Ralph Lauren is American's leading designer in the classic tradition, who has stayed true to his own point of view, despite the seasonal vagaries of fashion. Mr. Lauren has always believed that fashion is function of lifestyle. He believes that clothed should be natural, comfortable and elegant, for the way people live today. His clothes have timeless grace and become more personal and special age. For Mr. Lauren, the starting point is always his concern for quality and attention to detail, while the creative drama comes from his own romantic sense of elegance and reverence for authencity. Always true to his own purely American vision of fashion, his products are nearly as diverse as the country that inspires them. He designs a wide range of products, including menswear, womenswear, boyswear, girlswear, home furnishing, eyewear, scarves, shoes, hosiery, fragrances, handbag, luggage and leather goods. And the stores that carry his products are located across the United States and around the world. MENSWEAR : POLO BY RALPH LAUREN 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. Mr.Lauren had more dreams to fulfill. He chose the name Polo for his line of ties because the sport repsented to him a lifestyle of athletic grace and discreet elegance, an image of men who wore well-tailored, classic clothes and wore them with style. With that image in mind, Mr Lauren established Polo as a separate menswear company in 1968, producing a complete line of men's clothes. Using only the finest fabrications, Mr. Lares's menswear was distinctive, innovative, but always classic and refined. His suits blended the American Ivy League natural shoulder silhouette with the fitted shape and expensive fabrics of the best European custom tailored clothing. His shirts were all cotton, richly patterned and expertly made. This same care was, and still is, applied to every element of... ... middle of paper ... ... Mr. Lauren took a leading position in raising funds to build new exhibit space and a headquarter building for the museum. In 1989, Mr. Lauren united the fashion industry to support Brest cancer research. Through a personal contribution and fundraising, Mr. Lauren successfully launched the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Lombardi Cancer Research Center at Georgetown University's medical complex in Washington, D.C. The Center is Named for Nina Hyde, the fashion editor of The Washington Post, in recognition to her contributions to cancer research. Mr. Lauren also takes time out to accept a few design project, including costuming all the male Actors in "The Great Gatsby "(1973 and Woody Allen and Dianne Keaton in "AnnieHall"(1971). In 1978, Mr. Lauren designed a uniform program for Trans World Airlines(TWA) that is still in use today. PERSONAL INFORMATION With Demanding work schedules, Ralph Lauren prefers to lead, personal life with his family - his wife Ricky and their three children. They enjoy jogging around the Central Park reservoir near their upper Fifth Avenue apartment in New York City and active weekends at their Colorado ranch.
He enjoys, what he calls the “Aha Moment” where the actor can see themselves, and understands their body language when they see their selves transform into their character. If the character is from a time period of the past, he goes as far as putting them in vintage panties or giving them a pocketbook with a handkerchief or a lipstick from that era. He wants his characters to feel as if they are from that time period as well. As far as being a designer he feels that there are certain guidelines he has to do for his work to come to life. Firstly, he said that he hasn’t changed his outfit in over thirty years and does not wear jeans.
Along with this innovation of trying to drive sales, the Popular Club began to find its brand image. The company’s focus was leisurewear for upper-middleclass customers, seeking the Ralph Lauren look at a much lower price. The company’s merchandise style was a combination of Ralph Lauren, on the high end, and the Limited, on the lower end. Popular Club wanted to signify a “preppy spirit,” in doing so they renamed the operation J.Crew. In January 1983, the company mailed its first catalog to its customers (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/j-crew-group-inc-history/). This will be the beginning of a thriving company.
Fashion reflects the attitudes of a society more than any other art form. Like art, fashion is a material record of the ideals that swayed the nations at the time of their creation. Through examining the styles, and tastes of a particular era, we can realize where the interests and priorities of a time lie. As Frank Parsons wrote in his 1920 study, The Psychology of Dress, "There is surly no better field in which to trace the devious paths of human thought than in that of clothes, where man has ever given free play to self expression, in a way which, thought not always a credit to his intelligence, is yet quite true to his innermost self, whether he will acknowledge it or not." Through, tracing and analyzing, side by side, art and fashion, and the effects that one had on the other and society, we can understand the ideals, and interests of European culture, here, through the Renaissance.
