wan, Nio, and Helen Lee, Shanghai is swiftly cementing its status as a global fashion destinationandmdash;its first fashion week was in 2011andmdash;and this book brings together more than one hundred full-color photographs showcasing the remarkable diversity of styles seen on its streets. Alongside the photographs are short pieces of critical commentary by Vicki Karaminas and Toni Johnson-Woods, shedding light on the cityandrsquo;s changing culture and how this is expressed through the clothing choices of ordinary city-dwellers going about their daily routines. The result is a stunning street-level look at the trends shaping Shanghaiandrsquo;s fascinating fashion scene, with interesting echoes of East meets West and old meets new.and#160;Eye-catching, entertaining, and informative, Shanghai Street Style gets at the roots of Shanghai trendsettersandrsquo; distinct personal styles, identifying the ideas and important cultural forces behind the trends.

and#8220;The anthology Fashion in Popular Culture adds much-needed voices to the interdisciplinary discussion of fashion and popular culture. . . . [V]ery necessary.and#8221;

When we open our closet doors each morning, we seldom consider what our sartorial choices say, whether we tend toward jeans and a well-worn concert t-shirt or wingtips and a three-piece suit. Yet, how we dress divulges more than whether we crave comfort or couture; our clothing communicates who we are and how we relate to our culture. But how does a Balenciaga bag or a tough leather jacket topped by liberty spikes signify these things?

Fashion in Popular Culture considers this question. Combining fashion theory with approaches from literature, art, advertising, music, media studies, material studies, and sociology, contributors from across Europe, Australia, and the United States consider the function of fashion within popular culture. Fashion, they show, has the capacity to both influence and be influenced by popular culture, and its meaning is also contingent upon context. Chapters in the book cover both historical and contemporary concerns, addressing a variety of other questions, including the role fashion plays in subcultures.

For students and scholars of fashion and popular cultureandmdash;or anyone fascinated by what clothing can conveyandmdash;Fashion in Popular Culture offers an engaging, interdisciplinary analysis.

Joseph Hancock II is associate professor in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design at Drexel University. He is the editor of the journal Fashion, Style and Popular Culture, also published by Intellect. Toni Johnson-Woods is a senior lecturer in the School of English, Media Studies, and Art History at the University of Queensland, Australia. Vicki Karaminas is associate professor of fashion studies and associate head of the School of Design at the University of Technology, Sydney, in Australia. With Toni Johnson-Woods, she is coauthor, most recently, of Shanghai Street Style, also published by Intellect.

Acknowledgements

Generating Style

Foreword: On the Ground in Shanghaiand#8212;September 2011

Introduction: Shanghai Street Style

Shoes

Handbags

Accessories

Author Biographies