‘Spirited, serious, and funny all at once.’ Clare Farrell, fashion designer and founder of Extinction Rebellion.

‘Fashion has become desperately uncool. But into this new space we’re seeing a flood of upcycling, the use of reclaimed deadstock and an army of widely divergent bodies and faces. Is that enough to save it from the obsolescence it probably deserves?’

From the court of Louis XIV to TikTok’s Avant apocalypse, in Fashion: A Manifesto psychoanalyst and clothes lover Anouchka Grose takes an unexpected look at fashion to unpick the hold it has on so many of us. But rather than insisting we give up on the thrills that fashion has to offer, Grose outlines a radically new approach to the way we represent ourselves and looks forward to a future where our clothes treat us – not to mention the planet – more kindly.

'Delicious and substantive. Grose’s wry tone makes her manifesto a joy, but this small book (enticingly produced, with pink cloth covers) has a serious intent.'

‘Wearing her expertise lightly, if not her wardrobe, psychoanalyst and writer Anouchka Grose steers us through the fashion system’s tangled web of desire, drama and identity politics – and, more recently, a growing sense of guilt about its environmental impact . . .  Short, racy and enjoyable as a Vivienne Westwood mini-crini.’ 

‘This book is spirited, serious, and funny all at once. As one of the top polluting industries, which is also a form of cultural production, fashion has a lot to answer for. The complexity of the global fashion system, where we all are stakeholders, is an ideal lens through which to examine our planet threatening predicament. This book will help you to understand (and rightly criticise) the clothing, the culture, and the industry many of us feel utterly conflicted about. Anouchka’s thoughtful reflections help us to see clearly that it’s ok for us to sit with our own love-hate relationship to fashion.´ 

Anouchka Grose is a psychoanalyst and writer practising in London and she is a member of The Centre for Freudian Research, where she regularly lectures. Her non-fiction books include No More Silly Love Songs: A Realist's Guide to Romance and A Guide to Eco-Anxiety: How to Protect the Planet and Your Mental Health and her journalism and fiction have appeared in the Guardian, the Independent and Granta. She is also extremely fashionable.