The Body in Fashion
The Politics of Appearance
Will be published approx. on 1. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-917651-79-0 (ISBN)
Description
The Body in Fashion: The Politics of Appearance is a wide-ranging essay by Maria Luisa Frisa, one of the most influential fashion historians and curators working today. Moving between biographical accounts, cultural criticism, and fashion history, Frisa argues that fashion is one of the systems through which modern societies regulate bodies, shaping how they are seen, desired, measured, and displayed.
From the construction of femininity and masculinity to make-up, red carpets, celebrity image culture, and the rituals of self-presentation, Frisa traces how fashion constructs identities and governs appearances. Drawing on references that span Roland Barthes and the feminist writer Carla Lonzi to designers such as Coco Chanel and Martin Margiela, as well as contemporary figures like Kim Kardashian, Frisa shows how fashion operates simultaneously as fantasy, discipline, and cultural language.
Treating the body as fashion's primary medium, The Body in Fashion invites readers to reconsider how their own bodies move through structures of image, desire, and self-representation.
From the construction of femininity and masculinity to make-up, red carpets, celebrity image culture, and the rituals of self-presentation, Frisa traces how fashion constructs identities and governs appearances. Drawing on references that span Roland Barthes and the feminist writer Carla Lonzi to designers such as Coco Chanel and Martin Margiela, as well as contemporary figures like Kim Kardashian, Frisa shows how fashion operates simultaneously as fantasy, discipline, and cultural language.
Treating the body as fashion's primary medium, The Body in Fashion invites readers to reconsider how their own bodies move through structures of image, desire, and self-representation.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
MACK
Dimensions
Height: 165 mm
Width: 105 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-917651-79-0 (9781917651790)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Maria Luisa Frisa (b. 1953) is an Italian fashion theorist, curator, and writer based in Venice. She is Professor at IUAV University of Venice, where she founded the BA programme in Fashion Design and Multimedia Arts. She is Editor-in-Chief of Dune: Writings on Fashion, Design and Visual Culture. Her exhibitions include 'Bellissima: Italy and High Fashion 1945-1968' (MAXXI, Rome; BOZAR, Brussels; Villa Reale, Monza; NSU Art Museum, Fort Lauderdale); 'Italiana: Italy Through the Lens of Fashion 1971-2001' (Palazzo Reale, Milan); 'Memos: On Fashion in This Millennium' (Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan); and 'Memorabile: Ipermoda' (MAXXI, Rome). Her recent books include Le forme della moda (2022) and I racconti della moda (2024).