Combining industry insider interviews with a compelling historical narrative, Stitched Up delves into the alluring world of fashion to reveal what is behind the clothes we wear. Moving from Karl Largerfeld to Karl Marx, Stitched Up rejects the idea that consumers are responsible for the ills of the fashion industry and explores the impact of class, debt, recession and advertising to reveal who really benefits from exploitation.Tansy E. Hoskins dissects fashion's vampiric relationship with the planet and with our bodies to uncover what makes it so damaging. Why does 'size zero' exist and what is the reality of working life for models? Stitched Up also argues that underpinning the industry is a long history of racism and exclusion. In a critique of heritage theft and the portrayal of race in fashion,Stitched Upexamines the industry's shifting global balance of power.Finally Stitched Up explores the dangers of using clothing to resist. Can you shock an industry that loves to shock? Is 'green fashion' an alternative? In an ideal society would fashion even exist? Stitched Up provides a unique critical examination of contemporary culture and the distorting priorities of capitalism.