This course provides students with the theoretical tools and historical knowledge for analyzing and understanding the systems of fashion from both a political and geographical perspective. Focusing on growth, constant changes and transitions of the fashion industry, the course introduces central theoretical perspectives around the following themes/concepts: • The origins, development and transition of the global fashion industry since the 18th century to the present • Fashion as a system and/or field • The relationship between production, distribution and consumption of fashion • The role of cultural intermediaries in the fashion industry • National identity and the concept of fashion cities, centres and worlds • The creation of trade organizations and markets • ‘Spatialities’ of the fashion industry • Aesthetic labour • Slow vs Fast fashion and Local vs Global.