Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: New Books in Western European Studies
Episode: Liz Tregenza, "Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930-70" (Bloombury, 2023)
Description: Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930-70Â (Bloomsbury, 2023) by Dr. Liz Tregenza seeks to revise the notion that wholesale couturiers were simply copyists and demonstrate the complexities of their design processes and business strategies. This term has fallen out of usage; however, it was used to describe the pinnacle of the British ready-to-wear fashion industry between the 1930s and 1960s. Companies within this sector have typically been recognised as creators of high-quality copies of French haute couture, using ready-to-wear techniques.Dr. Tregenza traces wholesale couture garments from concept to usage, considering design, manufacture, branding, promotion, retail and export. S...