History of Tailoring

Where was the first tailored trench coat manufactured? And by who? The Manchester Weather Coat Company has a great article explaining the history of Burberry Trench which was started by Thomas Burberry in Basingstoke in Hampshire in 1856. It began as a quest to keep his customers, such as farmers and agriculturists dry from the rainy conditions. However, after working with a cotton mill owner, they created a woven fabric that not only repelled rain, but was untearable. According to The Manchester Weather Coat Company's article, "Burberry patented this cloth called gabardine in 1879. He then began making all types of gabardine clothes for field sports and items that are today country classics. He opened a shop in London in 1891 and then the firm spread to Paris, Berlin and New York. It has had the royal seal of approval for over a century and Princes, Princesses, Kings and Queens, cult film stars and celebrities, like Kate Moss, have all owned Burberrys. In its original form the trench coat was part of First World War airmen's military uniform. Today it is a classic garment. Throughout the 1990s the House Of Burberry has employed various well known international designers to update its image globally." Check this article out at: http://www.raincoatsdirect.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaticContentSpot?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10051&spotName=History&pageTitle=History+of+the+Trenchcoat

The Kate Moss for Burberry advertisement picture was adopted from: http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8620/burberrykatemoss1iv.jpg

The World War I trench was adopted from: http://www.popculturepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/345px-wwitrenchcoat.jpeg

History of Tailoring

The University of British Columbia posted some great images and articles about Renaissance Dress during the Renaissance. "International Gothic styles continued to be popular well into the first decades of the 16th century. A gradual transformation to a rigid, geometric silhouette came with the introduction of the cone-shaped Spanish farthingale, which consisted of a series of hoops, graduated in size, sewn into a petticoat. The bodice was tightly stretched over the corset - or stays - giving an inverted cone shape to the upper body. Gowns were layered one over the other, the wide funnel sleeve of the outer gown showing off the slashed undersleeve. Necklines were square and shoulders pulled down tightly. Overskirts were split at center-front, to expose the underskirt, which was often of a figured cut velvet in a large floral pattern. The young Elizabeth wears this style in a portrait dated 1546. Her headdress is one of two frequently seen styles of the time, a crescent-shaped "French hood", here edged with pearls."

More images and passages can be read at: http://www.theatre.ubc.ca/dress_decor/renaissance_dress_northern.htm1530-1575

History of Tailoring

After doing some research about who invented the first tuxedo...who could have either been Pierre Lorillard IV of Tuxedo Park, New York or King Edward VII of London. I came across an article stating that, "at a formal ball, held at the Tuxedo Club in October 1886, the young Lorillard wore a new style of formal wear for men that he designed himself. He named his tailless black jacket the tuxedo after Tuxedo Park." More about this article can be read at: http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/tuxedo.htm.

This image was adopted from: http://www.blacktieguide.com/History/19th_Century/1894_BT&WT.gif

History of Draping

The Inca Civilization has a deep history in the traditions of weaving colorful wool garments and blankets. This image downloaded from Corbis depicts what some of the draped and woven costumes the First Incas wore, most probably around the 16th Century. Check out this image and brief description at: http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid={4F3E22FC-5970-4DF8-99E6-7FC5045602CE}.

History of Draping

Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975) changed history with her bias-cut draping at the end of World War I. "She introduced the bias cut for whole garments, in which the fabric was cut diagonally across the grain to make a springy type of drape." This statement and image was posted on New York Public Library's blogspot: http://www.nypl.org/blogs/subject/haute-couture.

History of Draping

This is a magnificent image that depicts a woman in her drape garments in Iraq in the 13th Century. It is of "a female servant attending a birth: From the Maqamat of al-Hariri painted by the same artist, Iraq 1237. This woman wears a simple gown with a round neck that has decorative bands on the upper sleeves. Her white pants show beneath, as the garment has been drawn up with a belt. Note the veil with what appears to be a decorative band along the upper edge of the face. This type of garment and veil were used as a model for the undergarments we made for the costume."

