Encyclopedia
Fashion design is the
applied art dedicated to the design of
clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time.
Fashion designers may work under their own name, or for another designer name or brand. Designer brands which have a 'name' as their brand such as
Calvin Klein or
Ralph Lauren are likely to be designed by a team of individual designers under the direction a designer director.
Fashion design differs from costume design due to its core product having a built in obsolescence usually of one to two seasons. A season is defined as either
autumn/
winter or
spring/summer. Fashion design is generally considered to have started in the
19th century with Charles Frederick Worth who was the first person that sewed his
label into the garments that he created.
While all articles of clothing from any time period are studied by academics as costume design only clothing created after 1858 could be considered as fashion design.
Types of Fashion Design
Haute CoutureThe type of fashion design which predominated until the 1950's was "made-to-measure" or haute couture, . A couture garment is made for an individual customer. Look and fit take priority over the cost of materials and the time it takes to make.
Mass MarketThese days the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales. This caters for a wide range of customers, producing ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes. Cheap materials, creatively used, produce affordable fashion.
Designer LabelDesigner label clothes are a cross between couture and mass market. They are not made for individual customers, but great care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric. Clothes are made in small quantities to guarentee exclusivity, so they are rather costly.
Couture beginnings
The first fashion designer who was not merely a dressmaker was Charles Frederick Worth . Before the former draper set up his
maison couture in
Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from styles worn at
royal courts. Worth's success was such that he was able to dictate to his customers what they should wear, instead of following their lead as earlier dressmakers had done. With his unprecedented success, his customers could attach a name and a label to his designs once they learned that they were from the House of Worth, thus starting the tradition of having the designer of a house be not only the creative head but the symbol of the brand as well.
Worth's former apprentice
Paul Poiret opened his own fashion house in 1904, melding the styles of
Art Nouveau and
aestheic dress with Paris fashion. His early
Art Deco creations signalled the demise of the corset from female fashion.
Following in Worth's and Poiret's footsteps were: Patou, Vionnet, Fortuny, Molyneux , Lanvin,
Chanel, Mainbocher,
Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, and Dior. Hand in hand with clothing, haute couture accessories evolved internationally with such names as
Guccio Gucci,
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana,
Thierry Hermès, Judith Leiber, and others.
It was during this period that many design houses began to hire artists to sketch or paint designs for garments. The images alone could be presented to clients much more cheaply than by producing an actual sample garment in the workroom. If the client liked the design, she ordered it and the resulting garment made money for the house. Thus, the tradition of designers sketching out garment designs instead of presenting completed garments on models to customers began as an economy.
The Early Twentieth Century
Throughout the early 20th Century, all high fashion originated in Paris, and to some extent London. American and British
fashion magazines sent editors to the Paris fashion shows.
Department stores sent buyers to the Paris shows, where they purchased garments to copy . Both made-to-measure salons and ready-to-wear departments featured the latest Paris trends, adapted to the stores' assumptions about the lifestyles and pocket books of their targeted customers.
At this time in fashion history the division between haute couture and ready-to-wear was not sharply defined. The two separate modes of production were still far from being competitors. Indeed, they often co-existed in houses where the seamstresses moved freely between made-to-measure and ready-made.
At the beginning of the twentieth-century fashion magazines began to include photographs and became even more influential than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public taste. Talented
illustrators - among them Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape, and George Barbier - drew exquisite fashion plates for the publications which covered the most recent developments in fashion and
beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du bon ton which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly published until 1925 .
Influential fashion designers and fashion houses of the period include: Jacques Doucet, Mariano Fortuny,
Paul Poiret,
Lucile, Jeanne Paquin, Cheruit, Callot Soeurs, Margaine-Lacroix, Agnes, Charles Poynter Redfern, the House of Worth, Gustav Beer, Georges Doeuillet, and Christoff von Drecoll.
