Download or read book London Couture and the Making of a Fashion Centre written by Michelle Jones and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How design collaboration, networks, and narratives contributed to the establishment of a recognized English couture industry in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1930s and 1940s, English fashion houses, spurred by economic and wartime crises, put London on the map as a major fashion city. In this book, Michelle Jones examines the creation of a London-based couture industry during these years, exploring how designer collaboration and the construction of specific networks and narratives supported and shaped the English fashion economy. Haute couture—the practice of creative made-to-measure womenswear—was widely regarded as inherently French. Jones shows how an English version emerged during a period of economic turbulence, when a group of designers banded together in a collective effort to shift power within the international fashion system. Jones considers the establishment of this form of English design practice, analyzing the commercial, social, and political factors that shaped the professional identity of the London couturiers. She focuses on collaborative activity that supported this form of elite, craft-based fashion production—from the prewar efforts of the Fashion Group of Great Britain to the wartime establishment of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, modeled loosely after French fashion’s governing body, the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. It was these collective efforts by couturiers that established and sustained London’s place as an internationally recognized center for creative fashion.
Download or read book London Couture written by Edwina Ehrman and published by Victoria & Albert Museum. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An academically rigorous and beautiful new publication on a crucial chapter in fashion history, London Couture is the first book to examine, in detail, the luxurious garments produced by the rarefied London couture industry - from lavish ballgowns to sharply tailored suits and spectacular court dress - as well as the designers who conceived them, their clients and the prestigious publications that disseminated and promoted the 'London Look' to an international audience. Expert authors from around the world have delved into museum collections, as well as the archives of prestigious designers, textile suppliers and fashionable journals, to bring together this pioneering study of the London couture houses of the early to mid-twentieth century, renowned for their superb craftsmanship and attention to detail. The full breadth of London's offering is examined, from royal favourite Norman Hartnell to pioneer Charles James, and prestigious houses such as Lucile, Worth and Hardy Amies. The ancillary dressmaking trades in London are also considered, as are the international markets for London couture, and the impact of royal dress on high-end fashion. A wealth of visual material supports the extensive, original research - from beautiful features by celebrated photographer Norman Parkinson to the elegant illustrations of Francis Marshall. Previously unseen garments are illustrated throughout the book, alongside historical photography that documents the houses of the great designers, their favoured fabrics and their most glamorous clients, including Queen Elizabeth II, Margot Fonteyn, and many stars of stage and screen.
Download or read book Wholesale Couture written by Liz Tregenza and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-02-23 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to consider the subject, Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930-70 seeks to revise the notion that wholesale couturiers were simply copyists and demonstrate the complexities of their design processes and business strategies. This term has fallen out of usage; however, it was used to describe the pinnacle of the British ready-to-wear fashion industry between the 1930s and 1960s. Companies within this sector have typically been recognised as creators of high-quality copies of French haute couture, using ready-to-wear techniques. Liz Tregenza traces wholesale couture garments from concept to usage, considering design, manufacture, branding, promotion, retail and export. She looks beyond the garments produced and investigates the people behind these firms, consequently demonstrating the significant role that largely Jewish immigrants played in the development and success of this industry. The book also considers the wider social and economic factors that affected manufacturers and consumers; the effect of austerity, rationing and the Utility scheme, and the pressing need for wholesale couturiers to export their products internationally. It demonstrates that 1946 was a critical year for re-building and re-imagining the London fashion industry and that wholesale couturiers were at the centre of these developments. Furthermore, it reveals the impact of changing consumer purchasing power, including the burgeoning youth market, for fashion manufacturers. Offering a new perspective on British fashion history, Wholesale Couture demonstrates that these couturiers were vital in cementing London's status as a ready-to-wear fashion centre.
Download or read book Couture Commerce written by Alexandra Palmer and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1950s were the golden years of haute couture, captured by iconic images of glamorous models wearing dramatic clothes. Yet the real women who wore these clothes adapted them to suit their own tastes, altered them to extend their life, and often could not bear to part with them long after the dresses had outlived their use. This gorgeously illustrated book demonstrates why so many of these designs are still in existence and why we are fascinated by them fifty years later. Couture and Commerce investigates how and why postwar couture fashion was important in its own day. The Paris couture houses survived due to the enthusiasm of the North American fashion press and commercial buyers. Alexandra Palmer traces the European haute couture trade with North America by following actual surviving couture dresses from the design house sketch, through the model used in New York fashion shows and as a template for copies and knock-offs, and finally to the consumer. Couture and Commerce is a remarkable mixture of accessible text, color photographs of the original garments, design house sketches and photographs, retailers’ advertisements, and society page images. Weaving together analysis of the clothes and interviews with those who traded, sold, and wore couture, Alexandra Palmer vividly recreates the 1950s fashion world.
