The
term "fashion" is frequently used in a positive
sense, as a synonym for glamour and style. In this sense,
fashions are a sort of communal art, through which a culture
examines its notions of beauty and goodness. The term "fashion"
is also sometimes used in a negative sense, as a synonym for
fads, trends, and materialism.
Fashion design is the applied
art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle accessories
created within the cultural and social influences of a specific
time
Fashion design differs from
costume design due to its core product having a built in obsolescence
usually of one to two seasons. A season is defined as either
autumn/winter or spring/summer. Fashion design is generally
considered to have started in the 16th century with Charles
Frederick Worth who was the first person to sew their label
into the garments that they created. While all articles of
clothing from any time period are studied by academics as
costume design, only clothing created after 1858 could be
considered as fashion design. |
|
 |
| Throughout
the early 20th century, practically all high fashion originated
in Paris, and to a lesser extent London. Fashion magazines
from other countries sent editors to the Paris fashion shows.
Department stores sent buyers to the Paris shows, where they
purchased garments to copy and openly stole the style lines
and trim details of others. Both made-to-measure salons, and
ready-to-wear departments, featured the latest Paris trends,and
adapted to the stores' assumptions about the lifestyles and
pocket books of their targeted customers.
At this time in fashion
history the division between haute couture and ready-to-wear
was not sharply defined. The two separate modes of production
were still far from being competitors, and, indeed, they often
co-existed in houses where the seamstresses moved freely between
made-to-measure and ready-made.
Around the start of the
twentieth-century fashion magazines began to include photographs
and became even more influential than in the past. In cities
throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after
and had a profound effect on public taste. Talented illustrator-
among them Paul Iribe, George Lepape and George Barbier -
drew exquisite fashion plates for these publications, which
covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty.
Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette
du Bon Ton, which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and
regularly published until 1925 (with the exception of the
war years).
|
