Elsa Schiaparelli, an extremely talented, Italian fashion designer, gave beautiful, curvy women a perfect glow with her shocking pink and ice-cold blue dresses. Schiaparelli’s name remains unknown to the world while a large amount of her overrated competitors receive much credit for little effort. Schiaparelli strived for success through her new inventions, her film wardrobes, her irresistible perfumes, and her unique dresses while still being placed at the bottom of the fashion totem pole.
Schiaparelli was born in Rome, Italy and started her career as a script writer in the United States before she moved to Paris to begin her life as a fashion designer. Elsa was known for her use of bold colors within each design (Info). She was first recognized in the fashion business with her sweater designed that featured a tromp l'oi scarf around the neckline. This lovely design was seen in Vogue magazine. Schiaparelli was the first to use many things. With her revolutionary ideas that were always flowing through her head she managed to come up with some extremely, fabulous creations. She was the first in the fashion industry to use synthetic material, such as jersey and cellophane (About). With all of Schiaparelli’s creative designs she became very popular in Italy but still struggled with the many rivals that surrounded her.
Elsa Schiaparelli was known for many quality designs but still she had to deal with her very talented rivals. Coco Chanel was Elsa’s biggest competitor. Both raging fashion designers dominated fashion during the first two world wars. (Museum) Coco and Elsa may have been equally talented but today Schiaparelli still remains unknown while Chanel still is displayed as one of the most popular Italian fashion design...
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The article focuses on Individualization and uniqueness and how it has begun to find its way into current advertisements. By allowing a woman to express her individuality it shows boldness, fearlessness, and confidence and that is refreshing in today’s world of fashion.
Creator Coco Chanel was born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel in 1883 in the Loire Valley, France. Her mother expired when she was six years old, the youthful Chanel was sent to the orphan house of the Catholic religious community of Aubazine, where she studied the skills of a seamstress. When she turned 18, she left the shelter, and started working for a neighborhood tailor.1 It was during a short stint as an artist in joints and show corridors that Gabrielle embraced the name Coco. World War I directed her to move to the resort town of Deauvile, it was here that she began outlining and making caps as a redirection, which then transformed into a business venture. She was ready to open her own particular millinery shop in Paris in 1910 and she soon had boutiques in both Deauville and Biarritz. By the 1920s, Maison Chanel was secured at 31, rue Cambon in Paris (which remains its headquarters right up 'til the present time) and turn into a style force to be associated with. Chanel turned into a style symbol herself with her striking weave hair styling and tan, setting her at the cutting edge of modern style. Her new accumulation of designs was applauded by the press in Europe, and was a big success in the United States.2
The hems of skirts and dresses rise to a newer, more promiscuous level. Traditional long hair, supposedly the crowning glory of a woman, is cut shoulder-length or shorter. Defined waistlines are lost, giving way to a shapeless and loose fitting style of clothing. Manufacturing of cosmetics has emerged during this decade, and a variety of products have become popular among women. The famous Gabrielle Chanel, more commonly known as “Coco Chanel,” performs her renowned performance in the late 1920s (Yarwood 139).
Born as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel on August 19th, 1883 in Saumur, France, she quickly rose to fame. Before the glamorous time period of her life, she was a young little girl with big dreams. During her childhood, her mother died in early years, and her father worked extremely hard as a street vendor, with over hours almost every week, being nothing but usual. When he was not able to look after little Gabrielle anymore, he put her in an orphanage. Ran by nuns, the orphan life was all Coco knew. With the ability of knowing how to sew, taught by the nuns, was a start to her work later on in her life.
The world famous designer and fashion icon Coco Chanel once said “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, and what is happening.” Fashion is something that has evolved multiple times and is also something that has stood the test of time since the very beginning. It’s something that effects society from things like people’s first impressions of what they assume about you to defining your social class from the wealthier to the not so wealthy. Fashion itself is a reflection of social, economic, political and cultural changes. It expresses modernity, symbolizing the spirit of the times. "Fashion is the most powerful art there is. Its movement, design,
Women have spent a large amount of time throughout the 20th century fighting for liberation from a patriarchal form that told them that they must be quiet and loyal to their husbands and fathers. For the duration of this essay, I will be discussing how the “Modern Woman” image that appeared through the Art Deco style — that emulated ideas such as the femme fatale and masqueraded woman, and presented new styles to enhance women’s comfortability and freedom — is still prevalent and has grown in contemporary art and design since. Overall I will describing to you how fashion, sexuality, and the newly emerged ‘female gaze’, and how these tie in together — in both periods of time — to produce what can be described as powerful femininity.
