History of Fashion PREHISTORY
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PREHISTORY
Clothing has always been associated with the development of man's tools, weapons and techniques.
Therefore, talking about the development of human beings over time also means talking about the
clothes they created and used.
Prehistory is divided into many shorter periods, in all of which clothing was an important part of
human beings and developed at the same time as other areas such as tools, weapons, techniques and
others.
Man began to use hunting to cover two needs at the same time and developing skills and techniques in
both aspects: food and clothing. Hunting allowed them to extract meat to eat, but also the skin of
these animals to make the clothes they wore.
The skin taken from the animals they hunted was tanned with salt and water, and soaked for a period
of time to remove the fat and pieces of bone that remained after removing the meat.
Over time, better and faster techniques were developed to carry out this process, in addition to
weaving and sewing to create not only clothing for the body, but also for homes and beds.
Paleolithic
It is said that it was in the Paleolithic (2 million BC) until 13,000 BC) where the first clothes were
created. It was during this period that clothing was extremely rudimentary, as were the tools invented
for hunting and also for making clothing. Possibly during this period shoes were also invented in order
to protect every part of the body from the coldest climates. The clothes were designed with animal
skin, which included a process of scraping and curing, and even softening if it was too hard, so that the
skin would be soft and flexible and would fit the body.
Mesolithic
In the period known as Mesolithic (13,000 BC) Until 8,000 BC, the climate began to improve and
become more stable, allowing humans to develop skills in the field of sewing and making clothing for
the body. Although there is no evidence of the use of elaborate fabrics, it could be said that they used
the same skins from the previous period, but this time they managed to sew them together and design
a tighter and lighter garment.
The needle is invented, made from pieces of animal bone or carved stone, and the use of animal
tendons as thread.
The hunting peoples were more adorned than clothed, so it is possible that weaving appeared there
before it did in the glacial areas and was derived from basketry.
Neolithic
History of fashion l
Later, in the period known as Neolithic (8,000 BC) Until 3,000 BC, plant fibers were developed to weave
fabrics such as linen, which was one of the best invented at that time. Another important fabric of that
time was wool, which was used to create felt.
The backstrap loom was invented to weave cloth and spinning began. The resulting thread was quite
rudimentary, but it was what led to the improvement and use of spinning in the textile industry.
The improvement of loom tools was carried out based on the use of the different fibers employed to
complement the skins used by the different races during this historical period.
It has been observed that primitive fabrics are characterized by their small size, whether they are linen,
wool, or other types of textiles.
In prehistoric times, clothing played a very important role in human existence, covering their naked
bodies in order to provide them protection from the cold and more temperate climates. In addition, it
helped them not to be so vulnerable to attacks from animals or other humans, which gave them access
to areas of the earth where they had not been able to live before, frozen areas with the presence of
enormous wild animals.
On the other hand, clothing in prehistory not only served to protect human beings who inhabited the
earth at that time from the cold, but also began what we know as fashion today. That is to say, clothing
was given an ornamental and decorative use apart from its main use, which was to protect, which
allowed them to begin to differentiate between one class of person and another. To this end, different
clothing models were designed according to sex, climate and even social class.
Important contributions to fashion and textile industry
Brine (Tanning of leather with water and salt).
Invention of the needle and “thread” (animal tendons as thread)
Use of natural and animal fibers
Creation of felt
Creation of the loom
Creation of the spinning mill
Use of accessories (stone and bone)
