Miniskirts & the Unravelling Rag Trade

During the 1960s, youth rose to wield enormous cultural and economic power, and youthfulness itself became a fashionable ideal and commodity. Drawn from research for a PhD project entitled The Power of a Miniskirt, this presentation by Pauline Hastings links the demise of Australia’s clothing manufacturing to the ‘younging’ of both society and culture. The refocus of the fashion market towards youthfulness and the whimsy of youth consumers in the 1960s, caused industry segmentation – undermining the foundations of the industry and making it difficult to weather the economic pressures of globalisation that manifested in the 1970s.

This free lecture will be presented via Zoom.

‘Miniskirts & the Unravelling Rag Trade’ is presented as part of Melbourne Fashion Week.