Description
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Association of Dress Historians Book of the Year Award, 2021Libertine practices have long been associated with transgression and social deviance. This innovative book is the first to focus fully on the relationship between libertinism as a social phenomenon and as a form of fashion. Taking the reader from early modernity to the present day, Adam Geczy and Vicki Karaminas reveal how the connection between clothing and the taboo, the erotic, and the forbidden is at the heart of libertine fashion. Moving from the decadent courts of Charles II and Louis XV to the catwalks of the 21st century,
Libertine Fashion examines literary and sartorial figures ranging from the Marquis de Sade and Lord Byron to Oscar Wilde, Josephine Baker, Colette, and Madonna. Focusing on libertinism as a sartorial practice and identity, this book traces the genealogy of the concept through the proto feminists of the English Reformation, the hedonistic decadents of the
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Trade Review
At once historically rich, learned, and playful, Libertine Fashion is a scholarly, sexy parade through fashion history with frisky side embellishments that reframe accepted thinking of the Libertine in new and thought provoking ways. * The Journal of Dress History *
Wide in scope and pacily written, the book successfully pulls together a diverse body of scholarship and poses challenging arguments for the broad readership at which it is aimed. * Cultural and Social History: The Journal of the Social History Society *
An illuminating reading of the phenomenon of libertinism engaging with the power of fashion and style ... An essential and comprehensive reading and a valuable resource for researchers, students and scholars of fashion, cultural studies, gender, and sexuality. * Zone Moda Journal *
What does it mean to give oneself over to pleasure in dress without compromise? In Libertine Fashion Geczy and Karaminas provide provocative answers. With intelligence and wit their case studies and wide-ranging references bring sartorial libertinism alive, offering an original and much needed history of this fascinating terrain for a new generation. * Chris Breward, National Museums Scotland, UK *
Making a significant contribution to critical literature, and highly entertaining to read with a pleasing lightness of touch, Libertine Fashion illuminates social and sexual rebellion, complex encounters, bizarre dalliances and innovative experiments in behaviour, manners and dress; it brings a fresh perspective to the study of fashion, gender and sexuality. * Pamela Church Gibson, London College of Fashion, UK *
Both lively and scholarly, Libertine Fashion sheds new light on one of the most sensational and underestimated aspects of European cultural history. Geczy and Karaminas offer a compelling overview of transgressive fashion practices and ideologies, combining extensive research with imaginative interpretation. This provocative and witty study of Libertine tradition demonstrates the centrality of fashion for subverting gender stereotypes. * Olga Vainshtein, Russian State University for the Humanities, Russia *
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations Ackowledgements Introduction: Nuancing the Libertine 1. The Merry and Scandalous Court of Charles II 2. The Divine Marquis and the Golden Age of Libertinism 3. The Byronic Hero 4. Decadent Androgynes and Masculine Impersonators: George Sand, Rachilde and Collette 5. Bizarre Dandyism and Decadence: Oscar Wilde 6. From Harlem and Pigalle: Josephine Baker 7. Postmodern Libertinism and Glam Rock: David Bowie 8. Disciplinary Regimes: The Perversity of Jean-Paul Gaultier Conclusion: We are All Libertines Now Notes Bibliography Index
