No one bats an eyelid if you mention bums, boobs, or any other ‘b’ words describing ‘sexualized’ parts of the anatomy today. It was different in Victorian times, which is why the word bustle was invented. Victorians were as obsessed with their bodies as we are now. Women wore bustles with corsets to fill out the rump […]
The Pre-Fall 2016 collections of Gucci and No.21 both feature felines, according to Vogue Runway, which is flags up the trend for this year. We were spotting cats all over the place in 2014 and included them as a microtrend in Visuology Magazine Issue 3. We picked out a fab pair of Miu Miu boots, a […]
“We don’t have codpieces now, but we have pretty tight jeans,” says Tim Knox, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum. There is now a noticeable interest in romantic male accessories and man-bags – a trend we pointed to in Tudor-themed Visuology Issue 1. These are the sorts of items mentioned by Matthäus Schwarz in a Renaissance […]
A far cry from bespectacled, retro-inspired geek chic – or the homogenized normcore look, is the trend for increasingly extreme tattooing and body piercing. Although tattoos have been around since Neolithic times, and 5000-year old mummified humans have been found with body piercings, the relatively recent association of such body adornments with sailors and criminal gangs has […]
Commercial yet contrarian, Lee Alexander McQueen inhabited a parallel world to most of those around him. Being so rapidly catapulted from council house kid to multi-millionaire couturier must have been psychologically unsettling, but his morbid feelings were sadly compounded by the rigorous demands of his trade, by bereavement and a bad drug habit. Referred to in the V&A’s new exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty […]
This is a first for Visuology. We are sponsoring a Last Tuesday Society lecture at the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art and Natural History. Savile Row Tailor, Richard Anderson will be in conversation with Amber Butchart, discussing the history and evolution of Savile Row and how it has adapted to the 21st century. Richard […]
Menswear is serious business. The UK market grew by 18% between 2008 and 2013, with £12.9 billion of sales (£10.7 billion of which were online) in 2013, against womenswear sales of £24.9 million. Mintel predicts menswear sales will reach £19 billion by 1919, though womenswear sales should be well over £30 billion by then. Which key items […]
The constant stream of new collections presupposes that consumers have an unquenchable desire for something new. In an article earlier this week, BOF (Business of Fashion) considers whether trends are relevant in a world where everyone wants the latest thing now. Seasonal order patterns have changed beyond all recognition, with some designers ditching them altogether, whilst others […]
Why are women so fascinated by clothes, and how does our relationship with schmutter affect the way we are perceived? Women Fashion Power at London’s Design Museum showcases one outfit from each of twenty-six “exceptional” women. All are leaders in their field and understand that “the clothes they wear are a part of the way that they […]