ABSTRACT
By rejecting methodological nationalism, recent advancements in the field of fashion studies have contributed with new insights and a wider understanding of the underlying contexts of the history of modern fashion. In line with this development, this chapter moves beyond the fashionable object itself and instead focuses on the “backstory” or “backstage” and sheds lights on the complex multi-faceted processes and connections that characterizes the history of modern fashion. The chapter presents some paradigmatic “behind-the-scenes” figures in Swedish fashion history from late nineteenth century until today and unravels how some major conceptual and structural changes at the core of the industry migrated and effected the fashion business at large. Furthermore, the chapter describes the transitional phase when and how, in the post war era, the “perific” Swedish retailer H&M became a forerunner and a great player for the new global, democratic fast fashion model.
