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Fashion in Contemporary Society

Code 16324
Year 1
Semester S1
ECTS Credits 5
Workload T(30H)/TP(30H)
Scientific area Design de Moda
Entry requirements no entry requirements for this unit
Learning outcomes Know how to investigate contemporary fashion within academic environment.
Be able to: investigate and identify movements/styles/designers relevant to contemporary fashion;
appropriately associate styles, designers and creations;
identify the actors in the discourse of and about fashion and explain how they shape social rituals and define patterns of behavior and interpretation;
apply the knowledge acquired in critical analysis and construction of cultural identities;
position yourself critically regarding the phenomena that characterize the discourse of and about fashion in contemporary society.
Know how to produce content at master's level and CFPs:
improve your:
work capacity, both individually and in groups;
understanding of the objectives and rules of engagement;
capacity for research, autonomy, and management of time, resources, and relationships with others;
awareness of the quality of the work delivered and compliance with pre-defined objectives and deadlines.
Syllabus 1 introduction
Structural characterization and interconnection of the concepts of fashion, society, contemporary and context
beyond clothing: fashion in the era of total design
The utilitarian, symbolic, communication and cultural functions of fashion
2 Fashion, body and identity
The model as a cultural reference
The symbolic construction of masculine and feminine
3 End of the century
century XX: metamorphosis
The democratic ready-to-wear revolution
Postmodernity
Fashion, advertising and consumerism
4 Fashion and globalization
Fashion as a cultural industry
From creator to brand
Prêt-à-porter and haute couture: resistance and reinvention
Fashion and the star system
5 Introductions to a new century and people
Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is copied
The eternal seduction of the object
Media vs Matter
Fashion for 8 billion people
VR, AR, AI and Smart Clothing
6 From leisure to business
Fashion and its markets
Fashion as a competitive factor
A chain of value(s)
Main Bibliography BAUDRILLARD, J. (2014). A Sociedade de consumo, Lisboa: Edições 70.
LIPOVETSKY, G. (1989). O Império do Efêmero: a Moda e Seu Destino nas Sociedades Modernas. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. (https://www.academia.edu/33596055/O_Imperio_do_Efemero_Gilles_Lipovetsky)
BARTHES, R. (2015). O Sistema da Moda. Lisboa: Edições 70.
ANJOS, N. (2019). O Cérebro e a Moda. São Paulo: Senac São Paulo
Thwaites A., Davis L., & Warwick M. (2002). Introducing Cultural and Media Studies; A Semiotic Approach. New York, NY: Palgrave.
Dong, A. (2009). The Language of design; Theory and Computation. London, England: Springer-Verlag Ltd.
FEATHERSTONE, M. (1995). Undoing culture: globalization, postmodernism and identity, London: Sage Publications.
SAILLARD, O. (2009). Histoire Idéale de la Mode Contemporaine. Paris: Co-éditions Textuel / Les Arts Décoratifs.
TEUNISSEN, J. (2005). Global Fashion/ Local Tradition. Arnhem: Terra/ArtEZ.
VERSLUIS, A. UYTTENBROEK, E. (2002). Exactitudes. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers
Language Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.
Last updated on: 2025-09-29

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