Mats Gustafsson – illustratör

Men s Fashion    An Untold Story

Fashion, power and masculinity why do men dress the way they do? This book opens the door to new insights into the subject of Men s Fashion An Untold Story. For too long, the history of men s fashion has been hidden behind the story of women s fashion, and behind the notion that a man s interest in fashion cannot be combined with proper masculinity .

In this anthology, a number of the Western world s most renowned fashion historians and writers prove otherwise. The book looks back five hundred years at different periods and styles that have influenced the development of men s fashion up to the present day: the sumptuous designs of the 17th and 18th centuries, the 19th-century-man who often (but not always) dressed in black, the social changes that influenced the development of fashion in the 20th century. Classic English tailoring and the evolution of what remains the most timeless garment, the suit, run like a thread through the history of men s fashion, as does the dandy, the man who dares to go his own way even today. The concluding chapters paint a picture of men s fashion in recent decades: a new vision of masculinity and the close links between male dress and music, body culture, sports and outdoor fashion. And, last but not least, topical issues such as gender norms and climate change. Men represent half of the world s population it s time for the story of men s clothing to become as well-known and widely discussed as women s.

Richly illustrated with historical and contemporary imagery from 1500 to 2022, this book features pictures of the phenomena, garments and individuals that have influenced male fashion from famous international works of art to popular culture, combined with photos by some of the world s most prominent photographers. Among the book s authors are several of the best-known fashion historians and international scholars: Christopher Breward, Claire Wilcox, Elizabeth Wilson, Patricia Mears, Peter McNeil and Bradley Quinn. Renowned participating Swedish scholars include Carolina Brown, Lena Rangström, Mikael Mogren, Johan Cederlund and Göran Söderström, along with esteemed authors and fashion writers such as Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson, Johan Hakelius, Alexander Husebye, Susanne Ljung, Jonas Olsson, Daniel Björk and Daniel Lindström. Mats Gustafson created the cover of the book. Art director was Johan Svensson. Creative Advisor on the project has been Tom Hedqvist.

Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson is a fashion historian and the initiator and main editor of the book Men s Fashion An Untold Story. It is part of her efforts to highlight the status of fashion as a cultural expression. During her extensive career in the Swedish and international fashion sector, she has been active in French haute couture, CEO of the Swedish Fashion Council for many years, advisor to companies in fashion and business, and curator of major fashion exhibitions in Sweden and other countries. She initiated the establishment of fashion as an academic discipline at Stockholm University in 2006 and has published a large number of articles in Swedish and international publications and  anthologies on fashion. In the foreword to this book she writes: What I hope above all is that this book will be the beginning of a serious discussion about men s fashion and about masculinity and clothing; that other books will be written on the subject, that the media will pay attention to it and that the subject will be discussed in a serious and forward-looking way. Because it is worth it.