New Perspectives on French Fashion History highlights new research by emerging fashion scholars. Come to just one session or take all five and learn about the history of fashion display in Parisian department stores and in presentations at World’s Fairs, the transformative impact World War I had on the French fashion industry, cultural shifts brought about by the introduction of ready-made fashion in the 1950s and 60s, and much more.
Individual classes:
$100 Adults
$85 Students and Educators
$75 BGC Members
Take all five sessions and save!
$450 Adults
$375 Students and Educators
$350 BGC Members
Space is limited!
Session Three,
Gender and Ready-Made Clothing: While the field of dress studies abounds in histories of French fashion, which tend to prioritize haute couture and idealize the production of iconic designers, this class provides an alternate narrative in exploring the development of the French prêt-à-porter (ready-made dress) industry, introducing students to largely unknown designers and other players. Participants will learn how ready-made dress relates to the history of post-war France, which was informed by new economic and industrial systems, decolonized and urbanized landscapes, and its perceived loss of political and cultural hegemony. This session will pay particular attention to women’s experience of these wider histories, via their experience of ready-made fashion, through the cross-analysis of magazine imagery, archival materials, and oral histories.
Meet the Professor
Alexis Romano is a historian of twentieth-century fashion and visual culture with a focus on fashion imagery and the everyday, subjective aspects of dress. She completed her PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art and is currently finishing a book on the development and image of French ready-to-wear (1945-1970), exploring how it connected to women’s experience, national identity, and France’s project of postwar modernization. She is an adjunct faculty member at Parsons, the New School for Design; US Editor of Wear Global Magazine; and a co-founder of the Fashion Research Network.
Other classes in this course include:
Session 1: Fashion on Display, 1900–1937
Taught by Paula Alaszkiewicz
Monday, October 7, 2019
Session 2: War Time Fashion
Taught by Maude Bass-Krueger and Sophie Kurkdjian
Monday, October 14, 2019
Session 4: Fashion and Labor in Nineteenth Century France
Taught by Susan Hiner
Monday, October 28, 2019
Session 5: Constructing Femininity: 1980–2000
Taught by Francesca Granata
Monday, November 4, 2019
We are also pleased to extend complimentary need-based community tickets by request to all ticketed events. To learn more, please email public.programs@bgc.bard.edu.
Leading support for Public Programs at Bard Graduate Center comes from Gregory Soros and other generous donors.
