Dressing the emperor

1500 -1600

The period during which European men would stuff (or “bombast”) their doublets to give the impression of a bigger belly.

1200 000 000

The tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions that fashion generates every year

23

The projected percentage share of secondhand clothes in the global fashion market by the end of the decade (from the current 3.5%).

48

The number of wigmakers King Louis XIV of France employed to help hide his baldness (possibly the result of syphilis). The fashion for wigs then took off among the aristocracy (many of whom also had syphilis).

1870

The year the Japanese government banned the practice of Ohaguro (Teeth Blackening). It was considered a sign of beauty among the nobility in particular.

50

The height in centimetres of some chopines — platform shoes popular in Europe in the 15-17th centuries, particularly in Venice, where both courtesans and patrician women sported them.

120 000 000

The millions of metres of wax print used in Ghana in a year. Wax prints were introduced in West and Central Africa by Dutch traders in the 1800s and were inspired in turn by Indonesian batik prints.

2007

The year Balenciaga co-opted the Keffiyeh (A symbol of Palestinian nationalism) as a fashion accessory

7

The number of centuries that indigo dyeing has been used in West Africa to create intricately patterned cloth, such as the Yorubas’ adire oniko and the Baule tribe’s ikat.

1908

The year in which French fashion designer Paul Poiret “shackled the legs” with the hobble skirt, which was so tight that women’s ability to walk was severely restricted (Coca-Cola bottles were modelled after them).

2000

The year Dior sent model down the runway dressed as homeless people. Riot police had to be called when activists protested outside the house’s headquarters in Paris.

15 000 000

The number of used fast-fashion items shipped to Ghana every week from Europe, the US, and Australia. The local Akan term obroni wa wu translates to “the clothes of the dead white man”