Fashion

(Top) A worker at Blue Creations prepares a pair of blue jeans for a crinkle effect known as "3-D whiskers." (Bottom) Employees at Blue Creations apply the destruction/distressing process to jeans by sanding, ripping and tearing them on molds.

From Pocket Lining To Jeans, A Niche Means Survival In LA Fashion

8:34am December 01, 2015

The fashion industry in LA has been bleeding jobs for years. One bright spot has been high-end denim. Whereas $30 jeans are often made in China or Mexico, designer jeans are almost always made here.

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It's the heat that straightens the hair. But too much, and hair can be permanently limp, or burned.

Straighten Your Hair Without Frying It? Engineers Are On The Case

9:51am August 05, 2015

by Ina Yang

Heat can turn curly locks into a sleek 'do — and can also damage hair permanently. Engineers at Purdue are figuring out how hot is just hot enough when it comes to wielding that flat iron.

Parsons School of Design graduate Lucy Jones created Seated Design, a collection of clothing for people who use wheelchairs. The clothes include extra fabric at the elbows for greater mobility.

Arts

From Canes To Closures, Designing With Style For People With Disabilities

1:51pm July 25, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

Almost 60 million Americans have a permanent disability, but the fashion industry hasn't tapped into that market. Activists and designers are trying to change that, a signature and a stitch at a time.

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Designer Thom Browne says he usually shows his men's collections in Paris, but he felt it was important to support the first Fashion Week for men in New York.

Arts
Economy

Men Strut Their Stuff At Their Very Own New York Fashion Week

2:29pm July 17, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

This week was the debut of New York Fashion Week: Men's. Sixty designers and some big-name sponsors showed up. Jacki Lyden went behind the scenes for The Seams, our series about clothing as culture.

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Skinny jeans: fashion statement or health threat?

Painfully Skinny Jeans Land A Woman In The Hospital

2:40pm June 23, 2015

by Nancy Shute

It turns out jeans really can be too tight. An Australian woman suffered nerve and muscle damage after wearing superskinny jeans. She couldn't walk and was hospitalized, but has since recovered.

Whalebone stays and pannier from France, 1740-1760. The hoops of the pannier fold up, making it easier for the wearer to climb into carriages.

Arts

Shake What Your Mama Didn't Give You: Shapewear Through The Ages

6:29am May 10, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

From corsets and codpieces to shapewear and Spanx, people have tried to change their silhouettes for centuries. From The Seams, Jacki Lyden takes us on a sartorial tour of shapewear.

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For The Modern Man, The Sweatpant Moves Out Of The Gym

2:17pm April 23, 2015

by Sam Sanders

High-end sweatpants are becoming a staple in an increasing number of men's wardrobes. It's part of a global fashion trend called "athleisure," where gym clothes find their way out of the workout room.

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Models show designs by Oscar de la Renta at the 1973 Versailles show. De la Renta was one of the first American designers to sign on for the catwalk competition.

Books
Arts

How A 1970s Fashion Faceoff Put American Designers In The Spotlight

9:06pm March 31, 2015

by NPR Staff

In The Battle of Versailles, fashion critic Robin Givhan tells the story of the groundbreaking runway show that pitched French couture designers against American up-and-comers.

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Robert Duncan poses with his wife, Karen, for New York photographer Iké Udé.

Arts

Nigerian Artist Continues A Family Tradition With 'Sartorial Anarchy'

2:23pm March 31, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

In Lagos, Iké Udé's family engaged in a West African tradition: photographing people wearing new clothes. Clothing and portraiture are still at the center of the New York-based photographer's work.

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A sales assistant arranges handbags inside a Chanel boutique at a shopping mall in central Guangzhou, China, in February 2014.

Prices For Chanel Handbags To Rise In Europe, Lower In Asia

8:49am March 20, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Chanel says it is aligning the cost of its handbags worldwide. The move reacts to the depreciating euro and aims to stop people from buying up the classic bags to sell at a profit in other countries.

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