1900's
The outfits worn by the fashionable women of 'La Belle Époque' were strikingly similar to those worn in the heyday of the fashion pioneer Charles Worth. By the end of the nineteenth-century, the horizons of the fashion industry had generally broadened, partly due to the more mobile and independent lifestyle many well-off women were beginning to adopt and the practical clothes they demanded. However, the fashions of the La Belle Époque still retained the elaborate, upholstered, hourglass-shaped style of the 1800s. As of yet, no fashionable lady could dress or undress herself without the assistance of a third party. The constant need for radical change, which is now essential for the survival of fashion within the present system, was still literally unthinkable. The use of different trimmings were all that distinguished one season from the other.
Conspicuous waste and conspicuous consumption defined the fashions of the decade and the outfits of the couturiers of the time were incredibly extravagant, elaborate, ornate, and painstakingly made. The curvaceous S-Bend silhouette dominated fashion up until around 1908. The S-Bend corset was very tightly laced at the waist and so forced the hips back and the drooping monobosom was thrust forward in a pouter pigeon effect creating an S shape. Toward the end of the decade the fashionable silhouette gradually became somewhat more straight and slim, partly due to
Paul Poiret's high-waisted, shorter-skirted Directoire line of clothes.
The Maison Redfern was the first fashion house to offer women a tailored suit based directly on its male counterpart and the extremely practical and soberly elegant garment soon became an indispensable part of the wardrobe of any well-dressed woman. Another indispensible part of the outfit of the well-dressed woman was the designer hat. Fashionable hats at the time were either tiny little confections that perched on top of the head, or large and widebrimmed, trimmed with ribbons, flowers and even feathers. Caroline Reboux, Legroux, and E. Lewis were the most sought-after names of the time. Parasols were still used as decorative accessories and in the summer they dripped with lace and added to the overall elaborate prettiness.
1910's
During the early years of the
1910's the fashionable silhouette became much more lithe, fluid and soft than in the
1900's. When the
Ballets Russes performed
Scheherezade in Paris in 1910, a craze for
Orientalism ensued. The couturier
Paul Poiret was one of the first designers to translate this vogue into the fashion world. Poiret's clients were at once transformed into
harem girls in flowing pantaloons, turbans, and vivid colors and
geishas in exotic
kimono.
Paul Poiret also devised the first outfit which women could put on without the help of a maid. The
Art Deco movement also began to emerge at this time and its influence is evident in the designs of many couturiers. Simple felt hats, turbans, and clouds of tulle replaced the styles of headgear popular in the 1900's. It is also notable that the first real fashion shows were organized during this period in time, by the ever inventive and modern Jeanne Paquin, who was also the first Parisian couturier to open foreign branches in
London,
Buenos Aires, and
Madrid.
Two of the most influential fashion designers of the time were Jacques Doucet and Mariano Fortuny. The French designer Jacques Doucet excelled in superimposing pastel colors and his elaborate gossamery dresses suggested the
Impressionist shimmers of reflected light. His distinguished customers never lost a taste for his fluid lines and flimsy, diaphanous materials. While obeying imperatives that left little to the imagination of the couturier, Doucet was nonetheless a designer of immense taste and discrimination, a role many have tried since, but rarely with Doucet's level of success.
The
Venice-based designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was a curious figure, with very few parallels in any age. For his dress designs he conceived a special pleating process and new dyeing techniques. He gave the name Delphos to his long clinging sheath dresses that undulated with color. Each garment was made of a single piece of the finest silk, its unique color acquired by repeated immersions in dyes whose shades were suggestive of moonlight or of the watery reflections of the Venetian lagoon. Breton straw, Mexican cochineal, and indigo from the Far East were among the ingredients that Fortuny used. Among his many devotees were
Eleanora Duse,
Isadora Duncan, Cleo de Merode, the Marchesa Casati, Emilienne d'Alencon, and
Liane de Pougy.
Changes in dress during
World War I were dictated more by necessity than fashion. As more and more women were forced to work, they demanded clothes that were better suited to their new activities. Social events had to be postponed in favor of more pressing engagements and the need to mourn the increasing numbers of dead, visits to the wounded, and the general gravity of the time meant that darker colors became the norm. A new monochrome look emerged that was unfamiliar to young women in comfortable circumstances. By 1915 skirts rose above the ankle and then later to mid-calf.
