We can imagine Alexander McQueen as he leans toward his last interviewer in a conspiratorial manner and laughs in his approachable, unabashedly Cockney panache, “I’m talking fantasy, but I don’t think it’s far from reality. Five years.” And it’s true – known for grandiose creations with a macabre flair, Alexander McQueen created a vision of the future, of the taboos that his clothing cheerfully broke. His shows make unexpected gifts to fashion of exquisite prints, groundbreaking shapes, and futuristic lines. There has been rain, fire, holograms, chamber music groups, scrap metal, and machines that spray-paint white dresses. An Alexander McQueen collection is nothing if not pure, sartorial fantasy. Then, on February 11, 2010, that fantasy wobbled.
In the aftermath of the designer’s untimely death, the fashion world struggled to steady itself on its feet. Alexander McQueen was never a Martin Margiela, no esoteric designer shrouded in mystery. Famous for a personality as massive as his creations, McQueen shaped a brand that was as much a function of character as design, and it seemed doubtful that such a legacy could be continued by another designer without missing the mark or producing a cheap imitation. McQueen required a brand that could not only continue to produce extravagant, fantastical pieces, but to produce them with the meticulous English tailoring technique for which its founder was celebrated.
Known as “Lee” to the people around him, McQueen began his career in design on Savile Row in London, somewhat akin to the Garment Center in New York and affectionately dubbed “the golden mile of tailoring.” As an apprentice for Gieves & Hawkes, McQueen worked on garments provided for Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of ...
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...go, McQueen reflected on his continually developing vision for his brand: “Time changes, and we live in different circumstances. So at McQueen, we try to reflect the changes in circumstances in which we live.” Sarah Burton is continuing the line in just the way McQueen would have wanted – she is changing it.
Resort 2011 represents anything but a clean break from the past, yet Burton cleverly balances the McQueen legacy with an infusion her own, feminine aesthetic. The result is a fresh perspective of the elegance and edge we have come to expect from Alexander McQueen. However, resort lines are noticeably more commercial and toned-down than their spring and fall counterparts, so the real test for Sarah Burton will be her spring 2011 collection to be shown in September. We can only guess what new fantasy the house of Alexander McQueen will paint for us next.
With the show space resembling a laboratory—albeit one decorated in pale green and pink—the clothes appeared to have been thought up by some terribly chic scientist, as they featured impossibly smooth, icing-like fabrics; tweed prints; diagrammatic floral brooches; and reds, blues, and green that looked beyond the abilities of any Italian artisan. Yet, while Prada created this sense of unreal ugliness, it was underscored by a natural prettiness. Those impossible fabrics were actually double-faced jersey, real tweed was mixed with the printed, and those colours were offset by same delicate pastels found on the
Givenchy’s love for fashion grew when at the age of ten he attended the Pavillon d’ Elegance Paris Exposition. Once looking through Vogue magazine, he was inspired by Balenciaga men’s wear. He wanted to be a couturier and attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, to start a formal education in fashion. His designing inspirations came from Elsa Schiaparelli and Madam Gres’s work. His experience also came from working at the House of Piguet in Paris; this salon was known for its dramatic yet simple style and after, at the House of Lelong that was known for their high quality clothing. Those positions gave him knowledge on how to work with couture customers and gave him an opportunity to build strong relationships with them (Press, 2002).
Horyn, Cathy.” The Loss of Alexander McQueen”. On The Runway. The New York Times. 11 February 2010. Web. 18 February 2010. .
Louis Vuitton, a French designer and entrepreneur quickly made a name for himself in the fashion industry by becoming Napoleon’s wife “personal box-maker and packer.” At the age of sixteen, Vuitton and his family started the legendary workshop by creating travel trunks and the famous unpickable locks in 1859 (Louis Vuitton, 2015). As the legendary brand continues to remarkably exceed both sales and expectations, Louis Vuitton as a brand strives for pure distinction and exclusivity.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s style is constantly evolving. He continues to be excited about the changes in society and the arts. His curiosity and need to absorb information fuels his creativity. He constantly takes qualities ascribed to a particular gender and mixes them up. Even after all these years Gaultier still manages to shock people though his creativity and ability to ignore stereotypes. “He knows how to surprise people, how to reinvent himself, how to innovate.” Martin Margiela [Page 103] Gaultier has left a last impression in the minds of humanity. “I believe that his playing with the concepts of gender and sexuality will be regarded as one of the key aspects of his career,” Valerie Steele
Available online at: http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/valentino. [Accessed 20 March 2014]. Valentino - Spring/Summer 2008 Couture - Paris (Vogue.com UK). 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
In 1967, the New York born bred Ralph Lauren started the Polo division of Beau Brummel neckties. Ties at that time were in an Ivy League phase-dark, narrow and undistinguished. But, for several years, Mr. Lauren had harbored the nation that the time was right for a new look. And so, he pioneered the wide tie-a four-inch tie made from opulent materials and fabrications that were unheard of in the business. Polo ties soon became the status tie. And Ralph Lauren became the menswear design to watch, as his ties revolutionized the industry.
