Abstract. The paper explores the conditions of innovation in contemporary fashion through a case study of ʻretroʼ understood as the revival either materially, immaterially, or literally of past trends in fashion. By clarifying the difference between retro as a trend and history as a source of inspiration, the paper looks at the dynamic of retro as an ambiguous presence in fashion. Because while fashion is generally defined by innovation and novelty, retro appears to counteract this basic premise and hence suggests that the very foundation of fashion may be changing. The subject is discussed by joining media representation of retro fashion with a wide range of theories on retro in fashion from a multi-disciplinary range of sources.

The paper aims to develop categories and clarify terminology within a historical framework for understanding retro as a condition for future practice of design. The key themes of the paper are: The trend mechanisms driving retro; the paradoxes of secondhand fashion; the past in the present as a condition of cultural production with Walter Benjaminʼs notion of ʻthe tigerʼs leapʼ and ʻthe labyrinthʼ as leitmotifs; the distinction between retro trend and subculture; the reduced time lag in fashion and the effects this has on fashion cycles as organizing vehicle for the fashion industry.