The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion

by Tansy E. Hoskins, Andreja Pejic (Foreword by)

Overview

The award-winning classic on why we must revolutionise the fashion industry

*Selected by Emma Watson for her Ultimate Book List*

Fashion is political. From the red carpets of the Met Gala to online fast fashion, clothes tell a story of inequality, racism, and climate crisis. In The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, Tansy E. Hoskins unpicks the threads of capitalist industry to reveal the truth about our clothes.

Fashion brands entice us to consume more by manipulating us to feel ugly, poor and worthless, sentiments that line the pockets of billionaires exploiting colonial supply chains. Garment workers on poverty pay risk their lives in dangerous factories, animals are tortured, fossil fuels extracted and toxic chemicals spread just to keep this season's collections fresh.

We can do better than this. Moving between Karl Lagerfeld and Karl Marx, The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion goes beyond ethical fashion and consumer responsibility showing that if we want to feel comfortable in our clothes, we need to reshape the system and ensure this is not our last season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745346618
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	08/20/2022
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Tansy E. Hoskins is an award winning author and journalist who investigates the global fashion industry. This work has taken her to Bangladesh, India, North Macedonia, and to the Topshop warehouses in Solihull. This is her third book.

Andreja Pejić is an activist, renowned model and actress. She has appeared on covers, starred in movies and changed our perception of transgender people.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Andreja Pejić
Acknowledgements 
Introduction 
1. Owning It 
2. The Fashion Media 
3. Buyology 
4. Stitching It 
5. A Bitter Harvest 
6. The Body Politic 
7. Is Fashion Racist? 
8. Resisting Fashion 
9. Reforming Fashion 
10. Revolutionising Fashion 
About the Illustrator 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index

Editorial Reviews

'Makes a strong case for nothing less than a revolution'
Emma Watson, actor

'An incredible accomplishment'
Susie Orbach, author of 'Fat is a Feminist Issue'


'Interrogates today's fashion landscape with rigour - will make you view your wardrobe through a different lens'
Lucy Siegle, author of 'Turning the Tide on Plastic'

'A masterclass in unpicking the threads of injustice, exploitation and oppression woven into our clothing. By joining the dots between fashion and capitalism, this is a route map to weave a different story for our clothing, our planet and its people'
Asad Rehman, Executive Director of War on Want


'Thoroughly researched with a reach extending both globally and historically, the book is packed with interesting examples, and Hoskins' engaging style makes it eminently readable'
'LSE Review of Books'

'A staple of contemporary fashion literature'
'Austrian Fashion Association'


'A classic read for all fashion students, and of course those interested in the politics of fashion. I will refer to my copy for a long time to come'
Caryn Franklin MBE, fashion commentator and body image activist

'A book that hangs like a garment on a coat-hanger. A garment with many pockets. In the pockets numberless notes and remarks about clothes and history. Take it off the hanger and put it on. By which I mean - read it and walk through history'
John Berger


'A controlled demolition, Hoskins uses facts to strip away the apparel trade's decorative exterior and then dynamites the foundations'
'Monthly Review'

'Once you see the fashion industry through Hoskins' anti-capitalist lens what lies behind cannot be unseen'
'Public Reading Rooms'

'A failure to imagine the end of capitalism goes hand-in-hand with a failure to imagine the end of fashion as a commodified sphere in which countless exploited workers labour so that the powerful can wear power-affirming garments. Hoskins' book does wonders to help its readers overcome both failures'
Yanis Varoufakis

From the Publisher