The Art Deco Era
The period between the two World Wars, often considered to be the Golden Age of French fashion, was one of great change and reformation. Carriages were replaced by cars, princes and princesses lost their crowns, and haute couture found new clients in the ranks of film actresses, American heiresses, and the wives and daughters of wealthy industrialists.
Influential fashion designers and fashion houses of the period include:
Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Jean Patou, Madeleine Vionnet, Lucien Lelong,
Elsa Schiaparelli, Mainbocher, Edward Molyneux, Irfe, Valentina, Revillon,
Hermes, Jenny, Martial et Armand, Augustabernard, Premet, Lacoste, and Nina Ricci.
1920's
Soon after the First World War, a radical change came about in fashion. Bouffant coiffures gave way to short bobs, dresses with long trains gave way to above-the-knee pinafores. Corsets were abandoned and women borrowed their clothes from the male wardrobe and chose to dress like boys. Although, at first, many couturiers were reluctant to adopt the new androgynous style, they embraced wholeheartedly from around 1925. A bustless, waistless silhouette emerged and agressive dressing-down was mitigated by feather boas, embroidery, and showy accesories. The
flapper style became very popular among young women. The cloche hat was widely-worn and sportswear became popular with both men and women during the decade, with designers like Jean Patou and
Coco Chanel popularizing the sporty and athletic look.
The great couturiere Coco Chanel was a major figure in fashion at the time, as much for her magnetic personality as for her chic and progressive designs. Chanel helped popularize the bob hairstyle, the little black dress, and the use of jersey knit for women's clothing and also elevated the status of both costume jewelry and knitwear.
Two other prominent French designers of the 1920's were Jeanne Lanvin and Jean Patou. Jeanne Lanvin, who began her career in fashion as a milliner, made such beautiful outfits for her young daughter Marguerite that people started to ask for copies and Lanvin was soon making dresses for their mothers. Lanvin's name appears in the fashion yearbook from about 1901 onwards. However, it was in the 1920's that she reached the peak of her popularity and success. The Lanvin style embraced the look of the time, with its skillful use of complex trimmings, dazzling embroideries, and beaded decorations in light, clear, floral colors that eventually became a Lanvin trademark. By 1925 Lanvin produced many different products, including sportswear, furs, lingerie, men's fashion, and interior designs. Her global approach to fashion foreshadowed the schemes that all the large contemporary fashion houses would later adopt in their efforts to diversify.
The style of Jean Patou was never mainstream, but full of originality and characterized by a studied simplicity which was to win him fame, particularly in the American markets. Many of his garments, with their clean lines, geometric and
Cubist motifs, and mixture of luxury and practicality, were designed to satisfy the new vogue for the outdoor life and bore a remarkable similarity to modern sportswear.The most famous advocate of his style was
Suzanne Lenglen, the legendary tennis champion.
Coats of the 1920s were mostly long until around 1926. They often wrapped to just one side fastening which was a feature of the garment as either a huge button or some complex tab and buckle.
Fair Isle patterns became very popular for both sexes. Heels, at the time, were often over two inches high and Coco Chanel helped popularize the two-tone shoe, one of her trademarks.
Salvatore Ferragamo and Andre Perugia were the two most influential and respected designers in shoewear. Many stars of the
silent films had a significant impact on fashion during the
1920's, most notably
Louise Brooks,
Gloria Swanson, and
Colleen Moore.
The lighthearted, forward-looking attitude and fashions of the 1920's came to an abrupt halt after the
Wall Street Crash in 1929.
1930's
After the crash of 1929, many designers found that crises are not the time for experimentation. Fashion became more compromising, aspiring to preserve feminism's victories while rediscovering a subtle and reassuring elegance and sophistication. Women's fashions moved away from the brash, daring style of the Twenties towards a more romantic, feminine silhouette. The waist was restored to its proper position, hemlines dropped, there was renewed appreciation of the bust, and backless evening gowns and soft, slim-fitting day dresses became popular. The female body was remodelled to a more neo-classical shape. Slim, toned, and athletic bodies came back in vogue. Naturalness, harmony, and simplicity were the catchwords of the decade. The fashion for outdoor activities stimulated couturiers to manufacture what would nowadays be called sportswear. The term 'ready-to-wear' was not yet widely used, but the boutiques already described such clothes as being 'for sport'.
