Delft Blue to Denim Blue - by Anneke Smelik (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Contemporary fashion in the Netherlands shows a unique mix of playful individualism, conceptual strength, and organisational innovation. Delft Blue to Denim Blue maps the landscape of Dutch fashion in all its rich variety and complexity.Luxuriously illustrated in colour, the book uncovers the cultural roots of Dutch fashion in a globalized context. The authors debunk myths surrounding Dutch fashion, dig up new facts and stories, and explore the creative relation of fashion design to cultural heritage. Written by experts in the field, Delft Blue to Denim Blue gives a rich overview of designers, ranging from G-Star jeans, and affordable retailer C&A, to a savvy brand like Vanilia, and from the famous designer duo Viktor&Rolf to a futuristic designer like Iris van Herpen. The book assesses the diversity of Dutch fashion designers, firms and brands in their historical and cultural contexts.

About the Author

Anneke Smelik is Katrien van Munster Professor of Visual Culture at the Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands. She is project leader of the research programme 'Crafting Wearables: Fashionable Technology'. She is author and editor of many publications on visual culture, including Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture, The Scientific Imaginary in Visual Culture, And the Mirror Cracked: Feminist Cinema and Film Theory, and, co-edited with Agnes Rocamora, Thinking Through Fashion: A Guide to Key Theorists (I.B.Tauris, 2016).