“Military Chic” is where high fashion meets “The Art of War”. You think the fashion industry is just about gorgeous clothes and beautiful models? More happens behind the scenes than you think. Gigi LaFaux is a fabulous gal. She’s a whip-smart philanthropic architect who can discuss international politics as easily as debating the latest hot celebrity makeover. But she’s giving up her successful architectural career to follow her passion: fashion. Moving from Calgary, aka “Stampede City” where cowboy hats and boots are the height of fashion, Gigi jumps right into Toronto’s fashion scene as Volunteer Coordinator for Canada’s premiere fashion event, Collections Week. The first day Gigi arrives at Collections Week to find the organizers missing in action. After facing challenges such as non-existent guest lists, irate media representatives, no floor or seating plans, and complete chaos, Gigi and her team take charge. When Veronikkah Hendricks - the event’s drug addicted and increasingly schizophrenic coordinator - and her self-absorbed assistant, Francie Scrimshank finally show up, after a trip to the hair salon, they’re no help at all. Veronikkah’s behaviour is erratic; she can’t make decisions and has a short temper thanks to her constant chemical cocktail of cocaine, Quaaludes, and alcohol. Francie is worse, with a cell phone at her ear constantly and preoccupation with herself. Her clothes, makeup, and hair are all more important to her than running the event. While trying to organize her volunteers and ensure Collections Week runs smoothly, Gigi runs into an unexpected love interest: Hot Brad. Not only is he a gorgeous model, but he’s smart, too. The problem is sometimes he’s flirty with Gigi, while other times he snuggles with his male model counterparts. Is he gay or straight? Over three days, Gigi and her volunteer team solve crisis after crisis, making Veronikkah look good, until Gigi discovers a dark side behind the glittering façade of Canadian Collections Week. After suffering limitless humiliation and insults, Gigi and her volunteers are subjected to the indignity of cleaning Veronikkah and Francie’s disastrously dirty office, where Gigi discovers evidence of illegal activities. She finds documents and receipts implicating Veronikkah in a string of spending sprees using Collections Week funds for European vacations, expensive dinners, and haute couture outfits. Embezzlement isn’t Veronikkah’s only illicit activity at Collections Week. Gigi finds drug paraphernalia in the room and discovers the so-called “Bolivian Designer Showcase” (intended as a partnership to broaden the market for designers from a less fortunate country) is actually a front for Canada’s biggest cocaine deal. Veronikkah plots to include the drug in VIP gift bags at the Bolivian showcase, and plans to pin it on Francie and the volunteers if she is caught. Not wanting to get busted for illegal activities, Gigi and her volunteer team intend to get even with Veronikkah for treating them poorly and potentially ruining the reputation of Canadian fashion designers. Gigi once again takes control of the situation by overtaking the runway at the Bolivian Designer Showcase, revealing Veronikkah’s plans to her colleagues and the media. In the mayhem following Gigi’s announcement, Veronikkah slips backstage, captures Hot Brad, and blames him for her downfall since he has her laptop computer. With a bit of luck, Gigi stops Veronikkah with a well-aimed stiletto heel in the eyeball and saves Hot Brad’s life. It turns out Veronikkah is right about Hot Brad participating in her descent: he is not a model at all. He’s an undercover journalist named Christian VanDorn investigating Veronikkah’s activities. His boss, Chloe Kirkpatrick – Veronikkah’s lifelong nemesis – orchestrated the journalistic investigation and both relied on Gigi’s inquisitive nature to put everything together. Following Collections Week, Gigi and Chloe become friends and plan to create a lifestyle company together, complete with clothing line, magazine, store, and events. Gigi and Christian are dating (he’s definitely straight!), and everything is perfect. Gigi is now able to pursue her passion for fashion.

A virtual pageantry of the many ways in which military styles inspire and influence contemporary fashion The transformation of military clothing into popular retail fashion has a long history. In fact, the designs of some of today's most popular styles, worn for the most peaceful purposes, actually originated in clothing intended for warfare. In a campaign to dress well, combat and battle rarely, if ever, enter the picture. This book celebrates the enduring appeal of military-inspired clothing and acts as a reference guide and source of inspiration for designers and fashion followers alike.

