Feathers Fringes and the spectacular modern Flapper: ode to a fallen type

This chapter examines the enduring appeal of the 'flapper' who emerged as a type of modern woman in the 1920s, and locates how and why her visual appearance is both spectacular yet hollow when adopted by contemporary fashion imagery. By mapping both her semantic and visual roots and development, the chapter highlights how her once transgressive potential is neutralised through the language of commerce and how a figure that initially challenged notions of femininity, in its current incarnation merely affirms them.

The book accompanies an exhibition of the same name but is not a traditional catalogue, instead if offers an in-depth critical look at concepts and themes raised in the exhibition. The exhibition was developed in response to Dirix's 1920s Fashion Sourcebook.

• Organisation
• http://blog.europeanafashion.eu/2015/10/...