Spectres: When Fashion Turns Back

Abstract

In Spectres Judith Clark addresses the relationship of contemporary fashion to history, creating a collage of visual references which offer a fascinating insight into the origins of themes current among contemporary designers, such as alienation, trauma, and phantasmagoria. Images from cutting-edge designers such as Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Viktor and Rolf and celebrated make-up artist Pat McGrath are juxtaposed with details of historical dress from the permanent collections of both the V&A and MoMu, combining to produce a book that is both ground-breaking and stylish. The book includes a coda by fashion historian Caroline Evans (author Fashion at the Edge) from whom Clark has drawn assumptions about contemporary dress. Also reproduced are dramatic designs commissioned by Clark for a giant shadow lantern from the celebrated New York fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo.

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