You can read more about this time period at: http://home.comcast.net/~mikibu/Articlefolder/Bedouin%20Costume%20project.htm.

Sexual Enhancement

"Would you like me to seduce you? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" These questions were made famous by Anne Bancroft in the film "The Graduate" in 1967. However, George Michael incorporated them in an evocative way in his song, "Too Funky" in 1992. Not only was this song absolutely seductive, but his video was insane. George Michael took every hot 90s model and basically used them to sell sex in his videos. The best part was, he used famous designers as well, like Thierry Mugler, to design the garments for the models to parade around in on the catwalk. Who could forget Emma Sjöberg wearing this motorcycle style corset with rear view mirrors? Just absolutely sexy. This image remains in my head since I was 12 years old and I think the idea of sexual enhancement as a function of clothing goes something like this.


According to YouTube: "George Michael - Too Funky - Release Date 1992 Number 2 In The Uk Charts - From The Album Red Hot + Dance - Red Hot + Dance is an album produced by the Red Hot Organization, an organization dedicated to raising money and awareness to fight the onslaught of HIV/AIDS.Pop star George Michael was instrumental in bringing the project to fruition and the album was notable for featuring three new songs by him."

This image was adopted from: http://sxyfashionqueen.blogspot.com/2008/11/dj-vu-beyonc.html

Ceremonialism

Ceremonialism as a function of dress has been used in many religious, cultural and civil events throughout time. This image depicts "a ceremony that already lay three centuries in the past, an illustration from Rashid al-Din’s 14th-century Jami‘ al-Tawarikh (Universal History) shows Mahmud ibn Sebuktekin, the first independent Ghaznavid ruler, receiving a richly decorated robe of honor from the caliph." The elaborateness of details on these silken robes in incredible.

This photograph was downloaded from: http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200805/suitable.luxury.htm and is from the EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY LIBRARY / BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY.

Group Membership

"The Other Katherine"
I truly cannot imagine not being allowed to wear pants in public or in my private space for that matter. Gladys Perint Palmer recently held a lecture on the History of Fashion and spoke about her new book, "From Eve to Yves". Gladys told us this very witty story about London in the 1920s. She said that articles and ads were published in London stating that, "when women smoke they must wear trousers". Katherine Hepburn was one of the first celebrities to wear pants and make it mainstream, however, there was the group of women who wore them before her as a garment and fashion necessity as well as a statement. And this specific group of women define the idea of group membership as a function of dress. I personally thank every woman involved in this matter. There is a time for a skirt or dress and always a time for a pant.


This image was downloaded from the website: (http://sewingforlife.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/katherine-hepburn-inspired-trouser-pants-part-1-of-3-drafting-the-pattern/). She also has a great pattern for sewing these trousers!!

Gender Differentiation

When reviewing gender differentiation as a function of dress and understanding the style of dress from the Renaissance to the 18th Century, there is no way around thinking about Marie Antoinette in France during that time period. The men and women in her court wore lavish lavish dresses, wigs, make-up, etc., however, none of them could out-do her eccentric look. Their lifestyles completely matched their elaborate garments and looks as well. The men seen in these photographs wore tights, wigs, make-up, ruffles, etc. They look like how a man would dress in that time period yet isn't that crossing the line for any heterosexual male in today's society? "Let them eat cake!"

This image was downloaded from (www.tops2bottoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/...) and is a shot taken from Sofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette".

Decoration

"Having a clear idea of concepts like "self" and "other," both as individuals & groups, humans work hard in devising ways to represent those differences." This quote was taken from our History of Fashion's course, which discussed the concept of Decoration as a very important function of dress. This topic brought to mind a story I had once read about the history of Tahitian tattooing and the different ways in which they "stood apart" within their group. Tahitians used tattooing as the most identifiable element when doing this. One incredible form of this studied by Jane Resture is as follows:
"In ancient Tahitian society all women were tattooed. Young girls were tattooed at a very young age with marks on the inside of their arms to show that they were free from food tabus. Until that time they could only accept food prepared by their mothers - no-one else. There are no illustrations of these marks, just a few descriptions. Young women were again tattooed and they began to wear clothes as they reached puberty.

