Fast fashion might seem like a modern invention, but in the turbulent world of 18th-century France, when Marie Antoinette was calling the shots, fashion moved at light speed: In an era when several artisans would be called upon to labor over a single garment, styles shifted by the hour, rendering fashion magazines, which were printed every 10 days, outdated before their ink was even dry.
Not unlike today, the streets of Paris in the 18th century were filled with people wearing flashy outfits referencing politics and pop culture. Trendy hats, hairstyles, and other accessories signaled that you were in the know. During the 1780s, the aristocracy of Europe's most powerful country even started slumming it with simpler, peasant-inspired looks.
But in 1789, the French Revolution brought the fashion industry to its knees, and as political tensions mounted, wearing the wrong outfit could be a fatal mistake. By this time, France's economy had begun to falter, in part due to debts incurred by supporting the American Revolution (along with King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette's extravagant lifestyle). Following years of poor harvests, rising food prices, and an inequitable tax structure, unrest among the working classes boiled over, leading to a bloody decade that cost members of the monarchy their lavish wardrobes, and often their lives. As a result of the French Revolution, the country's social and political structures were reshaped around new ideals, which novel fashions helped promote.
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