1st Edition

Fashion, Popular Culture and Political Economy

By Nirupama Singh Dar Copyright 2025
566 Pages
by Routledge India

566 Pages
by Routledge India

566 Pages
by Routledge India

This book delves into the intricate interplay of political, economic, and philosophic forces that have shaped popular culture, fashion, social movements and societies. Exploring the developments of the twentieth century and the transition into the new millennium, this work traces the causality between culture, fashion, philosophical discourses, and political economy. It analyzes... Read more

Introduction

1. Foundations Of Popular Culture and Fashion in Capitalist Societies

2. Capitalism's Favourite Child 'Fashion' Theorized

3. Fashion's Blistering Ontologies:  Establishment of The Fashion Industry in Paris in 1845

4. Popular Culture in India at The Turn of the 19th Century: India’s Rise Against Anti-Dance Laws of The British Rule and The Birth of Dance Movement in India

5. Popular Culture in Early Twentieth Century: Ghadar Nationalists and Their Contribution to India' S Freedom (India 1874 Onwards)

6. Bloomsbury Bohemians of England and Their Philosophies of Decolonisation 1900-1940s

7. Beginning Of Global Feminist Movement and Its Iconization in The Gibson Girl and The New Woman

8. End Of First World War and The Rise of Popular Culture in The West: Coming of The Flapper- First Look Emerging from The Break Between Ancient Times and Modernity

9. Birth Of Modern Haute Couture. Rise Of Two Great Fashion Icons in Paris: Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli

10. Hollywood And Fashion: Rise of Fashion’s Romantic Hero ‘Christian Dior’

11. Manhattan Project, Atomic Bombings, End of Second World War and The Rise of Hate Politics and Its Effects on American Society and Hollywood 1940s Onwards 

12. Literature And Philosophy Changing Societies:  The Beat Generation and The Coming of Existentialism to Popular Culture in The Us - 1950s

13. Cold War Escalations, Charismatic Leadership of Martin Luther King and JFK And the Birth of The Hippy Movement (1940s - 1960s)

14. Introduction of Yves Saint Laurent to The Haute Couture Industry and The Democratisation of Fashion

15. The Arrival of Balenciaga, Balmain and Givenchy on The Fashion Scene and The Return of Coco Chanel to Paris 1950s

16. The Coming of Karl Lagerfeld, Courrgeous, Valentino, Mary Quant and Paco Rabanne on to The Fashion Scene Of 1960s

17. From Monique Wittig to Material Girl: The Rewriting of Feminist Epistemology 

18. Establishment Of the Modelling Industry and The Rise of Playboy Politics: From Self Possession to Objectification 1970s Onwards

19. The Beginnings of Postmodernism: Unshackling of The Body by Punks and The Changing of the Social Gaze - 1980s

20. 1990s And the Rise of a New World: The Breakdown of Berlin Wall and Apartheid and The End of The Age of Supermodels

21. The Beginning of Liberalisation in India and The End of License Raj - 1990s

22. Bollywood: From Existential Angst to Postmodernism of Resistance

23. Postmodernist Culture and International Politics at The Turn of The Millennium - 2000s 

24. Demystifying Love: Theoretical Underpinnings of Sexuality, Fashion and Popular Culture

25. Future Of Fashion: How the Coming Together of Two Women Changed the World Forever - 2010 Onwards

26. The Me Too Movement: The Coming of Feminism to Hollywood and The Corporate World - 2017-2023

27. The Disambiguation of Plato and The Repositioning of Medusa: Roadmap to The Future

Biography

Nirupama Singh Dar is a sociologist who works in the areas of fashion, popular culture and feminism. She has done her post graduate studies, Doctorate and Post Doctoral research from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Being the first doctorate on fashion in India, she pioneered fashion research in India. She also studied Design at National institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi and has been designing collections for her brand Body Politic. Her design work has been chronicled by the Indian embassy in Paris in their magazine Nouvelle De L'Inde. Dr Dar is the director of Fashion Research Foundation. She consults on fashion and lectures on Sociology of Fashion and Popular Culture.