Introduction-
Fashion is richly embedded in the history and culture in France. The country is the home of many famous designers, and is credited with creating the concepts haute couture and prêt-à-porter; two core segments of the fashion industry. Today Paris, Milan, London, and New York are the “Big Four” fashion capitals in the world. While France is well known to be the oldest fashion empire in the world, with expansion of the industry, is it still considered the leader?
1) History of Fashion in France
A quote by American poet, Allen Ginsberg says, “You can’t escape the past in Paris, and yet what’s so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn’t seem to burden.” In order to truly understand the large role that fashion plays in a culture where the past is such a large part of the present, one must learn about its deep history and evolution.
The first time clothing was seen as more than a practicality, and closer to a status symbol was during the reign of King Louis XIV. King Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon and ruled as King of France and the Kingdom of Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. He was known for adorning himself in silk, diamonds, and artisanal shoes and jackets (Fashion and Power). He used these items of luxury to control and express his power to France, its residents, and the rest of Europe.
Shortly after Louis XIV’s death, Louis XVI came into power. King Louis XVI’s wife, Marie Antoinette was also a pioneer in the French fashion culture. As the Queen of France from 1774-1792, her life was full of extravagance and luxury and she wanted her fashion to be representative of her lifestyle. In fact, she w...
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...businesses reviewed annually to preserve the reputation of such a prestigious association.
Chambre syndicale Du Prêt-à-porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode is a group made up of haute couture houses and fashion designers who design women’s ready-to-wear fashion, and the Chambre syndicale de la Mode Masculine is a group exclusively for men’s fashion.
Since 1935 the Fédération’s headquarters have been located at 100 rue de Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris’s 8 arrondissement; in the heart of the city where it all began. Combined, the three trade organizations have over 100 corporate members. A unique quality of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture and the Chambre syndicale Du Prêt-à-porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, is that it accepts international members as well. This is said to reflect the quickly expanding globalization of the industry.
His use of the arts was somehow to prove that through his expensive taste, his rule as an absolute ruler meant security. King Louis XIV “believed that luxury was not only necessary to the economic health of France but also the prestige and very survival of the royalty, and the French monarchy” (Dyer). Believing that images and artistic production have the power and ability to shape other people’s perception, King Louis XIV took
As a teenager, Marie spent her time enjoying Versailles' and Paris' night life with a notorious clique and fondness of making fashion statements through extravagant couture and bold coiffures (“The Grand Dauphin”). ...
The evolution of clothing has been drastically changed through the course of history, from the style to how they’re made. Women and men’s clothing changed at different rates. The way clothes are made reflect the style. Clothing always has been an important aspect of one’s culture as well as a representation of a time period. Overtime clothing has changed just as the people it clothes.
Elizabethan fashion was the start of fashion itself. This was the time of Christopher Columbus and other explorers who united the world. International trade routes had been discovered and global trade had officially began. Before the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, people just wore clothes to keep warm and to conceal themselves. Attire was plain and simple; it did not have flair or style. New fabrics and dyes were now readily available from all over the world. The Elizabethan Era was the first time the wealthy began to invest large sums of money and time into their clothing. Apparel distinguished the rich from the destitute. Both genders cared significantly about their clothing; it was not just a women’s hobby. The monarchs of the world during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries headed this new desire for gorgeous clothing, especially Queen Elizabeth herself. The Sumptuary laws were passed to keep certain styles specifically for the monarchs and nobility. The common people were prohibited from wearing those styles. The exquisite designs and shapes of clothing reflected the monarch’s influence on society and the novel Renaissance desire for a specific body shape; there were dissimilarities in attire among the people of different social classes due to the Sumptuary restrictions.
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).
The clothing of the Middle Ages, like everything else was decided by the pyramid of power. The pyramid of power was the Middle Ages Feudal System. Medieval clothes provided information about the rank of the person wearing them. From the 11th through the 14th centuries, medieval clothing assorted according to the social standing of the people. The clothing worn by nobility and upper classes was clearly different than that of the lower class. Medieval clothes provided information about the status of the person wearing them. The clothing and fashion during the medieval era of the Middle Ages was conquered and highly influenced by the Kings and Queens of the era. Only the wealthy could dress in fashionable clothes.
To begin my search, I needed to gain a general sense of fashion week and fashion week’s history, so I kept my search general with Google, “New York Fashion Week”, in hope to fi...
The Chronicle of Western Fashion: From Ancient times to the Present Day.
The passion that Gabrielle Chanel had towards her work on fashion came when Boy Capel soon realised that the only thing Gabrielle Chanel really loved was work. What she wanted was to use her hands, her head and her very definite likes and dislikes. And so Gabrielle Chanel started her first step towards fashion industry by becoming a milliner. It was her road to freedom and fame (Baudot, 1996, p.6). Gabrielle Chanel’s first lover, Etienne Balsan generously offered her his ground floor bachelor flat, which transformed into a studio.
“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).
Fashion plays an important role in the lives of billions all over the world; people, as part of a status craving society, turn to “fashion capitals” of the world for ways in which to dress and carry themselves. New York, Milan, and Paris are leaders among this fierce industry that the world lusts after. Fashion can speak volumes about ones personality, or also about the condition the world is in at the time. In France, fashion changed rapidly and feverously as the times changed.
Lawson, David "History Of Renaissance Clothing - How Today's Fashion Is Affected." 6 Jul. 2011 EzineArticles.com. 16 Nov. 2011
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.
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...