from the
New Larousse Illustrated, 1617–1898 Changes in clothing often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient
Rome and the medieval
Caliphate, followed by a long period without significant changes. In eighth-century
Moorish Spain, the musician
Ziryab introduced to
Córdoba sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native
Baghdad, modified by his inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the
Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.
Alleged Western distinctiveness Early Western travellers who visited
India,
Persia,
Turkey, or
China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion in those countries. In 1609, the secretary of the Japanese bragged inaccurately to a Spanish visitor that
Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years. However, these conceptions of non-Western clothing undergoing little, if any, evolution are generally held to be untrue; for instance, there is considerable evidence in
Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in
Chinese clothing. In imperial China, clothing were not only an embodiment of freedom and comfort or used to cover the body or protect against the cold or used for decorative purposes; it was also regulated by strong
sumptuary laws which was based on strict social hierarchy system and the ritual system of the Chinese society. It was expected for people to be dressed accordingly to their gender, social status and occupation; the Chinese clothing system had cleared evolution and varied in appearance in each period of history. Clothing which experienced fast changing fashion in ancient China was recorded in ancient Chinese texts, where it was sometimes referred as , "contemporary-styles", and was associated with the concept of , "outrageous dress", which typically holds a negative connotation. Similar changes in clothing can be seen in Japanese clothing between the
Genroku period and the later centuries of the
Edo period (1603–1867), during which a time clothing trends switched from flashy and expensive displays of wealth to subdued and subverted ones. is a designer known for blending traditional Japanese elements with modern fashion, challenging stereotypes of Japanese style as static or outdated. The myth on the lack of fashion in what was considered the Orient was related to
Western Imperialism also often accompanied
Orientalism, and European imperialism was especially at its highest in the 19th century. In the 19th century time, Europeans described China in binary opposition to Europe, describing China as "lacking in fashion" among many other things, while Europeans deliberately placed themselves in a superior position when they would compare themselves to the Chinese
Africa Additionally, there is a long history of fashion in
West Africa. Cloth was used as a form of currency in trade with the
Portuguese and
Dutch as early as the 16th century, The beginning in Europe of continual and accelerating change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated to late
medieval times. Historians, including
James Laver and
Fernand Braudel, date the start of Western fashion in clothing to the middle of the
14th century, though they tend to rely heavily on contemporary imagery, as illuminated manuscripts were not common before the 14th century. The most dramatic early change in fashion was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing in the chest to make it look bigger. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers. The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women's and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex.
Art historians are, therefore, able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years, particularly in the case of images from the 15th century. Initially, changes in fashion led to a fragmentation across the upper classes of Europe of what had previously been a very similar style of dressing and the subsequent development of distinctive national styles. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from
Ancien Régime France. the cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut, changed more slowly. Men's fashions were primarily derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette were galvanized in theaters of European war where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of different styles such as the "Steinkirk"
cravat or necktie. Both parties wore shirts under their clothing, the cut and style of which had little cause to change over a number of centuries. Though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France since the 16th century and
Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion in the 1620s, the pace of change picked up in the 1780s with increased publication of French engravings illustrating the latest Paris styles. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were); local variation became first a sign of
provincial culture and later a badge of the conservative peasant. Since then, the idea of the fashion designer as a celebrity in their own right has become increasingly dominant. Although fashion can be feminine or masculine, additional trends are
androgynous. The idea of
unisex dressing originated in the 1960s, when designers such as
Pierre Cardin and
Rudi Gernreich created garments, such as stretch jersey tunics or leggings, meant to be worn by both males and females. The impact of unisex wearability expanded more broadly to encompass various themes in fashion, including androgyny, mass-market retail, and conceptual clothing. The fashion trends of the 1970s, such as sheepskin jackets, flight jackets, duffel coats, and unstructured clothing, influenced men to attend social gatherings without a dinner jacket and to accessorize in new ways. Some men's styles blended the sensuality and expressiveness, and the growing gay-rights movement and an emphasis on youth allowed for a new freedom to experiment with style and with fabrics such as wool crepe, which had previously been associated with women's attire. The four major current
fashion capitals are acknowledged to be
New York City (
Manhattan), Paris,
Milan, and
London, which are all headquarters to the most significant fashion companies and are renowned for their major influence on global fashion.
Fashion weeks are held in these cities, where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences. A study demonstrated that general proximity to New York's
Garment District was important to participate in the American fashion ecosystem.
Haute couture has now largely been subsidized by the sale of
ready-to-wear collections and perfume using the same branding. Modern
Westerners have a vast number of choices in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect their personality or interests. When people who have high cultural
status start to wear new or different styles, they may inspire a new fashion trend. People who like or respect these people are influenced by their style and begin wearing similarly styled clothes. Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography, and may also vary over time. The terms
fashionista and
fashion victim refer to someone who slavishly follows current fashions.
Asia , 1890. Various styles of
traditional Japanese clothing and Western styles. ,
supermodel, walks the runway modeling fashions by designer
Diane von Fürstenberg at
New York Fashion Week 2013. In the early 2000s, Asian fashion influences became increasingly significant in local and global markets. Countries such as China, Japan, India, and Pakistan have traditionally had large
textile industries with a number of rich traditions; though these were often drawn upon by Western designers, Asian clothing styles gained considerable influence in the early- to mid-2000s.
China Chinese fashion remained constantly changing over the centuries. In China, throughout the Tang Dynasty (618–907), women wore extravagant attire to demonstrate prosperity. Mongol men of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) wore loose robes; horsemen sported shorter robes, trousers, and boots to provide ease when horseback riding. The leaders of the
Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) maintained Manchu dress, while establishing new garments for officials; while
foot binding—originally introduced in the 10th century—was not preserved, women of this era were expected to wear particular heels that pushed them to take on a ladylike walk. Then, in the 1920s,
qipao was in vogue and the style consisted of stand collars, trumpet sleeves, straight silhouettes and short side slits. Since then, designers started to move into Western fashion like fur coats and cloaks and body-hugging dresses with long side slits as qipao became more popular. In the 1950s and 60s, ‘Lenin coats’ with double lines of buttons, slanting pockets and a belt came into vogue among Chinese men.
India lady wearing
sari, one of the most ancient and popular pieces of clothing in the
Indian subcontinent. In India, it has been common for followers of different religions to wear corresponding pieces of clothing. During the 15th century, Muslim and Hindu women wore notably different articles of clothing. This is also seen in many other Eastern world countries. In the Victorian era, most women did not wear blouses under their saris, which did not suit the Victorian society; however, British and Indian fashion would be influenced by each other in following decades. In the 1920s, the nationalists adopted
Khadi cloth as a symbol of resistance; here, Gandhi became the face of the resistance which made people spin, weave, and wear their Khadi. Today, the
salwaar-kameez is recognized as the national dress of India.
Japan For Japan, the people during the Meiji period (1868–1912) widely incorporated Western styles into Japanese fashion, which is considered to be a remarkable transformation for the Japanese vogue. They extensively adopted the style and practices of Western cultures. The upper classes wore more extravagant pieces of clothing like luxurious patterned silks and adorned themselves with fancy sashes. Women also started wearing Western dresses in public instead of their traditional
Kimono. Most of the officials were also required to wear Western
suits. In this way, the Japanese slowly adopted into Western fashion. Moreover, like India, different Japanese religions wear different pieces of clothing. ==Fashion industry==