This book provides a concise and much-needed introduction to the sociology of fashion. Most studies do not make a clear distinction between clothing and fashion. Kawamura argues that clothing is a tangible product whereas fashion is a symbolic cultural product. She debunks the myth of "the genius designer" and explains that fashion is not about clothes but is a belief. There is an institutional structure, ignored by many fashion theorists, that has shaped and produced the fashion phenomenon. Kawamura further shows how the structural nature of the fashion system works to legitimize designers' creativity and can make them successful. Newer fashion cities, such as Milan and New York, are the product of the fashion system that originated in Paris. Without that systemic structure, fashion culture would not exist.

This book provides a concise and much-needed introduction to the sociology of fashion. Most studies do not make a clear distinction between clothing and fashion. Kawamura argues that clothing is a tangible product whereas fashion is a symbolic cultural product. She debunks the myth of "the genius designer" and explains that fashion is not about clothes but is a belief. There is an institutional structure, ignored by many fashion theorists, that has shaped and produced the fashion phenomenon. Kawamura further shows how the structural nature of the fashion system works to legitimize designers' creativity and can make them successful. Newer fashion cities, such as Milan and New York, are the product of the fashion system that originated in Paris. Without that systemic structure, fashion culture would not exist.

本书为时尚社会学提供了一个简明且亟需的介绍。大多数研究都没有明确区分服装和时尚。川村认为，服装是一种有形产品，而时尚是一种象征性的文化产品。她揭穿了 "天才设计师 "的神话，并解释说，时尚不是关于衣服，而是一种信仰。有一个被许多时尚理论家忽视的制度结构，它塑造并产生了时尚现象。川村进一步说明了时尚系统的结构性如何使设计师的创造力合法化，并能使他们取得成功。较新的时尚城市，如米兰和纽约，是起源于巴黎的时尚体系的产物。没有这个系统结构，时尚文化就不会存在。