The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: Her World, Women and Fashion in Singapore 1974-1989: Accidental Career Girl to Working Mother of the Year, Nadya Wang

Her World, Women and Fashion in Singapore 1974-1989: Accidental Career Girl to Working Mother of the Year

Nadya Wang

Between 1974 and 1989, significant changes were taking place in the lives of Singaporean women and in their local fashion industry. These shifts were not only reflected in but actively shaped by the magazine Her World.

In Her World, Women and Fashion in Singapore, Nadya Wang uses dress as a lens through which to view fragments of the magazine over 15 years. Advocating for a new and decentred understanding of the evolution of the Singapore woman, Wang's writing also traces the creation of a fashion industry that pivoted from seeking validation from global fashion cities to establishing itself as the lead of a Southeast Asian fashion community.

Visual analysis of archival materials is combined with oral history interviews to demonstrate how the women of Singapore engaged with local and global ideas, fashion and beauty commodities, and imagery of models and beauty queens in their self-fashioning. Challenging existing understandings of their agency, this book attests to the creativity and adaptability of Singapore women and Singapore fashion designers.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
  • Publish Date: Jun 12nd, 2025
  • Pages: 272
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.21in - 6.14in - 1.00in - 1.00lb
  • EAN: 9781350465046
  • Categories: Fashion & Accessories

About the Author

Wang, Nadya: - Nadya Wang is an art and fashion historian and editor based in Southeast Asia. She runs Art & Market (A&M) and Fashion & Market (FAM), and hosts the podcast From A to Zig-Zag. She is also half of the duo behind the vodcast In the Vitrine. Nadya has been teaching at LASALLE College of the Arts since 2013. In 2022, she was awarded her PhD in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Arnold, Rebecca: - Rebecca Arnold is Senior Lecturer in History of Dress and Textiles at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.