Overview

In 2005, British supermodel Kate Moss went to Glastonbury with her then-boyfriend, indie rocker Pete Doherty. Their unwashed appearance captured widespread attention, propelling the British indie music scene and its signature look—slender bodies clad in skinny jeans—to the center of popular fashion. Using this fashionable watershed as a launching point, Fashioning Indie narrates indie’s evolution: from a 1980s British music subculture into a 21st-century international fashion phenomenon. It explores the lucrative transformation of indie style, first into high concept menswear and later into “festival fashion”—a womenswear phenomenon that remade what indie looked like and provided a launching point to reimagine who the ideal subject of indie could be. Fashioning Indie is essential reading for academic and popular audiences, offering an original account of what happens when a subculture is incorporated into the commercial fashion system. As the music and fashions of festivals face increasing scrutiny in debates about diversity and inclusion, and the transformations of indie style coincide with the global expansion of the second-hand retail sector, the book offers also essential insights into the broader culture of popular fashion in the 21st century and the values that inform it.

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9781350126329

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Reviews

'Indie' may be short for `independent,' but the thrifted, often ill-fitting clothes that indie kids wear tell a more complicated story. Lifter tells that story here-with all its messy cultural and racial politics intact-in sharp and accessible prose. * Brent Luvaas, Drexel University, USA * Through extensive media analysis and original interviews, Lifter's book offers valuable insights into the fascinating nature of indie style and adds to the literature on style, authenticity, festivals and vintage fashion. * Shaun Cole, Winchester School of Art, UK * Fashioning Indie brilliantly captures the cultural history of indie fashion and music scenes since the 1980s through current popular festivals. Rachel Lifter thoughtfully positions the indie producers and consumers within the subcultural market and larger Western fashion system. * Theresa M. Winge, Michigan State University, USA *

[Fashioning Indie] is recommended for those studying twenty first century fashion, especially those focusing on its intersections with independent music, music festivals, and the vintage and secondhand clothing markets. On those subjects, this book lays out many important concepts, events, and influential figures, making it a very solid resource for students and scholars. * Journal of Dress History * 'Indie’ may be short for ‘independent,’ but the thrifted, often ill-fitting clothes that indie kids wear tell a more complicated story. Lifter tells that story here—with all its messy cultural and racial politics intact—in sharp and accessible prose. * Brent Luvaas, Drexel University, USA * Through extensive media analysis and original interviews, Lifter’s book offers valuable insights into the fascinating nature of indie style and adds to the literature on style, authenticity, festivals and vintage fashion. * Shaun Cole, Winchester School of Art, UK * Fashioning Indie brilliantly captures the cultural history of indie fashion and music scenes since the 1980s through current popular festivals. Rachel Lifter thoughtfully positions the indie producers and consumers within the subcultural market and larger Western fashion system. * Therèsa M. Winge, Michigan State University, USA *

Author Information

Rachel Lifter is Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, USA. Her writing appears in Fashion Cultures Revisited (2013), Fashioning Professionals (Bloomsbury 2018), and Fashion Stylists (Bloomsbury forthcoming 2020).

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