Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion

Who makes your clothes? This used to be an easy question to answer: it was the seamstress next door, or the tailor on the high street – or you made them yourself. Today we rarely know the origins of the clothes hanging in our closets. The local shoemaker, dressmaker and milliner are long gone, replaced by a globalised fashion industry worth $1.5 trillion a year.

In Wardrobe Crisis, fashion journalist Clare Press explores the history and ethics behind what we wear. Putting her insider status to good use, Press examines the entire fashion ecosystem, from sweatshops to haute couture, unearthing the roots of today’s buy-and-discard culture. She traces the origins of icons like Chanel, Dior and Hermès; charts the rise and fall of the department store; and follows the thread that led us from Marie Antoinette to Carrie Bradshaw.

From a time when Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein were just two boys from the Bronx, to the world of the global fashion juggernaut, where Zara’s parent company produces more than 900 million garments annually, Press takes us on an insider’s journey of discovery and revelation.

Wardrobe Crisis is a witty and persuasive argument for a fashion revolution that will empower you to feel good about your wardrobe again.

Clare Press is Marie Claire’s fashion editor-at-large. She was previously the features director at Sunday Style and has worked as a fashion designer, brand consultant and editor, including stints as features director at Vogue, fashion critic at the Monthly and columnist at Instyle. Clare’s fashion journalism has been published in Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the New York Times Magazine and many more. She is a passionate advocate for sustainable and ethical fashion, and sits on the Australian advisory board of Fashion Revolution.

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