Two of the most prominent and influential fashion designers of the 1930's were
Elsa Schiaparelli and Madeleine Vionnet. Elsa Schiaparelli showed her first collection in 1929 and was immediately hailed by the press as 'one of the rare innovators' of the day. With her exciting and inventive designs, Schiaparelli did not so much revolutionize fashion as shatter its foundations. The first pullover she displayed in her windows created a sensation: it was knitted in black with a trompe-l'oeil white bow. She consistently turned out breathtaking collections thereafter. Schiaparelli was a close friend of Christian Berard,
Jean Cocteau, and
Salvador Dali, who designed embroidery motifs for her and supplied inspiration for models like the desk suit with drawers for pockets, the shoe-shaped hat, and the silk dress painted with flies and the one bearing a picture of a large lobster. All of Paris thronged to her salon at 21
Place Vendome as collection succeeded collection.
Madeleine Vionnet found her inspiration in ancient statues, creating timeless and beautiful gowns that would not look out of place on a Greek frieze. Queen of the bias cut , she produced evening dresses that fitted the body without excessive elaboration or dissimulation, employing a flowing and elegant line. Her perfect draping of chiffon, silk, and Moroccan crepe created a marvellously poised and sensual effect. The unparalleled success of Vionnet's cuts guarenteed her reputation right up until her retirement in 1939.
Mainbocher, the first American designer to live and work in Paris, was also influential, with his plain yet supremely elegant designs, often employing the bias cut pioneered by Vionnet. The luxury goods manufacturer
Hermès started selling handmade printed silk square scarves in early 30's, and also popularized the zip and many other practical innovations. Men's fashions continued the informal, practical trend that had dominated since the end of the First World War. Raincoats with military-style
epaulettes, and trilby hats were popular outdoor garments for men during the Thirties.
The Mid-Twentieth Century
The Second World War created many radical changes in the fashion industry. After the War Paris's reputation as the global center of fashoion began to crumble and off-the-peg and mass-manufactured fashions became increasingly popular. A new youth style emerged in the Fifties, changing the focus of fashion forever.As the installation of central heating became more widespread the age of minimum-care garments began and lighter textiles and, eventually, synthetics, were introduced.
Influential fashion designers and fashion houses of the period included: Charles James,
Pierre Balmain, Norman Norell, Paco Rabanne,
Emilio Pucci,
Oleg Cassini,
Valentino, Issey Miyake, Marc Bohan, Zandra Rhodes, Ossie Clark, Gianfranco Ferre, Missoni,
Bill Blass,
Oscar de la Renta, Hardy Amies, Norman Hartnell, Carven, Hattie Carnegie, Guy Laroche, Robert Piguet, Louis Feraud, Stephen Burrows, Pauline Trigere, John Bates, Jean Muir, and Halston.
1940's
Many fashion houses closed during occupation of Paris during
World War II, including the Maison Vionnet and the Maison Chanel. Several designers, including Mainbocher, permanently relocated to
New York. In the enormous moral and intellectual re-education program undertaken by the French state couture was not spared. In contrast to the stylish, liberated Parisienne, the
Vichy regime promoted the model of the wife and mother, the robust, athletic young woman, a figure who was much more in line with the new political criteria.
Germany, meanwhile, was taking possession of over half of what
France produced, including haute couture and was also considering relocating French haute couture to the cities of
Berlin and
Vienna, neither of which had any significant tradition of fashion. The archives of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture were seized, most consequentially the client list. The point of all this was to break up a monopoly that supposedly threatened the dominance of the
Third Reich.
Due to the difficult times, the number of models in shows was limited to seventy-five, evening wear was shortened and day wear was much skimpier, made using substitute materials wherever possible. From 1940 onward, no more than thirteen feet of cloth was permitted to be used for a coat and a little over three feet was all that allowed for a blouse. No belt could be over one and a half inches wide. Despite this, haute couture tried to keep its flag flying. Humor and frivolity became a way of defying the occupying powers and couture somehow survived. Although some have argued that the reason it endured was because of the patronage of the wives of rich
Nazis, in actuality, records reveal that, aside from the usual wealthy Parisiennes, it was the wives of foreign ambassadors, clients from the black market, and a whole eclectic mix of people who carried on to frequent the salons, among whom German women were but a minority.
