All publicity is good publicity? Perhaps not. In recent years, multiple local and global fashion brands have been called out for cultural appropriation, racism, misogyny, and even flirting with fascism. Understanding Fashion Scandals is the first book to explore this changing landscape of contemporary fashion through case studies showing how 'shock value' lost its currency. The book focuses on the changes since the late-1970s and early 1980s, when brands like Calvin Klein and Benetton first used controversy as a promotional tool to build their brand identity, to the contemporary industry where avoiding social media backlash is critical to survival. Analyzing the tactics brands including Burberry, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada adopt to avoid or mitigate scandals, Vanska and Gurova map the fashion industry's journey towards cultural sustainability.

The first book to chart the fashion industry's 40-year journey from 'courting controversy' for free promotion, to avoiding it at all costs for fear of global boycotts, buycotts and reputational damage - and the shifting power dynamic this change represents.

About the Author
Annamari Vanska is Professor of Fashion Research at the Aalto University in Finland. She is the author of Fashionable Childhood (Bloomsbury, 2017) and the co-editor of Fashion Curating (Bloomsbury 2018). Vanska's work spans fashion as embodied culture and digitalization of fashion. She is currently the Deputy-PI of the consortium "Intimacy in Data-Driven Culture" and PI of the research project "Intimacy, Creative Work and Design," funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland (2019-2025). Olga Gurova is a Senior Researcher in circular economy and consumer citizenship at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Finland. She is the author of Soviet Underwear: Between Ideology and Everyday Life (2008) and Fashion and the Consumer Revolution in Contemporary Russia (2015). Gurova works on projects aimed at building an ecosystem of sustainable fashion through the enhancement of business models and consumer behavior in Finland and the Baltic countries, financed by Uudenmaan liitto and Interreg.

Reviews
This is a fresh, updated and comprehensive book on the phenomenon of fashion scandals, which has gained media and consumer attention in recent years. The reader will find both rich case studies and an analysis of how fashion scandals deal with broader processes such as mediatization and cultural appropriation. -- Dr Marco Pedroni, University of Ferrara, Italy
A thought-provoking read looking at an important dynamic within the contemporary fashion and advertising worlds. The authors not only interrogate a variety of scandals, but offer an important framework for understanding contemporary fashion communication. -- Dr. Myles Ethan Lascity, Southern Methodist University, USA
This is a smart, rich and engaging analysis of fashion scandals as engines of media attention and as sites of everyday politics. Recommended reading for everyone interested in how fashion matters in the making of identities, cross-cultural connections and sustainable futures. -- Susanna Paasonen, Professor of Media Studies, University of Turku, Finland
A timely and original introduction to the complex politics of the "fashion scandal," investigated as a brand strategy in the age of global communication and social media. -- Hazel Clark, Professor of Design Studies and Fashion Studies, Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, USA



Book Information
ISBN 9781350248977
Author Professor Annamari Vanska
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC