History of fashion and textile industry

The clothing industry began with very basic material. It began with animal skins or leaves being
used as the material to cover bodies. The ambition of those people was not to look fashionable
but the objective was to cover their bodies. The figurines found in the caves depict that people
had very basic knowledge of clothing as they have extremely limited resources.

The evidences recorded by the archeologists show that the textile history started since the
prehistoric period. Anthropologists and archeologists found figurines and decomposed fragments
of fabrics that depict the production of clothing, the bones found from the historical sites show
that these pointed bones were used as the needles to construct garment.

The development in the textile industry has also been witnessed in the murals of pyramids in
Egypt that depicts the development in agriculture. It has significantly transformed the textile
industry. Cultivation of raw material like hemp flax and transforming these materials into the
textiles resulted in advanced textile industry.

In ancient times the processing of fibers to form yarns was done by hand. Handlooms were used
for manufacturing of fabric. Later on, the textile industry was developed with the invention of
spinning jenny. Spinning mule was invented in 1775 that led old textile industry to the
modernization.

Textiles and clothing in different civilizations

The evolution of textile began by using animal skins to cover their bodies. With the development
and emerging civilizations new ways were developed to explore cultivation and agriculture. The
textile evolved from leather and people moved to the use of felt and later on flax and cotton
cultivation started. Spinning methods were being used to make textiles. The development in the
civilizations also developed the textile industry and clothing was not just meant to cover the
body but the patterns, dyes and adornments were introduced that were specified to a set of
individuals like royals, laborers, and priests. Different textile and clothing design were followed
by different categories of people.

The textile industry improved in the 1700s, during the birth of the industrial age, better looms
and spinning methods were introduced to handle larger quantities and the development was
followed by the invention of machines for the purpose.
Textile and fashion in the middle ages

Simple wool garments were seen in the early Middle Ages. The fine linen and silk togas and
draped robes of the Romans disappeared and were replaced by crude wool leggings and fur-lined
tunics, or shirts. The basic clothing element of the Middle Ages was a fitted tunic and Trousers
were introduced and eventually replaced with hose, by 1200 AD, tight lacing had been
introduced to women's clothing to create a smaller and shapelier waistline. Headdresses took a
prominent place in displaying a woman's social status, while the more exacting rules of fashion
changed according to each new ruler and what they decreed was fashionable.

Textile and fashion in the Roman era

Roman clothing had distinct forms of its own. In all the ancient world, first and foremost clothes
needed to be simple. As for possible materials, there was only really one. Wool, although to
some extent linen was also available. The needles of the day were coarse and unwieldy by
modern standards. Hence any stitching or sewing was kept to a minimum. This of course also
ruled out buttonholes and meant that any kind of clothing was held together with either with
fastenings such as broaches or clasps. The earliest Romans wore animal hides and skins tied
around the waist. It is unclear exactly when these were exchanged for the more evolved dress
code and fashions we generally think of as "Roman clothing".

A further defining element would have been Rome's earliest of trades: sheep farming; suggesting
that wool fabrics would have been regarded as being both traditional and fit-for-purpose. The
fabric itself was handwoven on looms and would have been relatively soft to the touch. Stripes
and other adornments would have been woven into the fabric itself. Linen, cotton, or flannel was
rather more likely to be used.

Fashion in Greeks civilization

The Ancient Greeks were not fussy about their clothing. The garments they wore were made for
function, and they were made simply. A single piece of fabric could be styled and restyled, to fit
a particular occasion or a fashion. And with Greek summers being brutally hot, the less fabric
and complicating seams to deal with, the better. While certainly not fancy, Greek clothing was
functional and built to last. In fact, in today’s haute couture we often see a bit of Ancient Greek
fashion influence. The columnar style of the tunic, especially the women’s Peplos, is not an
uncommon style to be worn by women today.
Influence of social and cultural factors on fashion and textiles

Fashion environment has highly been affected by the social and cultural factors. Social and
cultural movements impacted on the industry by changing the fashion trends of the time. Fashion
is not only about dresses and clothing but accessories like jewelry, shoes and headwear. Fashion
also defines the style and culture of the particular era or civilization. The cultural and social
values changes with the development and these factors leads to the change in fashion. Culture
changes with the location and lifestyle of the people. The lifestyle, religious beliefs and resources
of the people define the clothing style and trend in fashion industry.

Impact of American revolution on Fashion

In 18th century thirteen colonies rebelled against the Great Britain government, the rebellion
against the rules and the new taxation policies that were not acceptable by the colonies.
American revolution impacted social and cultural environment that cause a change in the style
and lifestyle.

Clothing fashion in men appeared in 18th century was more like formal clothing, loose shirts with
waistcoats/vests a dress coat was also worn on the waistcoat. Coats were long in length, sleeves
were tight and cuffs of the sleeves were bigger in size. Shoes worn represented the class of
individuals, based on division in social class individuals wore boots or buckled shoes with heels.
Headwear common in the time was hat.
Women dressing was also based on the social class, higher the status higher is the number of
layers in the garment. The common dressing in women consisted of a gown and petticoat. To
volumize the petticoat women used to wear a petticoat under the petticoat.

Dresses mostly had deep square necklines and length of the bodice to the lower waist. Trend of
wearing a petticoat under a petticoat was replaced with the use of panniers. Headwear of women
during revolution were frilled hats and caps that were used to cover hairs.

World War II (1939-1945) and Fashion

The era of World War II is known as the era that not only affected the social and political life but
has also impacted the fashion industry. The impact of WWII on the fashion industry was that it
totally changed the perspective of the designers thinking and the formula to design the collection.
The social and cultural aspects of the world changed with the WWII and the influence of these
changes were seen in the designers clothing.

The war resulted in the shortage of fabrics and materials used for the clothing. The people started
using fabric that is easily available and instead of wearing extravagant clothe the trend shifted
towards simpler clothes. Clothing is a necessity and during war it was necessary to provide
clothing to the warriors and people. The fabrics like wool and synthetic fibers were used in the
garment making. Due to the limited supply of fabric and material for accessories the length of
the garment shortened with simple designs.

Soldier’s dresses were made up of wool fabric and were not easily available for the garment
making so people decided to use blended and synthetic fabrics to cover themselves. For women
dresses the synthetic fabric was used to design clothes. A new design of garment was added to
the women clothing i.e jumpsuit. The jumpsuit was an innovative one-piece garment, less time
taking and easy to wear. The jumpsuit was designed in a way that it had many pockets to carry
valuables.

Era of Deconstruction (1970)

Deconstruction is a quite new movement in the field of fashion which aims at making the
elements of garment construction more visible. This movement created a new face of the fashion.
Deconstruction in art focuses on not following the traditional way to produce artwork. In
deconstruction art the artist goes beyond the mainstream art to come up with something that is
not ordinary. Deconstruction in the field of fashion industry means to go against the traditional
approach of fashion and use designs and material that is unconventional.

The deconstruction of the garment goes against the basic principles of clothing designs, the
fundamentals of this movement includes exposing the process of garment construction such as
sewing lines and seams instead of following the traditional form of sewing. The fashion of the
movement breaks the laws and introduces a new way of art.

The deconstruction of the fashion is taken into different interpretations that are

1. Going against the fashion or not considering the basic aim of clothing.

2. Decomposition is depicted in the fashion, the decomposition of environment of deteriorating

emotions due to the social and political stress. The designs of deconstruction era displays the
crisis in the clothing styles by producing patched clothes.

3. The fashion must address the issue of environmental problems. Waste material is contributing
to the global warming. So, the recycling of material in creating clothes helped in the emergence
of Eco-fashion.

Technological advancement
In the present era, we are surrounded by technology everywhere. The developments in the field
of technology has completely revolutionized the way the fashion and textile industry perform.
Technology has provided not just faster but more reliable ways to execute ideas with precision.
Some of the main technological developments of the 21st century is discussed below.

3D design and printing

The advancement in the technology allows the artist to design a new style by using software’s for
finding the best fit. These software’s allows them to make changes in the design like changing
the sleeves design, collars and shape of the garment. 3D modeling using digital technologies has
greatly enhanced this process. It is possible to transform flat drawings and technological patterns
into virtual 3D renderings, allowing you to change the concept and build the right match in real
time.

The application of digital printing is a modern development which plays an important part in the
fashion industry. With the aid of a 3D printer, you can now make anything from sneakers to
clothing to jewelry. The three-dimensional imprinting helps the product to be detailed and
renders it a special masterpiece. 3D Printing in the fashion industry can be used to produce
fashion garments, jewelry, shoes, ornaments and buckles.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in designing

AI is used in the fashion industry to understand the consumer needs and trends of the fashion
industry to revolutionize the designing process. An illustration of artificial intelligence in the
fashion industry is Project Muze, a program by Google & Zalando. A neutral network was
trained by the project to understand colors, patterns, style preferences as well as other aesthetic
parameters extracted from the Fashion Trends Study from Google along with Zalando's design
and trend info. An algorithm was used by the project to build prototypes based on the needs of
users, matched to the style tastes known by the network.