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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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.
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
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).
Rowe, Jessica. "Interesting Facts About Fashion Designer Coco Chanel." Yahoo Contributor Network. Yahoo Contributor Network, 7 Feb. 2008. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
Berry, Hannah. “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual.” The Norton Field Guide to
“Once she began to apply herself, Chanel became a femme d’entreprise forever. Throughout the remainder of her life she would work unremittingly as craftsman and business woman, imposing her personal conception of the art of dressing upon an ever-expanding clientele” (Charles-Roux 6-7). Even though Chanel left the fashion industry during the war and was heavily criticized for it, she was and still is one of the most famous fashion designers (Charles-Roux 7-8). Until her death, Chanel continued working on new designs that were accustomed to her style (“Coco Chanel Biography” par. 20). In 1971, Chanel died at the age of 88. To this day, her house still exists. Chanel is buried in Switzerland with five stone lions surrounding her tomb (Gabrielle par. 1). Because of Chanel’s new bold ideas, the women’s fashion industry has forever been changed (Charles-Roux 6).
Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonhuer Chanel, on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France was an amazing woman who redefined fashion as we know it today. She was a clothing designer who revolutionized the fashion industry with her suits, little black dresses, and avant garde flare. Because of this quickly in her young life she became well know, and rose to be the fashion icon that she is today. From the timeless designs that are still popular to this day, and the sophisticated outfits that can be paired with great accessories Chanel has done it all. When it comes down to it though it was Coco Chanel’s philosophy that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury” that lead to her success. (“Coco Chanel”)
Fashion has been around ever since ancient times, since the time of the Romans, it survived the world wars and is yet today a business with rapid changes. Fashion started off as an art form, a way for the riches to show their social status with unique and innovative designs that only they could afford. It was a way to separate the social classes of the society. In this paper I will include the creator of haute couture, and how the following designers developed couture, as well as having leading names in today’s ready-to-wear industry. The list is long, but I chose to focus on the three most important designers of the modern fashion industry.
“I know what women want. They want to be beautiful” (www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Valentino) said Valentino Garavani who was one of the most influential fashion designs of the 20th and 21st century, “Known for his classic designs, he's been dressing the world’s rich and famous for almost the last five decades. Valentino has built his once small fashion house into a fashion empire.” (www.lifeinitaly.com/fashion/valentino-garavini.asp) His career in fashion started in the fifties but his passion for it began as a young child with the approval and encouragement of his parents. Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was born in Italy in 1932 where he lived for 17 years until he left for Paris to study fashion at the famous school of L’ecole de la Chambre Syndicate de La Couture Parisenne. Valentino’s first career within the industry was with couture atelier Jean dresses where he sketched any chance he got which showed his elaborate aesthetic. He meets extraordinary people during his time there and also designed one of his first solo creations. After five years at Jean dresses he leaves. Valentino has a brief job with friend Guy Laroche, in his small fashion house before moving back to Rome in 1959 to continue his fashion career independently with the backing of his parents. Valentino established his status amongst the elite of the Dolce Vita. In 1960 he met Giancarlo Giammetti in a coffee shop and one of the most significant partnerships in fashion was formed. Giammetti would become his partner in both business and life.
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)
People always ask me who my favorite designer is. I always find it to be a pretty impossible question. How can you choose between someone like Alexander McQueen and Channel, or what about the clothes I wear every day? I do not even know who designs most of those. I feel like there are too many designers with vastly different ascetics, yet, they are still so breathtakingly impeccable. So now, I choose Diana Vreeland. Although she did not design clothing, nearly her whole life was spent creating beauty and interest with a taste level that hit the sky. She also launched careers of countless people many still follow today and she created trend after trend with her worldly eccentric eye and not to mention an sensational appetite for originality and beauty.
I will also be discussing the influence that Elsa Schiaparelli has been having on the distinct creation of surrealism in fashion, focusing specifically on how she became the leading figure in merging art with fashion by introducing surrealist ideas in her designs. Also her collaborations with artists such as Salvador Dali, Man Ray and Jean Cocteau will be discussed in this essay.
In the early 1800s, France was the sole fashion capital of the world; everyone who was anyone looked towards Paris for inspiration (DeJean, 35). French fashion authority was not disputed until the late twentieth century when Italy emerged as a major fashion hub (DeJean, 80). During the nineteenth century, mass produced clothing was beginning to be marketed and the appearance of department stores was on the rise (Stearns, 211). High fashion looks were being adapted and sold into “midlevel stores” so that the greater public could have what was once only available to the social elite (DeJean, 38). People were obsessed with expensive fashions; wealthy parents were advised not the let their children run around in expensive clothing. People would wait for children dressed in expensive clothing to walk by and then they would kidnap them and steal their clothes to sell for money (DeJean, 39). Accessories were another obsession of France‘s fashion; they felt no outfit was complete without something like jewelry or a shrug to finish off the look and make it all around polished (DeJean, 61). As designers put lines together, marketing began to become important to fashion in the nineteenth century; fashion plates came into use as a way to show off fashion l...
...r became more creative person in the fashion shoot, after the designer. The overall photograph would sell your garment to the best ability that the photographer could achieve. It was not just about being a beautiful model in the photograph, there had to be other ways of making the photograph appealing than the simple lacklustre way of being beautiful. Although, every woman wants to be beautiful, the photographer wanted to challenge the appearance of beauty. And also challenge the way we looked at people that were not beautiful, but had a unique quality to them. The fashion photographer had a lot of power in Fashion; they could make a normal street person become the key icon for desire and envy. The photograph had the power to sell the clothes using anyone the photographer pleased, and the designer didn’t mind as long as their clothes were being recognized, and sold.
Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...