The Renaissance time period started in the late 14th century and it lasted all through the 16th century. It all started in the late Middle ages throughout Italy (http://fashionhistory.net) taking at least one-hundred years before it reached the Northern Alps. This was also the period where the word “European” was put in use and understood by other places, and the word “Renascrere” originated from the Italian word “Renascrere” and it meant to be re-born. The word Renascrere fitted perfectly to this age due to the fact that many had intellectual pursuits and creative energy was re-born (www.richeast.org). The Renaissance would be best known for its artistic aspect and famous polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo given the term “Renaissance men.” It was an effective cultural and development of perspective in painting movement spreading to the rest of Europe and the advancements in science. (www.richeast.org)
Working at her father’s clothing shop, she became very knowledgeable about expensive textiles and embellishments, which were captured in her works later in career. She was able to capture the beauty and lavishness of fabrics in portraits of aristocratic women.
The future of women’s fashion is uncertain—in that shock value is harder to come by with each passing year. There is a concept in fashion that nothing is new, everything has been done before. This theory is coming closer to obvious reality, as fashion shows of recent years have visual throwbacks as late as the Victorian era. Although the direction is not yet decided, it is almost definite that women will use fashion as an important tool for expression and freedom in the future.
Haute couture can be referenced back as early as the 1700s. Rose Bertin, the French fashion designer to Queen Marie Antoinette, can be credited for bringing fashion and haute couture to French culture. French leadership in European fashion continued into the 18th century when influence was sourced from art, architecture, music, and fashions of the French court at Versailles were imitated across Europe. Visitors to Paris brought back clothing that was then copied by local dressmakers. Stylish women also ordered fashion dolls dressed in the latest Parisian fashion to serve as models.
“Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future “(Elegance par. 1). Chanel was a woman who was always seen wearing her own unique fashion. She would never be seen wearing something society would see as something a normal woman would wear; this made her unforgettable (Charles-Roux 5-6). In the beginning, Chanel was only known for creating and designing hats, but she would soon be known for so much more (Charles-Roux 91). Because of Chanel’s new bold ideas, the women’s fashion industry has forever been changed (Charles-Roux 6).
Gabrielle Chanel remains one of the most well-known fashion designers of all time. She was born on August 19, 1883 in France and died in 1971. Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry with her distinctive style. After the death of her mother, she spent much of her childhood in an orphanage. The challenges of her early life helped build her strong character which influenced her path in life. Chanel was nicknamed “Coco” after a lost dog in a popular song she loved to sing. Her early career was funded by a succession of her rich lovers. This allowed her to open her first shop in Paris in 1910. She sold hats as well as some garments. Coco developed a significant following of clientele who enjoyed her practical sportswear creating great success.
The story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.
In Conclusion, Burberry, Vera Wang and Chanel are brands and designers with different stories and completely distinct styles and specializations.Burberry is known for its iconic trench coat and check pattern, Vera Wang is famous for her alluring bridal gowns and Chanel prominent for its women clothing revolution, The Chanel Suit and it’s LBD (Little Black Dress). Nevertheless, these three brands and designers all share the common factor of adaptation throughout time.
Fashion takes on many different facets and concerns many subsets— a model sashaying down the runway in a gown encrusted in real gems, Lady Gaga’s infamous dress made of cuts of raw beef, a teenage girl obsessing over the season’s latest styles— it is all an expression of our minds and who we are or want to be, made tangible. It is a medium just like any other, for while artists wield brushes and paints, designers use thread and cloth to illustrate their vision. The artistry is none more so apparent than in the exclusive world of haute couture, a world of extravagance that caters to aesthetics, producing one-of-a-kind wearable masterpieces that are made to be admired rather than worn. It is without doubt, high fashion and its design is an art.