Download or read book Vintage Couture Tailoring written by Thomas von Nordheim and published by Crowood. This book was released on 2013-06-30 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditional tailoring is a fascinating craft, which has not changed for many centuries, however, the techniques are now known only by a few practising in the best couture ateliers and bespoke tailor's workrooms. Nothing feels quite so luxurious or sophisticated as bespoke clothes, but the tailoring skills they require are often seen to be shrouded in mystery and the clothes therefore only accessible to the rich and famous. This practical book reveals the trade secrets of couture tailoring and brings vintage couture tailoring within the reach of all. With step-by-step photographs and professional tips throughout, it shows how a ladies' jacket is made and thereby introduces a range of fundamental tailoring techniques. These can be used for garments for either gender, as well as other sewing projects: moulding fabric to shape with the iron; employing loose interfacings; hollow shoulder construction; pad stitching canvas; interlining and weighting hems;making tailored and bound buttonholes;.... and many more forgotten techniques.Written by a tailor of international repute, Vintage Couture Tailoring is dedicated to all who appreciate the highest standard of craftsmanship, and who like using their eyes and hands to produce beautiful garments.Vintage couture tailoring is practised by only a few establishments around the world today and this practical book reveals the trade secrets of couture tailoring. An invaluable guide for professionals wishing to further their skills, and for enthusiasts with an interest in traditional tailoring. Shows how to make a ladies' jacket from preparation through to assembly and reveals the exquisite finishing details that are the hallmark of couture tailoring. Superbly illustrated with 417 colour step-by-step photographs.Thomas von Nordheim is a tailor of international repute.
Download or read book London Society Fashion 1905 1925 written by Cassie Davies-Strodder and published by Victoria & Albert Museum. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 80 years ago, Heather Firbank packed away her extensive collection of fine clothes, bought from London's very best dressmakers and tailors. These treasures lay undiscovered for the next 30 years, until after her death, they were given to the V&A, laying the foundations for the Museum's world-famous collection. Firbank was an enthusiastic shopper and bought her clothes from the world's leading couture houses, including Lucile, Redfern and Mascotte, as well as private dressmakers and department stores. Her collection forms an invaluable record of fashionable Edwardian taste over a period of some 15 years. Beautifully illustrated with new photography of finely crafted evening gowns, tailored suits and glamorous hats, the book also features contemporary photographs and pages from Heather's own albums of fashion cuttings. It vividly maps out the London couture scene of Edwardian Britain, and charts changes in fashion through the tumultuous first decades of the twentieth century. Through the story of Heather's own life, both joyous and troubled, this book celebrates the central role of clothing in creating a single woman's identity.
Download or read book Fashion written by Christopher Breward and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2003-04-24 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lively survey of 150 years of fashion covers everything from Haute Couture to the High Street, and developing fabric technology from silk to fleece. From Coco Chanel to Armani and Alexander McQueen, Breward explores fashion as a cultural phenomenon. Breward examines the glamorous world of Vogue and advertising, the relationship between fashion and film, and fashion as a business, and goes beyond the surface to consider our interaction with fashion. How have our ideas about hygiene and comfort influenced the direction of style? How does our dress create our identity and status? Details of dandies, flappers, and punks are contained within a clear overview of the period which will make you look at your clothes in a different light.
Download or read book London 1945 written by Maureen Waller and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006-06-13 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Praise for "Ungrateful Daughters "Maureen Waller frames an absorbing narrative of the Glorious Revolution." - "The New York Times Book Review "This is a family drama reported with a keen ear for delicious, gossipy detail and a satisfying willingness to take sides." - "The Washington Times "A highly readable, thoroughly researched family saga that shows vividly how the personal and the political interacted to produce one of the seminal events in British history." - "Publishers Weekly "Colorful period details and vivid portraits of legendary figures like the great Duke of Marlborough: lively, instructive history." - "Kirkus Reviews "Waller's fluent narrative is solidly grounded." - "Library Journal "This is a wonderful biography that British historical buffs will enjoy and learn from." - "Midwest Book Review
Download or read book Everyday Fashion written by Bethan Bide and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-12-28 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ordinary clothes have extraordinary stories. In contrast to academic and curatorial focus on the spectacular and the luxurious, Everyday Fashion makes the case that your grandmother's wardrobe is an archive as interesting and important as any museum store. From the moment we wake and get dressed in the morning until we get undressed again in the evening, fashion is a central medium through which we experience the world and negotiate our place within it. Because of this, the ways that supposedly 'ordinary' and 'everyday' fashion objects have been designed, manufactured, worn, cared for, and remembered matters deeply to our historical understanding. Beginning at 1550 the start of an era during which the word 'fashion' came to mean stylistic change rather than the act of making each chapter explores the definition of everyday fashion and how this has changed over time, demonstrating innovative methodologies for researching the everyday. The variety and significance of everyday fashion cultures are further highlighted by a series of illustrated object biographies written by Britain's leading fashion curators, showcasing the rich diversity of everyday fashion in British museum collections. Collectively, this volume scratches below the glossy surface of fashion to expose the mechanics of fashion business, the hidden world of the workroom and the diversity and role of makers; and the experiences of consuming, wearing, and caring for ordinary clothes in the United Kingdom from the 16th century to the present day. In doing so it challenges readers to rethink how fashion systems evolve and to reassess the boundaries between fashion and dress scholarship.
