A guide to researching Australian and international fashion, designs, designers, industries, textiles and fabrics, patterns, tailoring, dressmaking, uniforms, accessories, and body art.
In her book Fashion: a very short introduction Rebecca Arnold tells us that:
Although fashion has remained an essentially collaborative process, in terms of the number of people involved in its production, it came to be associated with the idea of a single individual’s design skills and fashion vision.
She refers to Rose Bertin (1747-1813) who created designs for people like Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) as the most famous early example of an individual who became known as a fashion designer.
The modern fashion industry started with Charles Frederick Worth in London.
In Australia, designers and labels include G.H.V. Thomas, Suzanne et Cie, House of Shave, Lucy Secor, Charlotte Fifth Avenue Gowns, Haskin House, Shareen, Mr Simon, Elvie Hill, Prue Acton, Georges, Phillipa Gowns, and many more.
For books on particular designers, search for their name, for example:
The Library has several extensive fashion databases. These can be accessed within the Library by anyone, and outside the Library by Victorian registered Library users.
Browse the epitome of international style in the US version of Vogue from 1892 to the present. In colour and including the full content of every page.
Explore world dress and fashion throughout history, including ebooks, articles and thousands of images for clothing and costumes.
Please note: BFL is part of the Bloomsbury Fashion Central platform. The State Library does not subscribe to all of the content on the platform.
Spotlight Discover more about this resource in our Online Collection Spotlight: Berg Fashion Library blog post.
Explore incredibly rich encyclopaedias covering Western and non-Western art, architecture, decorative arts and photography. Note that this database is the access point for Grove® Art Online, the Encyclopaedia of aesthetics, and other Oxford art reference resources.
Fashion designer Elvie Hill, H2011.2/3184
