hey guys ! long time no see, i come back to continue my last post about history of fashion.
so..lets start it
In 1940s many fashion houses closed during the occupation of Paris during World War II, including the Maison Vionnet and the Maison Chanel. Several designers, including Mainbocher, permanently relocated to New York.
In the enormous moral and intellectual re-education program undertaken
by the French state, couture was not spared. In contrast to the stylish,
liberated Parisienne, the Vichy regime
promoted the model of the wife and mother—a robust, athletic young
woman—a figure much more consistent with the new regime's political
agenda. Meanwhile, Germany was taking possession of over half of what France produced, including high fashion, and was considering relocating French haute couture to Berlin and Vienna,
neither of which had any significant fashion tradition. The archives of
the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture were seized, including, most
consequentially, the client list. The point of all this was to break up a
monopoly that supposedly threatened the dominance of the Third Reich.
Due to difficult times, hemlines crept upward in both evening wear
and day wear, the latter of which was made using substitute materials
whenever possible. From 1940 onward, no more than four meters (thirteen
feet) of cloth was permitted to be used for a coat and a little over one
meter (three feet) for a blouse. No belt could be over 3 centimetres
(one and a half inches) wide. Despite this, haute couture did its best
to keep its flag flying. Humor and frivolity became a way of defying the
occupying powers and couture survived. Although some have argued that
the reason it endured was due to the patronage of the wives of wealthy
Nazis, in actuality, records reveal that, aside from the usual wealthy
Parisiennes, it was an eclectic mix of the wives of foreign ambassadors,
clients from the black market, and miscellaneous other patrons of the
salons (among whom German women were but a minority) that kept the doors
open at fashion houses such as Jacques Fath, Maggy Rouff, Marcel
Rochas, Jeanne Lafaurie, Nina Ricci, and Madeleine Vramant.
Flying in the face of continuity, logic, and erudite sociological
predictions, fashion in the 1950s, far from being revolutionary and
progressive, used more from the previous decade. A whole society which,
in the 1920s and 1930s, had greatly believed in progress, was now much
more circumspect. Despite the fact that women had the right to vote, to
work, and to drive their own cars, they chose to wear dresses made of
opulent materials, with corseted waists and swirling skirts to mid-calf.
As fashion looked to the past, haute couture experienced something of a
revival and spawned a myriad of star designers who profited hugely from
the rapid growth of the media.
Throughout the 1950s, although it would be for the last time, women
around the world continued to submit to the trends of Parisian haute
couture. Three of the most prominent of the Parisian couturiers of the
time were Cristobal Balenciaga, Hubert de Givenchy, and Pierre Balmain.
The frugal prince of luxury, Cristobal Balenciaga Esagri made his
fashion debut in the late 1930s. However, it was not until the post-war
years that the full scale of the inventiveness of this highly original
designer became evident. In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette,
broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed
the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress of 1957.
And eventually, in 1959, his work culminated in the Empire line, with
high-waisted dresses and coats cut like kimonos. His mastery of fabric
design and creation defied belief. Balenciaga is also notable as one of
the few couturiers in fashion history who could use their own hands to
design, cut, and sew the models which symbolized the height of his
artistry.
Until the 1960s, Paris was considered to be the center of fashion
throughout the world. However, between 1960 and 1969 a radical shake-up
occurred in the fundamental structure of fashion. From the 1960s onward,
there would never be just one single, prevailing trend or fashion but a
great plethora of possibilities, indivisibly linked to all the various
influences in other areas of people's lives. Young people, with a power
and culture that was all their own, now at an age to speak out, were a
force to be reckoned with and had a powerful impact on the fashion
industry. For perhaps the first time in history, there was an
independent youth fashion that was not based on the conventions of an
older age group. In the 1960s fashion became just as much a statement of
personal freedom.
In stark contrast to their mature, ultra-feminine mothers, the women
of the 1960s adopted a girlish, childlike style, with short skirts and
straightened curves, reminiscent of the look of the 1920s. At the start
of the decade skirts were knee-length, but steadily became shorter and
shorter until the mini-skirt emerged in 1965. By the end of the decade
they had shot well above the stocking top, making the transition to tights inevitable.
Nicknamed the 'me' decade; 'please yourself' was the catchphrase of
the 1970s. Some saw it as the end of good taste. The decade began with a
continuation of the hippie look of the late 1960s, with kaftans, Indian
scarves, and floral-print tunics. Jeans remained frayed and bell-bottomed, tie dye
was still popular, and the fashion for unisex mushroomed. An immense
movement claiming civil rights for blacks combined with the influence of
soul music from the USA created a nostalgia for Africa and African culture. A radical chic emerged, influenced by the likes of James Brown, Diana Ross, Angela Davis, and the Black Panthers, in everything from afro
hairstyles to platform soles. During the 1970s brands greatly increased
their share of the international market. Hems began dropping in 1974 to
below the knee, until finally reaching the lower mid calf in 1977 and
shoulderlines were dropped.
Perhaps the two most innovative fashion designers in 1970s France were Kenzo Takada and Sonia Rykiel.
The undisputed star of Parisian fashion in the 1970s, Kenzo drew his
inspiration from all over the world, mixing Western and Oriental folk
influences with a fantastic joie de vivre
and an instinctive understanding of what his young customers wanted.
With his fluid lines, unusual prints, clever accessories, and finery
that was hitherto unprecedented in ready-to-wear, he very much turned
the fashion world upside down. The queen of figure-hugging knits, in
1974, Sonia Rykiel designed her first pullovers with reversed seams.
However, more than that, she created a whole range of clothes that were
extremely individual and yet could be worn almost anywhere. The Rykiel
style, dominated by fluid knitted garments, dark blacks, rhinestones,
long boa-like scarves, and little crocheted hats, conquered the American
market, and even to this day Rykiel is considered by many Americans as
the true successor of Chanel.
Because of punk,
London retained a considerable degree of influence over fashion, most
significantly in the boutiques of the King's Road, where Vivienne Westwood's boutique, SEX,
which opened in 1971, blew with the prevailing wind. This temple of
British iconoclasm centered on fetishistic accessories and ranges of
clothing in which black rubber and steel studs were the external signs
of an underlying sadism. Postmodernist and iconoclastic in essence the
punk movement was a direct reaction to the economic situation during the
economic depression of the period, the vehicle for a hatred that was
more visceral than political. Punk had at its heart a manifesto of
creation through disorder. With their ripped T-shirts, Red Indian hairstyles, Doc Martens, bondage trousers, and chains, the punks exported an overall feeling of disgust around the globe.
so, i think it's enough for now. see you in the next post :D
byebye