In spite of the fact that so many fashion houses closed down or moved away during the war, several new houses opened up, including Jacques Fath, Maggy Rouff, Marcel Rochas, Jeanne Lafaurie, Nina Ricci, and Madeleine Vramant. During the Occupation, the only true way for a woman to flaunt her extravagance and add to color to a drab outfit was to wear a hat. In this period, hats were often made of scraps of material that would have otherwise been thrown away, sometimes incorporating butter muslin, bits of paper, and wood shavings. Among the most innovative milliners of the time were Pauline Adam, Simone Naudet, Rose Valois, and Le Monnier.
Paris's isolated situation in the
1940's enabled the Americans to exploit the ingenuity and creativity of their own designers. During the
Second World War, Vera Maxwell presented co-ordinates in plain, simply cut outfits and also introduced innovations to men's work clothes. Bonnie Cashin transformed boots into a major fashion accessory and, in 1944, started to produce original and imaginative sportswear. Claire McCardell, Anne Klein, and Tina Leser formed a remarkable triptych of women who were to lay the foundations of American sportswear, ensuring that ready-to-wear was not simply thought of as second best, but as an elegant and comfortable way for modern women to dress. Among young men in the War Years the
zoot suit became popular. Many actresses of the time, including
Rita Hayworth,
Katharine Hepburn, and
Jane Russell, had a significant impact on popular fashion.
The couturier Christian Dior created a tidal wave with his first collection in February 1947. The collection contained dresses with tiny waists, majestic busts, and full skirts swelling out beneath small bodices, in a manner very similar to the style of La Belle Époque. The extravagant use of fabric and the feminine elegance of the designs appealed greatly to a post-war clientele and ensured Dior's meteoric rise to fame. The sheer sophistication of the style incited the all-powerful editor of the American Vogue, Carmel Snow, to exclaim 'This is a new look!'.
1950's
Flying in the face of continuity, logic, and erudite sociological predictions, fashion in the 1950's, far from being revolutionary and progressive, bore strong nostalgic echoes of the past. A whole society which, in the 1920's and 30's, had greatly believed in progress, was now much more circumspect. Despite the fact that, after the Liberation, women had the right to vote, to work, and to drive their own cars, they chose to wear dresses made of opulent materials, with corsetted waists and swirling skirts to mid-calf. As fashion looked to the past, haute couture experienced something of a revival and spawned a myriad of star designers who profited hugely from the rapid growth of the media.
Throughout the 1950's, although it would be for the last time, women around the world continued to submit to the trends of Parisian haute couture. Two of the most prominent of the Parisian couturiers of the time were Cristobal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy. The frugal prince of luxury, Cristobal Balenciaga Esagri made his fashion debut in the late Thirties. However, it was not until the post-war years that the full scale of the brilliance of this highly inventive designer became evident. In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress of 1957. And eventually, in 1959, his work culminated in the Empire line, with high-waisted dresses and coats cut like
kimonos. His mastery of fabric design and creation defied belief. Balenciaga is also notable as one of the few couturiers in fashion history who could use their own hands to design, cut, and sew the models which symbolized the height of his artistry. Hubert de Givenchy opened his first couture house in 1952 and created a sensation with his seperates, which could be mixed and matched at will. Most renowned was his Bettina blouse made from shirting, which was named after his top model. Soon, boutiques were opened in
Rome,
Zurich, and Buenos Aires. A man of immense taste and discrimination, he was, perhaps more than any other designer of the period, an integral part of the world whose understated elegance he helped to define.
Also notable is the return of Coco Chanel to the fashion world. Following the closure of her salons in the war years, in 1954, aged over seventy, she staged a comeback and on February 5 she presented a collection which contained a whole range of ideas that would be adopted and copied by women all over the world: her famous little braided suit with gold chains, shiny costume jewelry, silk blouses in colors that matched the suit linings, sleek tweeds, monogrammed buttons, flat black silk bows, boaters, quilted bags on chains, and evening dresses and furs that were marvels of simplicity.
