Fashion history: main dates, facts & actors

Résumé du document

The idea of fashion as we know it started from the industrial revolution of the 19th century. During the renaissance, fashion was used to differentiate the different social classes: the king was the only one who could wear certain colors or materials such as purple, fur, silk, lace etc. After the middle-ages, fashion was used to differentiate men and women as both wore only dresses. During the renaissance the cleavage was not shown. Showing the legs was also forbidden; these fashions appeared after the French revolution. The men were already showing their legs in 1700 and they were greatly concerned with fashion and its details. The nobility was always interested in showing themselves in the best way and they always spent a lot of money on clothes. This also helped confirm their social status and the power of the money they had.

Extraits

[...] During his carrier he made lot of homage to Africa. He was also the first one to hire black models for his fashion shows. He launched the first unisex perfume lot of time before Calvin Klein. Opium launched in 1977 was a scandal because the name is associated with the drugs. He loved the “Ballet Russes” and he made the most expensive collection he ever did taking inspiration from it. 1980's Several trends emerged : - fashion is ostentation, theatrical fashion is born - Minimalistic look from Japan : unstructured clothes - Ivy league-Preppy look (Ralph Lauren) - Glitzy fashion (Versace) - Rap movement: sneakers - Yuppy look: Wall street-dressed up Renewal of Haute Couture maisons: ready to wear spread Designers : Thierry Mugler power suits Jean Paul Gautier cone bra Issey Myake 1990's Era of : - Supermodels (Linda, Cindy, Claudia, Christie ) - Plastic surgery - Globalisation of fashion - Exportation of the American culture (MacDonald's, Gap ) - Cocooning - Computers, new technologies - Fashion empires (LVMH, PPR, Gucci group ) Fashion styles : - Basic, young, clean : sober colour, simple cut, not much make-up and jewels - Japanese minimalism : layering, unstructured clothes - Hippie look - Punk/grunge look - Sportswear (jogging, sneakers designed by Chanel and JPG) Designers The 6 from Anvers: among which Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela (no name on the garment) Hermes hired Martin Margiela to make a more fashionable collection Gucci was rejuvenated by Tom Ford Prada, specialized in sober luxury (not ostentatious) created the back pack which became a it bag. [...]

[...] During the 60's the Op (Optical art and illustrations) and the Pop (popular objects from everyday life translated into art) art spread. The centre of art from being Paris, become New York, where Op art has born. Both arts were used also in fashion, making the interesting link between fashion and art. The 60's were a very happy period and we can notice this in fashion photography because we can see that the models are always smiling and the look is very funny. [...]

[...] He was also the first one to create the seasonal collections: winter and summer. Thanks to his fame he had important clients like the impress Eugenie and “demi-mondaine” women (very nice figures and faces who were getting married with rich men). In order to attract this rich lovers they were experimenting with fashion and they were the trend setters of this period). During this period women were considered superficial and naturally stupid; legally they couldn't do anything on their own and fashion was the only thing they could have interest in, in fact they were passing the days getting dressed and undressed, also 4 times a day. [...]

[...] He opened his fashion house in Paris after 1947 and he gained immediate success. He was a perfectionist, called the “architect of fashion”: the sleeves of his creations are inspiration for designers of all the times. He re-interpretate the 50's look in a straight way: from curvy lines to straight ones. Pierre Balmain was a typical designer of the 50's that typifies the 50's woman: perfect and sophisticated with a Parisian look, a curvy look with emphasis on the waist and preference for long dresses. [...]

[...] She was a purist of forms and movement: she did a lot of research on fabrics to have movement and changing of forms while people were moving. She used the bias cut and draping, inspired by ancient Greece. Jeanne Paquin : Parisian couturier who did the fist fashion show. Mario Fortuny : conceived a special pleating process and new dyeing techniques on silk Jacques Doucet : pastel colors, fluid lines Sonia Delaunay : former painter who became a fashion designer, creating patterns inspired from cubism (collaboration between fine arts and fashion) Gabrielle Chanel opened its hat store in Paris at 21 rue Cambon in 1910. [...]