Introduction 介紹
 

一個人可以說，時尚從來不是一個現代詞。事實上，穿的衣服完全是一個人的特點，同樣，時尚的想法，需要展示和區分自己從別人的衣服是大多數人類社會的特征。The history of clothing and textiles signalsa lot more than our aesthetic progress. the changes in clothing and textiles also signals the availability and use of textiles, or other materials, and the development of technology in the making of clothing over human history. One can argue that fashion is never a modern term. In fact, the wearing of clothing is exclusively a human trait; likewise, the idea of fashion and the need to display and differentiate ourselves from others by our clothing is a feature of most human societies. 

 

人類學家認為，最初人們用動物的皮毛和植物來覆蓋，因為我們需要從寒冷、炎熱、雨水和新的氣候中得到保護，而我們的祖先也無法準確地確定當人類開始穿衣服的時候，另一種假設提供了更多的文化元素。反對這一理論的反對者認為，首先使用的是，如魔術，裝飾，邪教和威望的目的。只是后來，人們發現衣服是可行的。服裝和紡織品在人類歷史上很重要，它們反映了人類所掌握的一種文明和人類所掌握的技術。成品的社會意義體現了他們的文化。

Anthropologists believe that, initially humans used animal skins and vegetation and adapted them into coverings, because we needed protection from cold, heat, rain and new climates that our ancestors moved into, although it is impossible to pinpoint exactly when humans began wearing clothes.An alternative hypothesis gives the history of clothing a more cultural element. Opponents of this theory argue that covering is first used for purposes such as magic, decoration, cult, and prestige. It is only later that humans found clothing to be practical as well. Clothing and textiles have been important in human history; they reflect the materials available to a civilization as well as the technologies that humans hasmastered. The social significance of the finished product reflects their culture.

 

在我們的文明意識到它可能意味著在社會環境中，“時尚”的概念可能已經被啟發了。時尚是非常追求的王室和貴族在中世紀、文藝復興和啟蒙時代確實偉大。然而，時尚已經成為第一和第二次世界大戰之間的社會“瘋狂”在現實中，當大批量生產的服裝真正發展起來。這是在舊社會階層被打亂的時候，還有更多的人可以和想買一種時尚的習慣。后來，在英國，生產方法變得更加精簡，部分原因是由于服裝配給在英國推出。布和縫紉用品配給制，以及嚴格的規范保證更快速生產的服裝制造商，高效和經濟的方式，同時達到一定標準的質量控制。到了20世紀50年代，越來越多的婦女被遺棄的小裁縫從增加大多數連鎖店買的。The notion of “fashion” may have been inspired way before our civilization realise what it could mean in social settings. Fashion is very much pursued by the royals and nobles throughout the medieval, the renaissance, and the great Enlightment times indeed. Yet fashion has only become a social “frenzy” inreality between the First and Second World Wars, when mass production of clothing truly developed. This is when old social classes were disrupted, and many more people could and wanted to afford a habit of fashion. Later still, production methods became more streamlined  due partly to the clothes rationing was introduced in the UK. Rationing of cloth and haberdashery, along with strict specifications ensured manufacturers produced garments in an ever more speedy, efficient and economical manner, and at the same time attaining a certain standard of quality control. By the 1950s, increasing numbers of women abandoned the little dressmaker and bought from the increasing majority of chain stores.
 

New materials, or in other words the invention of new textiles definitely has also had profound impact in fashion industry.Whole range of exciting, new fashion fabrics have been engineered and became widely available after 1960. New materials and fabric finishing techniques are at first exclusive and expensive. Initially they are offered to the world of Haute Couture. A couple of years later they too, filtered to the mass market. Nowadays some of the most common clothing fabrics are new fabrics. In contrast, the most expensive clothing stick to traditional yarn, cotton, wool, etc.
 

The discussion above provides an interesting angle for this thesis: the changes in fashion and textile trends, and how people’s perceptions of them change over time, are of paramount interest in a varieties of subjects. To name a few of them: social studies, cultural studies, history studies and design studies. To fulfil this end, exhibitions of fashion and textile are serving a wilful end. Fashion and textile industry thrives on their nature, which is for display. All textile and fashion enterprises wish to showcase their products in front of the public. Runway shows and trade exhibitions are common ways to reach audiences, but we must also keep in mind the importance of museum exhibitions. Exhibitions are crucial ways to present their unique fashion identities, their quality and status. However, for the argument point of this paper, fashion and textile exhibitions are more significant as they represent a history. History of a time, of society and its opinions, of technology as well. Indeed, apart from catwalk shows, fashion exhibitions tell a story as museums do. That is also, why we have museums devoted to fashion and textile exhibitions. 
 

This thesis, therefore, tries to conduct a comparative research into fashion and textile exhibitions and museum practices towards such exhibitions. We firstly begin by looking at provenance of fashion and textile industry. We try to understand the past and present of fashion exhibitions, the changes that have occurred along the history in forms. Museum practices in fashion exhibitions will them be examined, in both its success and drawbacks. The second part will be concentrated on how to construct a good fashion exhibition in practice. This thesis will compare and contrast fashion exhibitions to general museum exhibitions and runway shows. We will try to identify the significant factors in exhibitions, and discuss the commercial impact of fashion exhibitions.