In the years immediately before the First World War, Archibald Haswell Miller, a young artist, travelled Europe to study painting. While he was there he indulged his other great interest the military. On his travels he observed first-hand the soldiers of the European Armies in the last days of the colourful and elaborate uniforms that were giving way to grey and khaki across the continent. Realising that this was a great military heritage that was slipping away he set out to record these splendid uniforms. In those uncertain days before the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Haswell Miller sketched and painted hundreds of figures, each wearing a different uniform, from the armies of Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden. Just before the First World War the paintings were exhibited in Leipzig, and it seemed they might be published. But when war broke out they were returned home and lay forgotten for nearly one hundred years. Now published together at last, they represent a unique record of the uniforms of the last great age of military dress. Accompanied by, in Haswell Miller's own words, 'notes and memories of the days before “the lights went out in Europe” in the year 1914', this is a book of great historical importance.

An essential fashion reference for students and professionals alike, organized in a series of detailed case studies Fashion design is a process of investigating, understanding context, and constantly questioning what you are doing and why. This comprehensive survey presents the work of a wide range of modern and contemporary designers and reveals the innumerable areas of inspiration and research on which they’ve drawn, from historical examples such as Christian Dior’s “New Look” to traditional textiles from around the world, as seen in John Galliano’s Peruvian-inspired collection of 2005. The first part of the book investigates the research process in the work of designers such as Paul Smith, Comme des Garçons, and Anna Sui. The second section covers subjects like vintage and retro, the use of archives, and the influence of art movements such as op art and surrealism. The third part presents case studies of world-famous designers: Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Coco Chanel, to name but a few.

How does a style become a fashion? Why do trends spread and decline? Introducing Fashion Theory explores these questions and more to help you quickly get up-to-speed with fashion theories, from scarcity to conformity, through clear practical examples and fascinating case studies. This second edition, re-titled from Key Concepts for the Fashion Industry, includes expanded coverage on cultural appropriation, corporate greenwashing, and the criminal world of counterfeit goods. - Illustrated examples, from Apple's post-postmodernist iWatch to Savage X Fenty's body image message on diversity - Covers core fashion theories, from trickle-down to trickle-up, to political dress and conspicuous consumption - Filled with learning activities, key terms, chapter summaries, and discussion questions to inspire and inform

“I think it’s terrific.” –Diane von Furstenberg, of the original edition of Cheap Chic Beloved by designers and style mavens alike, the LBD of fashion guides—with a new foreword by Tim Gunn—is back and more in fashion than ever. Before there were street-style blogs and ‘zines, there was Cheap Chic. Selling hundreds of thousands of copies when it was originally published in 1975, this classic guide revealed how to find the clothes that will make you feel comfortable, confident, sexy, and happy, whether they come from a high-end boutique, sporting-goods store, or thrift shop. Astonishingly relevant forty years later, Cheap Chic provides timeless practical advice for creating an affordable, personal wardrobe strategy: what to buy, where to buy it, and how to put it all together to make your own distinctive fashion statement without going broke. Alongside outfit ideas, shopping guides, and other practical tips are the original vintage photographs and advice from fashion icons such as Diana Vreeland and Yves Saint Laurent. Inspiring decades of fashion lovers and designers, Cheap Chic is the original fashion bible that proves you don’t have to be wealthy to be stylish.

In September 1939, just three weeks after the outbreak of war, Gladys Mason wrote briefly in her diary about events in Europe: 'Hitler watched German siege of Warsaw. City in flames.' And, she continued, 'Had my wedding dress fitted. Lovely.' For Gladys Mason, and for thousands of women throughout the long years of the war, fashion was not simply a distraction, but a necessity - and one they weren't going to give up easily. In the face of bombings, conscription, rationing and ludicrous bureaucracy, they maintained a sense of elegance and style with determination and often astonishing ingenuity. From the young woman who avoided the dreaded 'forces bloomers' by making knickers from military-issue silk maps, to Vogue's indomitable editor Audrey Withers, who balanced lobbying government on behalf of her readers with driving lorries for the war effort, Julie Summers weaves together stories from ordinary lives and high society to provide a unique picture of life during the Second World War. As a nation went into uniform and women took on traditional male roles, clothing and beauty began to reflect changing social attitudes. For the first time, fashion was influenced not only by Hollywood and high society but by the demands of industrial production and the pressing need to 'make-do-and-mend'. Beautifully illustrated and full of gorgeous detail, Fashion on the Ration lifts the veil on a fascinating era in British fashion.

Takes a broad view of mostly European uniforms from the 17th century to the early 20th century.