"This book explores the fascinating history and present-day practices associated with cotton. This is a story of commercial and cultural enterprise, of war between East and West, of technological and industrial revolution, social modernisation, colonialism and slavery. And yet cotton remains one...

What is the origin and essence of fashion? This question has engaged scholars of various disciplines over the past decades, most of whom approach this subject with a Western or European focus. This paper argues instead that Asia was also pivotal in the articulation of the fashion system in...