Fashion As Performance represents the first critical examination of fashion as dramatic performance. Going beyond analyses of fashion as a means of social performance, relating to communication and consumption of community, cultural and personal identity, this highly original and engaging book explores the ways in which clothing operates by applying key performance theory approaches. From Aristotle and Brecht to Auslander and Boal, elements of classical and current dramatic theory are used in case study style to unpack specific collections, designers and moments in contemporary fashion at which dramatic theory finds its way to the runway, the hanger and the street corner. Analysing cutting edge designers including Rei Kawakubo, Joseph Corre, Thierry Mugler, Dirk Bikkembergs, Martin Margiela, Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, Fashion As Performance will be essential reading for students, researchers and artists in both fashion and performance studies.