Paul Poiret was born on April 20th, 1879 in Paris, France. His contributions to twentieth-century fashion has earned him the title in many people’s eyes as the “King of Fashion”, because he established the principle of modern dress and created the blueprint of the modern fashion industry. Poiret’s designs and ideas led the direction of modern design history. He was born into a working class family and his natural charisma eventually gained him entry into some of the most exclusive ateliers of the Belle Époque. Jacques Doucet, one of the capital’s most prominent couturiers, hired him after seeing promising sketches he had sold to other dressmakers. Furthermore, he was hired by the House of Worth and was put to work to create less glamorous and more practical, simple items because his out of the ordinary designs were not welcomed in open arms by opulent clientele. Despite this experience he was still confident in his ideas and ventured out on his own with money barrowed from his parents and opened a storefront. Moreover, he wanted to promote of the concept of a "total lifestyle” was seen as the first couturier to merge fashion with interior design. His independent work broke the normal conventions of dressmaking, and overturned their underlying presumptions. He liberated the woman’s body from the petticoat and the corset to allow clothing to follow woman’s natural form. Poiret also radically revolutionized dressmaking to switch from the emphasis surrounding the skills of tailoring towards those based on the skills of draping and began to use bright colors. Furthermore, Poiret was apart of the art deco movement, which was surrounded by a period of immense social upheaval, particularly for women, and emergence of technol...
. Fast fashion is a concept used in the fashion industry to describe the quick turnaround that occurs from when designs are first presented on a runway to when they appear in stores. As they described in the documentary, The True Cost, the fashion industry used to have only two “seasons,” two times per year when new designs would be released to customers. Now however, it is as though the fashion industry has 52 seasons a year as they continually release new designs to their stores (Morgan 2015). This shift in fashion consumption has occurred because of cheap production in third world countries and the expanse of manufacturing available to high profile designers. Those working in these horrible conditions have no choice but to accept a low price
Parkins, Ilya. "Early Twentieth-Century Fashion Designer Life Writing." Clcweb: Comparative Literature & Culture: A Wwweb Journal 13.1 (2011): Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
A good curator has the potential to shape a person’s approach to art and culture. In 2011, Andrew Bolton’s stunning presentation of fashion as art, in ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ opened my eyes to the work of a designer that would become the backbone to the majority of my undergraduate study. Aged 18, I traveled to New York where I visited the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Four years later, when ‘Savage Beauty’ was showing once again - this time at the V&A, curated by Claire Wilcox - I wrote my dissertation on the complex relationship between art and fashion through a detailed analysis of the exhibition which gave me my biggest passion.
Calvin Klein trademarks is the subject of registrations and pending applications throughout the world for use on a variety of apparel, footwear and related products, and we continue to expand our worldwide usage and registration of new and related trademarks. In general, trademarks remain valid and enforceable as long as the marks continue to be used in connection with the products and services with which they are identified and, as to registered trade names, the required registration renewals are filed. In markets outside of the United States, particularly those where products bearing any of our brands are not sold by us or any of our licensees or other authorized users, our rights to the use of trademarks may not be clearly established.
The True Cost is simply – as Morgan would so regularly declare – “a story about clothing”. But is this glamorised fashion industry just a story about clothing?
Therefore, in an attempt to both show the gravitas of fashion’s impact and justify its mirroring of times and therefore society, a walkthrough of fashion throughout history and its adaptation is exceedingly appropriate. To begin with, Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the 1850s to 1900s came with the introduction of sewing machines and chemical dyes. However, this movement of clothe manufacturing rendered its availability strictly to the opulent. This is a direct relation to the economical situation of the time, showing that people’s expenses were not directed towards the most up to date fashion i.e. luxury products but rather necessities indicating a slowly developing economy. As we move from the 1900s to the mid 1920s, the inception of the First World War influenced the need for more ‘practical’ garments. To illustrate, one of the greatest designers of the century Paul Poiret, designed his garments in a style known as the Directoire. His dresses were simple straight tube sheaths defining simplicity and exemplifying both the political and economic situation of the times justifying the necessity for a free moving design in clothing. Why adopt the notion of simplicity and free moving garments? Women had to leave their traditional domestic roles and become part of the working class or work force and adopt and replace many roles that were normally given to men. Furthermore, the Great Depression in the 1930s comes to play its own role in fashion history further pushing the necessity for a fashion to be translated to accustom a busier lifestyle. This created an economic gap between the rich and the poor. Therefore, fashion in the 1940s in the substantial sense portrayed the necessity for work and socioeconomic background and furthermore encased the economic situation where, as previous times in the 1900s, high-end fashion was restricted to the rich. Following a chronological timeline comes the
Yves Saint Laurent is indisputably one of the grand masters of fashion, a true couturier, a pioneer and a rebel. He created more than beautiful, articulated and fine garments; he reinvented the ‘woman’ as an archetype in fashion, he incorporated art in his design in a way that is vague if he was a designer or an artist in heart. He dedicated his whole life to the pursuit of the absolute inspiration, of true beauty and breaking the rules. Throughout his life, Yves Saint Laurent, was torn between the West and the East, prudence and recklessness, conservatism and innovation, but he was never unprogressive. His designs portray this conflict and perhaps this is what gives them an air of mystery, of unprecedented elegance and grit. As Duras says, “Yves Saint Laurent invents a reality and adds it to the other, the one he has not made. And he fuses all of this paradoxical harmony-often revolutionary, always dazzling.” His legacy is beyond of being a designer, a couturier; he is a reformer, a passionate rebel, whose progressive views expanded beyond making beautiful garments for people with expensive taste and status; beyond couture.