TY - CHAP

T1 - Anticipations of the New Urban Cultural Economy

T2 - Fashion and the Transformation of London’s West End 1955–1975

AU - Breward, Christopher

AU - Gilbert, David

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 - This essay is a distinctive response to urban creativity in Londonduring what might be described as the long 1960s. Here the emphasis isneither on the 1960s as cultural revolution, nor on the period as anothertwist in a long tradition of urban creative activity, but rather on the way inwhich many of the elements of what has been described as the new culturaleconomy of cities were anticipated in the developments of the period. Ourprimary focus here reflects our interests and research into the developmentof the fashion industry and broader fashion culture of the West End in thepost-war period, but our more general argument applies to a wider rangeof cultural industries that developed in the city during the period. Examiningthe history of London in the 1960s alongside consideration of the newurban cultural economy literature can help to achieve three outcomes.First, this analysis of the urban creative economy that developed in Londonfrom the late-1950s onwards complicates what has become a dominantreading of the periodisation of the interrelations between culture,economy and certain key cities. We consider this periodisation model inthe following section. Secondly, ideas developed from the urban culturaleconomy literature can contribute new perspectives to our understandingof London in the 1960s. Finally, this exercise can also be used to reflect oncontemporary developments, indicating some of the specificities and limitationsof claims about contemporary urban creative sectors.

AB - This essay is a distinctive response to urban creativity in Londonduring what might be described as the long 1960s. Here the emphasis isneither on the 1960s as cultural revolution, nor on the period as anothertwist in a long tradition of urban creative activity, but rather on the way inwhich many of the elements of what has been described as the new culturaleconomy of cities were anticipated in the developments of the period. Ourprimary focus here reflects our interests and research into the developmentof the fashion industry and broader fashion culture of the West End in thepost-war period, but our more general argument applies to a wider rangeof cultural industries that developed in the city during the period. Examiningthe history of London in the 1960s alongside consideration of the newurban cultural economy literature can help to achieve three outcomes.First, this analysis of the urban creative economy that developed in Londonfrom the late-1950s onwards complicates what has become a dominantreading of the periodisation of the interrelations between culture,economy and certain key cities. We consider this periodisation model inthe following section. Secondly, ideas developed from the urban culturaleconomy literature can contribute new perspectives to our understandingof London in the 1960s. Finally, this exercise can also be used to reflect oncontemporary developments, indicating some of the specificities and limitationsof claims about contemporary urban creative sectors.

KW - Cultural economy

KW - London

KW - Fashion

KW - 1960s

KW - clustering

KW - post-Fordism

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9783593385471

SP - 163

EP - 182

BT - Creative Urban Milieus

A2 - Hessler, M

A2 - Zimmermann , C

PB - University of Chicago Press

CY - Frankfurt and Chicago

ER -