Bøker av Giorgio Riello

Bringing together an international cast of scholars from a range of disciplines, this highly illustrated book traces the history of colour through its relationship with clothing in Europe over four centuries in the pre-modern period. A Revolution in Colour reveals how, during this era, dyes spurred on aesthetic experiment, new modes of empirical observation and an intensification of globally interconnected trade. The book demonstrates that merchants and craftspeople generated much of the social value for new aesthetic possibilities through dye tones, successfully arguing that this set off a 'revolution in colour' that intertwined with the first age of globalization and consumerism. Whilst providing clear evidence that even dress obtained by middling people in Europe could be much more expensive than paintings, A Revolution in Colour also shows that vibrant coloured clothing and accessories based on complex chemical experiments were ubiquitous. A broad range of natural dyes made for exciting and highly successful products by creating novelty and new emotional experiences for the masses.

Cloth has always been the most global of all traded commodities. It is an illuminating example of the circulation of goods, skills, knowledge and capital across wide geographic spaces. South Asia has been central to the making of these global exchanges over time. This volume presents innovative research that explores the dynamic ways in which diverse textile production and trade regions generated the first globalization . A series of experts connect this global commodity with the dramatic political and economic transformations that characterised the Indian Ocean in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Collectively, the essays transform our understanding of the contribution of South Asian cloth to the making of the modern world economy.

This engaging volume tells the history of Western fashion, exploring how and why it has influenced people's attitudes, actions, and beliefs since the Middle Ages. Back in Fashion focuses on themes specific to particular periods - such as the significance of medieval sumptuary laws that limited expenditure on clothing; the use of black in early modern Europe; the role of sports on clothing in contemporary times; and the rise of luxury in the new millennium. Author Giorgio Riello investigates how fashion has shaped and continues to characterize Western societies, impacting the lives of millions of people and their relationship to the economy and politics.

Considering silk as a major force of cross-cultural interaction, this book examines the integration of silk production and consumption into various cultures in the pre-modern world.