Tartan: Revised and Updated

(Paperback, 2nd Revised edition)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

An outstanding and comprehensive contribution to the history of Tartan. Telegraph Featuring new insights and an additional chapter on masculinities, this updated edition of Tartan revitalizes discussions about the fabrics traditional, sentimental Highland origins and its deliberate subversion by contemporary designers. Tartans history has made it uniquely capable of expressing both conformity and subversion, tradition and innovation. Through positioning tartan within broader philosophical, political and cultural contexts, from the tartan-clad Highland regiments and Queen Victorias royal endorsement, to the fabrics influence on Westwood and McQueen and a generation of Japanese designers such as Watanabe and Takahashi, Jonathan Faiers traces tartan's development from clanship to contemporary fashion and its enormous domestic and global impact. Beautifully illustrated and weaving together a story out of history, art, music, film and fashion, Tartan demonstrates that this most traditional and radical fabric has become one of extraordinary versatility and far-reaching appeal.

Reviews

An outstanding and comprehensive contribution to the history of Tartan. * Telegraph *
Intriguing study ... mixes the serious with the saucy. * International Herald Tribune *
A rare treat; a readable, enjoyable academic text. * Selvedge *
Stunning! * Janice Forsyth, BBC Scotland *
A great alternative to the numerous clan reference guides that abound in tourist traps up and down the country. * Scotsman Magazine *
Comprehensive ... wonderfully eclectic. * New Humanist *
This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book that is guaranteed to make the reader consider tartan from new perspectives. * Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture *
Highly attractive ... fascinating ... A treasure trove of Tartan. * Military Illustrated *
Faiers explores the cultural significance and surrounding connotations of tartan while conducting a comprehensive deconstruction of the fabric and its place and development throughout history from clanship to contemporary fashion. * Ali McCulloch, Precious McBane *
Having read the book one becomes aware of tartan's extraordinary versatility, its possibilities as both a radical and traditional material, and the local and global contexts within which it operates. * Juliette MacDonald, Textile *
This is a huge text book that would be great for anyone wanting to learn everything there is to know on the subject. * Cut Out and Keep blog *
A great variety of illustrations of tartan fabrics as they appear in period portraits, fashion designers' collections, products, cartoons, stage, and film complement this thoroughly researched, annotated volume that should interest experts and general readers alike. Recommended. * CHOICE *
A beautifully illustrated story ... history, art, music, film and fashion, Tartan contains everything you ever wanted to know about the most radical and traditional of fabrics. * Crafts *
The book of choice for intelligent fashionistas this winter. * Selvedge *
Tartan is not only for dedicated aficionados, but for everyone curious about its chequered past. Faiers unravels a wonderfully engaging and kaleidoscopic view of this high-impact Scottish cloth, and surprises us by unravelling how tartan continues to inspire and permeate contemporary visual cultures. * Alexandra Palmer, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada *
This beautifully illustrated book is a fantastic resource for anyone wishing to understand Tartan's traditional and rebellious history, from its Scottish roots to its radical reinterpretation by designers including McQueen, Westwood, and Comme des Garons. Tartan is a must-have book for any fashion or textile student. * Andrew Groves, University of Westminster, UK *
Faiers offers the most in-depth exploration of tartans entanglements with fashion and popular culture to date, teasing out the contradictions in its multifarious iterations of clan, cause, and contention. Tartan unravels the myths but the romance remains intact. * Cynthia Cooper, McCord Museum, Canada *

Author Bio

Jonathan Faiers is Professor of Fashion Thinking and Co-Director of the Winchester Luxury Research Group at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, UK. He is the editor of the journal Luxury: History, Culture, Consumption, a member of the V&As Fashion Publishing Advisory Group Board, and a member of the Costume Colloquium Advisory Committee, Florence, Italy.