A guide to researching Australian and international fashion, designs, designers, industries, textiles and fabrics, patterns, tailoring, dressmaking, uniforms, accessories, and body art.
The fashion industry dates back to the 18th century. For an overview, try these catalogue searches:
For each search, use the options given on the left-hand side for refining your search.
Clothing factory, c.1943, H99.201/3559
If you wish to find information on more specific industry details, such as statistics, market research, as well as company information, go to these research guides:
For information on designs, trade marks and patents see these research guides:
For general articles about the fashion industry choose the Articles option from the dropdown menu next to the search box on our catalogue and enter keywords.
Access to full text articles is available within the Library, and if you are a Victorian registered with the Library you can access the full text from outside the Library.
See this keyword search on fashion merchandising. Use facets to narrow results and modify your search.
Retail trade
This regularly published collection includes figures for retail trade in clothing and footwear and accessories. Choose the Downloads tab to access relevant issues. There are also Time series excel spreadsheets that can be downloaded. These map various statistics for industry groups over a 30 year period.
Household expenditure
Choose Downloads to access full data. This summary includes statistics for household expenditure on clothing and footwear.
"Business and usual, or more to the point, fashion as usual, is not an option." - Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles (ebook)
While fast evolution or trends and decreasing purchasing costs may have contributed to the democratization of fashion, consumption practices have an increasing environmental and ethical impact at every stage of production.
To find books and articles on this topic use search terms such as 'ethical fashion', 'eco fashion' or 'sustainable fashion'.
A sweaters' workroom in Melbourne,1890, IAN01/07/90/1
Slave to Fashion brings in the facts, stories and actions we must take to eradicate modern slavery.
In a comprehensive survey of this highly pertinent subject, leading academic Sandy Black examines the way the fashion industry is changing to accommodate the environmental concerns of the twenty first century.
Technologized textiles and sustainable fabrics are among the most innovative designed today, and together they are driving the rest of the industry dramatically forward.