After the war, the American look became very popular among men in
Europe. Certain London manufacturers ushered in a revival of Edwardian elegance in men's fashion, adopting a tight-fitting retro style that was inteneded to appeal to traditionalists. This look, originally aimed at the respectable young man about town, was translated into popular fashion as the
Teddy boy style. The
Italian look, popularized by
Caraceni,
Brioni, and Cifonelli, was taken up by an entire generation of elegant young lovers, on both sides of the
Atlantic.
The designers of
Hollywood created a particular type of glamor for the stars of American film, and outfits worn by the likes of
Marilyn Monroe,
Lauren Bacall, or
Grace Kelly were widely copied. The footwear designer Roger Vivier elevated the status of the handmade shoe to incredible heights, earning him a reputation as one of the leading figures of twentieth-century shoe design. Mass-manufactured, off-the-peg clothing became much more popular than in the past, granting the general public unprecedented access to fashionable styles.
1960's
Until the
1960's Paris was considered to be the center of fashion throughout the world. However, in between 1960 and 1969 a radical shake-up occurred in the fundamental structure of fashion. From the 1960's onward there would never be just one single, prevailing trend or fashion but a great plethora of possibilities, indivisibly linked to all the various influences in other areas of people's lives. Young people, with a power and culture that was all their own, now at an age to speak out, were a force to be reckoned with and had a powerful impact on the fashion industry. For perhaps the first time in history there was an independent youth fashion, that was not based on the conventions of an older age group. In the past, failure to follow fashion merely meant that you were poor but in the Sixties it became just as much a statement of personal freedom.
In stark contrast to their mature, ultra-feminine mothers, the woman of the 1960's adopted a girlish, childlike style, with short skirts and straightened curves, reminiscent to the look of the 1920's. At the start of the decade skirts were knee-high but steadily became shorter and shorter until the mini-skirt emerged in 1965. By the end of the decade they had shot well above the stocking top, making the transition to tights inevitable.
Many of the radical changes in fashion developed in the streets of London, with such gifted designers as Mary Quant and Barbara Hulanicki . Paris, also, had its share of new and revolutionary designers, including
Pierre Cardin , André Courrèges ,
Yves Saint Laurent , and
Emanuel Ungaro . In the
United States, Rudi Gernreich and James Galanos were also reaching a young audience. The main outlets for these new young fashion designers were small boutiques, selling outfits that were not exactly 'one-offs', but were made in small quantities in a limited range of sizes and colors. However, not all designers took well to the new style and mood. In 1965, Coco Chanel mounted a rearguard action against the exposure of the knee and Balenciaga resolutely continued to produce feminine and conservative designs.
The basic shape and style of the time was simple, neat, clean cut, and young. Synthetic fabrics were very widely-used during the Sixties. They took dyes easily and well, giving rise to colors that were both clear and bright, very much mirroring the mood of the period. Hats suffered a great decline and by the end of the decade they were relegated to special occasions only. Lower kitten heels were a pretty substitute to stilettos. Pointed toes gave way to chisel shaped toes in 1961 and to an almond toe in 1963. Flat boots also became popular with very short dresses in 1965 and eventually they rose up the leg and reached the knee.
Two notable and influential designers in the 60's were
Emilio Pucci and Paco Rabanne. Emilio Pucci's sportswear designs and prints inspired by
Op art, psychedelia, and medieval heraldic banners earned him a reputation that extended far beyond the circles of high society. His sleek shift dresses, tunics, and beachwear, created a 'Puccimania' that was all part of a movement to liberate the female form and his designs are today synonymous with the 1960's. Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo opened his first couture house in 1966 and, from the start, produced resolutely modern designs. Rather than using conventional dress materials, he created garments from
aluminium, Rhodoid, and pieces of scrap metal. His designs, as well as being experimental, were also closely in tune with what modern adventurous young women wanted to wear. Among his innovations are the seamless dress made, after much experiment, by spraying vinyl chloride on to a mold, and the low-budget disposable dress made of paper and nylon thread. Rabanne was also the first fashion designer to use black models, which very nearly resulted in his dismissal from the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. The success of his perfume Calandre helped support the less profitable areas of his work, while his utopianism assured him a unique position in the conservative world of haute couture.
