"Fascinating." - The New Yorker
What can psychoanalysis tell us about the power and allure of fashion? Valerie Steele, author of Dress, Dreams and Desire, was described by critic Suzy Menkes as "the Freud of fashion." In this pathbreaking book, the first cultural history of fashion and psychoanalysis, Steele does not merely hold a mirror up to fashion's surface, she looks into its soul.
A renowned fashion historian, Steele draws on key psychoanalytic concepts about the body, sexuality, and the unconscious – from the dream theories of Freud and Jung to Lacan's mirror stage and Anzieu's skin ego – to interpret the work of designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Gianni Versace, and Alexander McQueen. She explores how fashion is the lens through which we see ourselves – and how others see us. Far from being superficial, fashion can be regarded as a "deep surface" that communicates our unconscious desires and anxieties, with none of us fully aware of what we are "saying" with the clothes we wear.

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eBook - ePub
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Information
Topic
DesignSubtopic
Fashion DesignTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- eCopyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Fashion as a Deep Surface
- 1Freud and Fashion
- 2The Naked Dreamer
- 3The Masquerade
- 4The Mirror and the Fragmented Body
- 5Bitter Enemies
- 6Desire and Sexual Difference
- 7To Touch the Gaze
- 8Bodies to Wear
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Image Credits
- Index
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Yes, you can access Dress, Dreams, and Desire by Valerie Steele in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Design & Fashion Design. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.