Fashion’s Revolution and Its Trascendence in Spain: The Case of Madrid’s High Society in the 18th Century

Abstract

At the end of the 17^th century, a turning point in fashion’s history came to the fore. This turning point gave rise to a new perspective about how to understand the garment in the following century. Even though the phenomenon existed since the Medieval period, it is now when the concept of “fashion” emerges, together with a redefinition that associates it to the idea of temporality, in the form of increasingly ephemeral dresses. The establishment of fashion as we know it today arrived to Spain like to the rest of Europe, although it is true that in our country it had a special robustness due to political and dynastic reasons. Beyond the monarchs themselves, noblemen and gentry close to the court of Madrid became great patrons of tailors and manufactures and succumbed to every trend that came from France.