These tattoos are often described as heavy black patches on their posteriors, and were absolutely required before a woman was permitted to engage in intercourse. As a young woman grew slightly older, the smaller designs in arch shapes across the top were added. As a sign that they were sexually mature and desired a man, women were reported to lift their bark cloth skirts showing their tattoos. Quite often this was directed at the Europeans who were surprised, if not shocked, particularly the missionaries."

This image can be seen on her website:http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_tattoos/tahiti.htm

Environmental Protection

Ann Demeulemeester brings a whole new deconstructed edge when thinking about what to wear within the idea of environmental protection as a function of dress. In this day and age, wearing jackets and coats is not confined to fine tailored wool or fur jackets. It can be deconstructed and manipulated with certain cuts, shapes, and prints. The idea of wearing "just a coat" is not the same as it used to be, not only is it function but it is also a personal statement.

This image was downloaded from style.com from Ann Demeulemeester's show in Paris last February 2008. The photograph was taken by Marcio Medeira.

Levi's

Oh the rebellious look of wearing denim in the 1950s...and no one looks better in them than James Dean. He was the perfect poster boy for the denim company in the 1950s. Today, Levi's is still producing an amazing variety of denim. In addition, the number of other companies and designers throughout the world designing denim is inconceivable. Just for an example, I own two pairs of jeans from one of my favorite fashion designers, Martin Margiela.

Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli's, trompe l'oeil "Tear" dress and veil in 1937 created a sensation in the fashion world because of her great collaboration with the surrealist, Salvador Dali. Schiaparelli was remarkably innovative in the way she combined the art world with the fashion world, as seen her combination of silks and prints.

Rodarte

More recent on the scene is the design sister duo behind the incredibly intuitive line of Rodarte. They have taken the concept of leggings to a whole new realm with their cashmere "cut-out" leggings, as well as their silk/nylon "cut-out" leggings. Both leggings are artistic, comfortable and cutting-edge. This image is from their Spring/Summer 2008 Collection.

Givenchy

Givenchy was the master of the perfect dress for any cocktail party or event. I believe Richard Avedon captured the incredibly chic design of Givenchy when he took this photo in 1956. Givenchy was a master with silk and brocade, it's no wonder why the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" photograph of Audrey Hepburn remains timeless and stunning. He made women look at feel absolutely beautiful.

Joop!

Berlin 2009...I honestly believe Schonenberger created a stir for Joop! with his choice of combining leather and latex in his garments. This is where innovative fabrics are already beginning to take shape. Call it evocative, call it erotic but it's art.

Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto is one of the pioneers of fashion Deconstructionism. Arriving on the scene in the 1980's, he had an avant-garde style of designing with oversized silhouettes. These shapes held their place with the fabrics he used, no matter how extreme, and movement can always be seen. Another thing to look at is that he usually works in a single color, mainly black. This image is from his Fall/Winter 2001-2002 Ready-to-wear collection.

Pierre Cardin

The 1960's was a decade when Russia and America were involved in the great "space race". A few fashion designers, namely Pierre Cardin, began toying with this idea of space and started using more man-made materials, like plastics and metals, when creating their garments. In 1966, Pierre Cardin designed this dress, jacket and helmet out of all synthetic materials. The look is very modern and what is to be considered "Space Age". These "Space Age" designers were true futurists and created a new wave of thinking when incorporating man-made materials into garments.

Seven Seven Seven

For our most recent assignment in The History of Fashion of the 20th Century, we were told to look at textile images of garments within the last century that somewhat changed fashion history. In turn, I chose to focus on key designers and their garments that are inspirational as well as innovative.