Dress designed by Charles Frederick Worth for Elisabeth of Austria painted byFranz Xaver Winterhalter
The history of fashion design refers to the development of the fashion industry which designs clothing and accessories. Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. The modern fashion industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individuals usually male designers, started in the 19th century with Charles Frederick Worth who was the first designer to have his label sewn into the garments that he created
• Couture
beginnings
The first fashion designer who was not merely a dressmaker
was Charles Frederick Worth (1826–1895). Before the former draper set up his
maison de couture (fashion house) in Paris, clothing design and creation was
handled by largely anonymous tailors and 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.
• Early
twentieth century
Throughout the early 20th century, practically all high
fashion originated in Paris and to a lesser extent London. Fashion magazines
from other countries sent editors to the Paris fashion shows. Department stores
sent buyers to the Paris shows, where they purchased garments to copy (and
openly stole the style lines and trim details of others). 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 and they often co-existed in
houses where the seamstresses moved freely between made-to-measure and
ready-made.
Around the start of the 20th century fashion style magazines
began to include photographs and became even more influential than in the
future. 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, Erté, and George Barbier - drew
exquisite fashion plates for these 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.
• 1900s
The outfits worn by the fashionable women of the 'Belle
Époque' (as this era was called by the French) were strikingly similar to those
worn in the heyday of the fashion pioneer Charles Worth. By the end of the
19th-century, the horizons of the fashion industry had generally broadened,
partly due to the more stable 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 19th century. No fashionable lady could (or
would) yet 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 was all that distinguished one season from the other.
• 1910s
During the early years of the 1910s the fashionable
silhouette became much more lithe, fluid and soft than in the 19th century.
When the Ballets Russes performed Scheherazade 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 began to
emerge at this time and its influence was evident in the designs of many
couturiers of the time. Simple felt hats, turbans, and clouds of tulle replaced
the styles of headgear popular in the 20th century. It is also notable that the
first real fashion shows were organized during this period in time, by Jeanne
Paquin, one of the first female couturiers, who was also the first Parisian
couturier to open foreign branches in London, Buenos Aires, and Madrid.
• Golden
age of French Fashion
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.
• 1920s
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 them wholeheartedly from around 1925. A bustless, waistless silhouette
emerged and aggressive dressing-down was mitigated by feather boas, embroidery,
and showy accessories. The flapper style (known to the French as the 'garçonne'
look) 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.
• 1930s
In the 1930s, as the public began to feel the effects of the
Great Depression, 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. Overall, 1930s clothing was somber and modest, reflecting the
difficult social and economic situation of the decade. Women's fashions moved
away from the brash, daring style of the 1920s towards a more romantic,
feminine silhouette. The waistline was restored, 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 remodeled into a more
neo-classical shape, and slim, toned, and athletic bodies came into vogue. The
fashion for outdoor activities stimulated couturiers to manufacture what would
today be referred to as "sportswear." The term
"ready-to-wear" was not yet widely in use, but the boutiques already
described such clothes as being "for sport."
• 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
fashion began to crumble, and off-the-peg and mass-manufactured fashions became
increasingly popular. A new youth style emerged in the 1950s, 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, was introduced.
In the West, the traditional divide that had always existed
between high society and the working class became considered unjustifiable. In
particular, a new young generation wanted to reap the benefits of a booming
consumer society. Privilege became less blatantly advertised than in the past
and differences were more glossed over. As the ancient European hierarchies
were overturned, the external marks of distinction faded. By the time the first
rockets were launched into space, Europe was more than ready to adopt a quality
ready-to-wear garment along American lines—something to occupy the middle
ground between off-the-peg and couture. This need was all the more pressing
because increases in overheads and raw material costs were beginning to
relegate handmade fashion to the sidelines. Meanwhile, rapidly developing new
technologies made it increasingly easy to manufacture an ever-improving,
high-quality product.
• 1940s
Many fashion houses closed during the 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—a
robust, athletic young woman—a figure much more consistent with the new
regime's political agenda. Meanwhile, Germany was taking possession of over
half of what France produced, including high fashion, and was considering
relocating French haute couture to Berlin and Vienna, neither of which had any
significant fashion tradition. The archives of the Chambre Syndicale de la
Couture were seized, including, 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.
• 1950s
Flying in the face of continuity, logic, and erudite sociological
predictions, fashion in the 1950s, far from being revolutionary and
progressive, used more from the previous decade. A whole society which, in the
1920s and 1930s, had greatly believed in progress, was now much more
circumspect. Despite the fact that women had the right to vote, to work, and to
drive their own cars, they chose to wear dresses made of opulent materials,
with corseted 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.
• 1960s
Until the 1960s, Paris was considered to be the center of
fashion throughout the world. However, between 1960 and 1969 a radical shake-up
occurred in the fundamental structure of fashion. From the 1960s 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 1960s fashion became just as much a
statement of personal freedom.
In stark contrast to their mature, ultra-feminine mothers,
the women of the 1960s adopted a girlish, childlike style, with short skirts
and straightened curves, reminiscent of the look of the 1920s. At the start of
the decade skirts were knee-length, 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.
