Fashion History and Mediation
Fashion History and Mediation at Parsons Paris takes a critical perspective on the development of fashion in relation to media, capitalism, and Western culture. Fashion Studies students take this course and begin with fashion plates, outlining the development of different media and how fashion mediation evolved with it. We look at seminal works like Paris Fashion by Valerie Steele, with whom Fashion Studies students had the opportunity to see speak at the Europe and Fashion conference hosted at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in November.
Beyond readings, students also take class trips to museums, which we discuss as another form of fashion mediation just like magazines and film. A particular trip the class took was to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris; taking advantage to the fashion world available to us in this city.
For more first hand experience, the course’s teacher, Antoine Bucher, brings in rare fashion ephemera almost every week to show students the transformation of fashion plates, dress patterns, postcards, fashion magazines, autobiographies of fashion designers, and more. These experiences bring students to reflect critically on fashion practices and the construction of the fashion world through media.
Written by Rocio Sanchez