This class takes fashion seriously as a topic worthy of intellectual discussion and cultural significance. We will combine literary and cinematic examples of clothing alongside contemporary and historical theories of fashion, reading texts ranging from short stories like “Real Women Have Bodies” by Carmen Machado, to analysing a current issue of American *Vogue* magazine; and examining the representation of fashion in films, like *The Devil Wears Prada.* Field trips may include (we have to see what’s on) local art galleries to an upcoming show at Seattle’s Museum of History, Art and Industry on denim. Recurrent topics of focus will be the body, gender, and the obsession with the new.

The focus will be on the female form, and the relation between couture and streetwear, but students will also research and then make a 10 minute presentation based on a topic of their own interest: past presentations have focused on a wide range of topics: Virgil Abloh’s collaboration with Kanye West; the history of the cat suit and Cat Woman in comics; Marilyn Monroe’s fashions—so there’s quite a range of possibilities. This makes sense, since as this course will argue, “fashion explains everything".

Learn more about the instructor of this course: https://english.washington.edu/people/jessica-burstein