• 1970s
Nicknamed the 'me' decade; 'please yourself' was the
catchphrase of the 1970s. Some saw it as the end of good taste. The decade
began with a continuation of the hippie look of the late 1960s, with kaftans,
Indian scarves, and floral-print tunics. Jeans remained frayed and
bell-bottomed, 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. A radical chic emerged, influenced by the likes of James
Brown, Diana Ross, Angela Davis, and the Black Panthers, in everything from
afro hairstyles to platform soles. During the 1970s brands greatly increased
their share of the international market. Hems began dropping in 1974 to below
the knee, until finally reaching the lower mid calf in 1977 and shoulder lines
were dropped.
• Late
twentieth century
During the late 20th 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 to the future, once
again turned to the past for inspiration.
• 1980s
The society of the 1980s 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 to 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 Disco music rapidly fell out of favor as the decade began, along with its
associated clothing styles. By 1982, the last traces of 1970s fashion were
gone.
• 1990s
In the 1990s it was no longer the done thing to follow
fashion slavishly, a sharp contrast to the highly a la mode 1970s and 1980s.
The phobia of being underdressed was finally completely displaced by the fear
of overdressing. Fashion in the 1990s united around a new standard, minimalism,
and styles of stark simplicity became the vogue. Despite the best efforts of a
few designers to keep the flag for pretty dresses flying, by the end of the
decade the notion of ostentatious finery had virtually disappeared. As well as
the styling of the product, its promotion in the media became crucial to its
success and image. The financial pressures of the decade had a devastating
effect on the development of new talent and lessened the autonomy enjoyed by
more established designers.
• Twenty
First Century
2000s
In the 2000s, with the Pakistani industry which bloomed in
the 1900s, the quality and mystique of Italian fashion is unsurprisingly
dominant in the twentieth century and Milan well established as the
"center" of fashion and design. This is evidenced through the famous
"Vogue Italia", being the most internationally acclaimed and most
respected magazine in the fashion world. Thus Milan replacing Paris as the most
prestigious center.
As the future began to seem increasingly bleak, fashion, and
indeed the Arts in general, looked to the past for inspiration, arguably more
so than in previous decades. Vintage clothing, especially from the 1960s,
1970s, and 1980s (the 1980s idea of clashing, electric colours becoming
especially popular in mid-late 2007) became extremely popular and fashion
designers often sought to emulate bygone styles in their collections. The early
2000s saw a continuation of the minimalist look of the 1990s in high fashion,
adopted and incorporated into Giorgio Armani's designs.
Later on, designers began to adopt a more colorful,
feminine, excessive, and 'anti-modern' look, which is seen in the Dolce &
Gabbana brand, in grounding some of their inspiration from Italy's past. Name
brands have become of particular importance among young people and many
celebrities launched their own lines of clothing. Tighter fit clothing and
longer hair became mainstream for many men and women, this sense of modernism
and futurism as well as the growing interest of young people was heavily
influenced, for instance, by the Calvin Klein and Armani brand names, with
their "Jeans" lines targeting young professionals. Therefore, Italian
fashion has obviously replaced the French "Couture" influence of old
times, however to the envy of some Parisian counterparts in their desperate
attempts of claiming international media attention and outlets such as
advertising in major magazines, have attempted to overshadow the reality of
Italy's success and dominance over French designs and the undercurrent consumer
preference to Italian name brands, although in some media outlets it suggests
otherwise, as seen through the lack of advertising "balance" between
French and Italian brands - the growth of French designers claiming more
advertising space, and financial priority in advertising initiatives.
Therefore, there is very strong evidence that the
fundamental authority in the fashion industry still rests strongly with Europe,
particularly Milan and Italian designers - evidenced through the palpable
international praise and worshiping of the quality and superiority of Italian
tailoring and "Alta Costura" or "high-end" Italian designer
products. Regardless of the modern phenomena of the growth of luxury resorts
and products being manufactured outside Europe, such as in Asia and the Middle-East,
amazingly, Milan is still the dominant center of luxury and prestige in the
world, supported by its history and superior quality surpassing the other
so-called "centers" labelled by the media which are based mainly on
industry and advertising, rather than quality and elegance. These trends
suggest that Milanese dominance will continue, as designers from foreign
nations look up to and completely depend on Italian and French maestros and
masters of the art to teach them. There is an increasing need for excellence
and "hyper-luxury", stated in Vogue Australia March 2012, as seen
through Italian and French designer prices climbing even higher in spite of the
recent economic crisis.
For many of the own-label designers who emerged in the early
years of the 21st century, financial factors became increasingly critical. Many
new young talents found they now depended on investors (to whom, in extreme
cases, they would even surrender their names) and were always burdened by the
risk that their partners, motivated by market realism and the desire for quick
returns, would severely restrict their autonomy.
Designers like Berny Martin struck out on their own to
places like the US Midwest. Their hopes were to bring fashion design back to
its artisan roots.
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