In the early 1960's there were influential "partnerships" of celebrities and high-fashion designes, most famously
Audrey Hepburn and
Givenchy, and
Jackie Kennedy and
Oleg Cassini. Also, many models had a very profound effect on fashion, most notably
Twiggy, Veruschka, and
Jean Shrimpton. Early in the decade, culottes were in style and the
bikini finally came into fashion in 1963 after being featured in the movie 'Beach Party'. The
hippie and
psychedelic movements late in the decade also had a strong influence on clothing styles, including bell-bottom jeans, tie-dye and batik fabrics, as well as paisley prints. The
Beatles and
Timothy Leary popularized the
Nehru jacket, which had a short-lived popularity.
Among the most highly regarding American designers was B.H. Wragge a contemporary of Clarie McCardell, Tina Leser, and Anne Forgardy. His design career spaned a 40 year period from 1931-1971, with the last decade the most significant. His designs were a favorite of wealthy socialites and jet setters. He was known for sleeveless and sheath dresses. His refined simplicity and superior construction earned him a following among the most stylish woman of the day. High quality workmanship and attention to detail were a hallmark of his garments. He perferred natural fibers, subdued colors, elegance and restraint.
1970's
Nick-named the 'me' decade, 'please yourself' was the catchword of the
1970's. Many saw it as the end of good taste. The decade began with a continuation of the hippie look of the late 1960's, with afghans,
Indian scarves, and flower-print tunics.
Jeans remained frayed and
tie dye was still popular and the fashion for unisex mushroomed. An immense movement claiming civil rights for blacks combined with the influence of soul music from the USA created a nostalgia for
Africa and
African culture. During the Seventies brands greatly increased their share of the international market. Hems began dropping in 1974 to below the knee, until finally reaching the lower midcalf in 1977 and shoulderlines were dropped.
Perhaps the two most innovative French fashion designers of the 1970's were Kenzo Takada and Sonia Rykiel. The undisputed star of Parisian fashion in the Seventies, Kenzo drew his inspiration from all over the world, mixing Western and Oriental folk influences with a fantastic
joie de vivre and an instinctive understanding of what his young customers wanted. With his fluid lines, unusual prints, clever accessories, and finery that was hitherto unprecedented in ready-to-wear, he very much turned the fashion world upside down. The queen of figure-hugging knits, in 1974, Sonia Rykiel designed her first pullovers with reversed seams. However, more than that, she created a whole range of clothes that were extremely individual and yet could be worn almost anywhere. The Rykiel style, dominated by fluid knitted garments, dark blacks, rhinestones, long boa-like scarves, and little crocheted hats, conquered the American market, and even to this day Rykiel is considered by many Americans as the true successor of Chanel.
Because of punk, London retained a considerable degree of influence over fashion, most significantly in the boutiques of the King's Road, where
Vivienne Westwood's shop, SEX, opened in 1971, blew with the prevailing wind. This temple of British iconoclasm centered on fetishistic accessories and ranges of clothing in which black rubber and steel studs were the external signs of an underlying sadism. Postmodernist and iconaclastic in essence the punk movement was a direct reaction to the economic situation during the economic depression of the period. Punk had at it's heart a manifesto of creation through disorder. With their ripped
T-shirts,
Red Indian hairstyles,
Doc Martens, bondage trousers, and chains, the punks exported an overall feeling of disgust around the globe.
Another popular
British style the was the resolutely unmodern, feminine, countrified style of clothing popularized by Laura Ashley, which consisted of long flounced skirts and high-knecked blouses in traditional floral prints, worn with crocheted shawls. Laura Ashley started out running a small business in
Wales in the mid-1960's and the company continued to expand until the accidental death of its owner in 1985. Laura Ashley was not the only designer to look nostalgically to the past. Fashions based on the 1920's, 30's, 40's, and 50's were popular throughout much of the decade, with Hollywood films like
The Godfather and
The Great Gatsby, and numerous exhibitions on costume history at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York increasing their popularity. In Japan, the boutiques of Tokyo's fashionable
Harajuku district sold many reworked versions of traditional British and American looks.