As stated earlier, De la Renta began working for Balenciaga, the Arden in the burgeoning ready-to-wear business, until he, just a few years later managed to launch his own label. Once de la Renta had successfully launching his label, his in the fashion industry was meteoric, and it all started with the silk boatneck dressed favored by Jacqueline Kennedy. Although most people might remember Jacqueline Kennedy as a fashion trailblazer, de la Renta has a massive role in the creation of there image- and the of the American women of the 60´s. His fitted bodices which would splay out into full skirts started a decade of iconoclastic rebellion in fashion while at the same time it preserved the American tradition with folds of taffeta.“I always say in my role as a designer is to bear, to do the very best I can for that woman, to make her feel her very best”. (______) And making women feel their very best is exactly what he did best. De la Renta clothed women for more then half a century, and his focus was on the
Today, designers have computer-aided design at their disposal. Clothing made by tailors,individuals, or by their family members at home. The Civil War was a critical historical development of men’s ready-made clothing. At the start of the war, most uniforms were made in workers' homes under government contract. After continuous war, manufacturers built factories that quickly and efficiently meet the demands of the military.
Prior to the era of the twenties dressmakers earned a large amount of money by designing and producing these stylish clothes that were fitted for each individual. Dressmakers’ business consisted not only of designing and producing these expensive garments for women, who could afford their services, but also altering, repairing, cleaning, and reusing fabric and materials from older outfits to...
Levi Strauss came to America in 1853 and opened his own shop to supply miners with daily necessities. Upon hearing of the need for stronger pants, Strauss took the responsibility of creating pants that meet miner’s needs. He took brown canvas from a tent and created a pair of pants. These waist overalls, as they were often referred to, were strong enough, but were not comfortable. Strauss then switched to denim. He had found a comfortable, suitable article of clothing for miners and other hard workers. They were almost perfect.
“He embraced the use of plastics, silver vinyl, industrial zippers, and hammered metal jewelry in his designs and made a big splash with his multigender Cosmos Corps collection” (Colette). According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Cardin’s designs were a hit in America, but during the mid-60s he decided to create more traditional lines for the department stores in Paris. The beauty of his couture is that Cardin’s designs appealed to everybody’s taste in clothing, allowing the public to help themselves to a wide variety of his brand, without being unsatisfied. Pierre Cardin’s designs gained more popularity through one of his first hits, which was a men’s ready-to-wear collection in 1960 and his women’s ready-to-wear collection in 1963 (Pierre Cardin). Just as the Japanese fashion inspired Cardin years before, the Japanese designers went on to create designs based on his futuristic ideas of the “Space Age Look” that were produced all throughout the 1960s (Biography.com). Cardin’s many authentic designs allowed himself to not only have a sense of pride in what he has accomplished so far, but to have a substantial fan base that looked forward to him to keep on producing more of his own clothing. Since this was such a successful period in Pierre Cardin’s life, his work has
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...
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...
Alexander McQueen is one of the most brilliant and successful fashion designers. If you are a person in fashion or are interested in fashion, we can easily access his masterpieces through various mediums such as magazines, fashion media, and also the book about Alexander McQueen. Most of fashion people are well known about him and his life. Although his life was not smooth and there was a lot of trials and tragic endings, McQueen was a genius who loved the fashion world. The fact remains unchanged and will not change in the future. After I read the book “Gods and kings: The rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano”, I can look closely at Alexander McQueen’s life and see his fashion
The creation of mini-skirts did bring a whirlwind in the summer of 1960. Besides, the Peter Max T-shirt was also hot in the 60s. In addition, we discussed the fashion style for the 80s. The dresses are powerful and simple. In particular, the colors were deeper than the 60s and those designers prefer to add jewels on garments.
Over shadowing functionality, fashion is human’s next need for embellishment, followed by power or status.“Fashion is, in many ways, like a river.” -Elaine Stone. It is constantly moving forward and changing. Consequently, fueling the fashion business and allowing it to prosper.In other words if there is no change, then there will be no fashion, thus no bussiness. Over the decades millions of brands and designers have been trying to adapt to the rapid and ongoing change in fashion. Those who fail to attune with constant change tend to correlate to failure in business. However, those who do adapt to constant change in fashion have the tendency to succeed in business. Three distinct trend setting designers that have successfully adapted to change are Burberry, Vera Wang and Chanel.
Rendering to Kaiser (1990), fashion is a visual invention and concept that differs from clothing, this can be identifies is material production and so...
From selling purely ladies’ footwear, Charles and Keith expanded their range of products to include ladies’ bags and accessories in order to cater different demands of the customers. Charles and Keith owns a team of designers that come out with new products regularly and the company has their own R&D team frequently travels to fashion cities to get in touch with the latest design and trend (Singapore Press Holdings, 2009).