The history of fashion design
Fashion describes the items and styles of clothing worn during a particular period of history. Historical and cultural fashions are sometimes called costumes. For centuries clothes have been used for different reasons:
- to protect the wearer from changes in weather
- as camouflage
- for modesty, decoration and to attract others
- for cultural and religious traditions
- to identify different social classes
- for different job roles and activities
Clothes have been made from natural materials including:
- animal hides, skins and fur
- fabrics made from fibres of animal hair, eg wool
- fabrics made from plant-based fibres, eg cotton, linen
Click through the slideshow to see some fashions from different places and times in history:
Image caption, German costumes, shortly after 1800, hand-coloured wood engraving, published c.1880
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