In popular fashion the glam rock style of clothing, worn by such rock performers as
Rod Stewart,
David Bowie, and
Marc Bolan, was very influential. The designer Elio Fiorucci had a very similar look. His boutique in Milan sold such things as brightly colored rubber boots, plastic daisy sandals, fake fur,and
Pop Art-inspired jackets.
Also significant are the developments in Italian fashion that happened during the period. In the course of the 1970's, as a result of it's ready-to-wear industry,
Milan confirmed its status as second only to Paris as a center of international fashion. The 'alta moda' preferred Rome, the base of the couturiers
Valentino, Capucci, and Schon. Capitalizing on the dominant trend of anti-fashion Italy offered a glamor that had nothing to do with the dictates of Parisian haute couture. While profiting from a clearly defined style, Italian fashion was luxurious and easy to wear. The two most influential Italian fashion designers of the time were probably
Giorgio Armani and Nino Cerruti.
Giorgio Armani produced his first collection for women in 1975. From the outset, the line was dynamic, urban, and understated, androgynous in inspiration. Armani offered a restrained style that greatly appealed to the increasing population of women who now had access to the world of work and occupied progressively more senior positions within it. This was only the beginning of a tremendous career, which came to fruition in 1981 when Emporio Armani was launched. In 1957 Nino Cerruti opened the menswear boutique Hitman in Milan. A man of taste and discernment, in 1976 he presented his first collection for women. Two years later, he launched his first perfume. In linking the career of a successful industrialist with that of a high-quality designer, Cerruti occupied a unique position in Italian ready-to-wear.
Also, the luxury goods firm
Gucci benefited during this period of time from the vogue for all things Italian that unexpectedly sprang up all over the world. The uniquely successful label became the toast of New York and before very long controlled an international chain of boutiques.
The Late Twentieth Century
During the Late Twentieth Century fashions began to criss-cross international boundaries with rapidity. Popular Western styles were adopted all over the world, and many designers from outside of the West had a profound impact on fashion. Synthetic materials such as Lycra, Spandex, and viscose became widely-used, and fashion, after two decades of looking resolutely to the future, once again turned to the past for inspiration.
Influential fashion designers and fashion houses of the period include: Claude Montana,
Jean-Paul Gaultier,
Ralph Lauren,
Giorgio Armani, Zoran,
Karl Lagerfeld, Romeo Gigli, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, Christian Lacroix,
Perry Ellis,
Isaac Mizrahi, Martine Sitbon,
Jil Sander,
Helmut Lang, Donna Karan, Paul Smith, Dries Van Noten, Alberta Ferretti, Adeline Andre,
Calvin Klein, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen,
Dirk Bikkembergs, and Walter van Beirendonck.
1980's
The society of the Eighties no longer criticized itself as consumerist, but was, instead, interested in 'the spectacle'. The self-conscious image of the decade was very good for the fashion industry, which had never been quite so à la mode. Fashion shows were transfigured into media-saturated spectaculars and frequently televised, taking high priority in the social calendar. Appearance was related with performance, which was of supreme importance to a whole generation of young urban professionals, whose desire to look the part related to a craving for power. The way in which men and women associated with the latest styles was no more a matter of passive submission but one of active choice. As fashion once again looked to the past,
baroque evening dress and long gowns made a reappearance.
The two French fashion designers who best defined the look of the period were probably Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaia. Strongly influenced by his early career in the theater, Thierry Mugler produced fashion designs that combined Hollywood retro and futurism, with rounded hips, sharply accentuated shoulders, and a slight hint of the galactic heroine. Mugler's glamorous dresses were a remarkable success, and signified the complete end of the hippy era and its unstructured silhouette. Known for his awe-inspiring combinations, Azzedine Alaia greatly influenced the silhouette of the woman of the Eighties. The master of all kinds of techniques that had previously been known only to haute couture, he experimented with many new and underused materials, such as
Lycra and
viscose 