Download or read book The Handbook of Fashion Studies written by Sandy Black and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-01-02 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Fashion Studies identifies an innovative spectrum of thematic approaches, key strands and interdisciplinary concepts that continue to push forward the boundaries of fashion studies. The book is divided into seven sections: Fashion, Identity and Difference; Spaces of Fashion; Fashion and Materiality; Fashion, Agency and Policy; Science, Technology and New fashion; Fashion and Time and, Sustainable Fashion in a Globalised world. Each section consists of approximately four essays authored by established researchers in the field from the UK, USA, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada and Australia. The essays are written by international subject specialists who each engage with their section's theme in the light of their own discipline and provide clear case-studies to further knowledge on fashion. This consistency provides clarity and permits comparative analysis. The handbook will be essential reading for students of fashion as well as professionals in the industry.
Download or read book DIY Couture written by Rosie Martin and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-05-07 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The DIY Couture collection is 10 stylish, easy to make pieces of clothing that can be endlessly reinvented in different fabrics, textures and colours. Anyone who enjoys sewing and creating something unique will love using this book to make their own couture wardrobe. The book begins with a Useful Techniques section, followed by Collections: inspirational photographs of the pieces styled different ways. Next, each of the 10 garments, from a Goddess dress to a cool romper suit and hoody, is clearly explained, including a spread showing all the variations (e.g. fastenings, necklines and hems) possible for each garment. Finally, clear step by step illustrations and photographs show you how each piece is made. With no complex sewing patterns, even beginners at sewing can make their own beautiful clothes. With simple, visual instructions and cool styling, DIY Couture will inspire people to join the handmade revolution. Where eco-fashion meets street style, this is the antithesis of fast-fashion. Absolutely no patterns required!
Download or read book Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry written by Francesca Sterlacci and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-06-30 with total page 748 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the first animal skin body coverings, to today’s high fashion collections, fashion has held an important role in the evolution of mankind. The fashion industry has, and continues to make, major contributions to our cultural and social environment. It is an industry that responds to our inherent longing for tribal belonging, our socio-economic needs, individual lifestyles, status stratification and profession apparel requirements. The fashion industry is fast-paced, complex and ever changing, in response to consumer needs. Throughout the world, vast numbers of people contribute to this industry, each with the shared goal of supplying an end product of a particular price point directed at a target consumer. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1,400 cross-referenced entries on designers, models, couture houses, significant articles of apparel and fabrics, trade unions, and the international trade organizations. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the fashion industry.
Download or read book Dressing for Austerity written by Geraldine Biddle-Perry and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-04-30 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new look for Austerity...The coldest winter on record, rationing, successive economic crises, bombed out towns and cities; with some justification 'Austerity Britain' in the late 1940s is coloured in the popular imagination in tones of drab. Dressing for Austerity shines a light on alternative visions of post-war optimism and aspiration. It traces how, set against the Labour government's philosophy of 'Austerity by design' in a climate of post-war idealism, the desire for affordable fashionable clothing, access to leisure, and the health, time and money to enjoy them became totemic symbols of post-war ambition that impelled new strategies of state control and consumer agency. The book examines the immediate post-war period - its politics, its fashions and its people - in new ways and on its own terms as a critical tipping point in the making of modern Britain.
Download or read book Fashion at the Edge written by Caroline Evans and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caroline Evans analyses the work of experimental designers, the images of fashion photographers, and the spectacular fashion shows that developed in the final decade of the twentieth century to arrive at a new understanding of fashion's dark side and what it signifies? Drawing on a variety of literary and theoretical perspectives - from Marx to Benjamin - Evans argues that fashion plays a leading role in constructing images and meanings during periods of rapid change. She shows persuasively that fashion stands at the very centre of the contemporary, where it voices some of Western culture's deepest concerns.
Download or read book 30 Second Fashion written by Rebecca Arnold and published by . This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 50 key modes, garments, and designers, each explained in half a minute! Even if you're not a regular follower of Suzy Bubble, Le Happy, or The Sartorialist, you probably have some feeling for fashion. Most people have a vague idea of what's in, what's out, and what they might consider putting on their own backs. Less familiar to most, however, is the way fashion works as a global business - a multi-billion-pound industry, employing over 27 million people - just who decides what's cutting edge and what's long past its sell-by date. 30-Second Fashion offers an engrossing crash course to how the style world works today, alongside an engaging look at the founding fathers (and mothers) of fashion who set it up that way.
Download or read book Fashion Remains written by Marco Pecorari and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fashion ephemera-from catalogues and invitations to press releases-have long been overlooked by the fashion industry and fashion academics. Fashion Remains redresses the balance, putting these objects centre stage and focusing on the wider creative practice of contemporary fashion designers, photographers, graphic designers, make-up artists, and many more. Fashion ephemera are considered not as disposable promotional devices, but as windows into hidden networks of collaboration and value creation in the fashion system. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Fashion Remains explores the unseen and privately circulated fashion ephemera produced by today's most prominent international fashion designers such as Margiela, Yamamoto, and Raf Simons. Showcasing a unique archive of materials, it focuses on Antwerp's avant-garde fashion scene and reveals the potential of these ephemeral objects to evoke and call into question material and immaterial knowledge about the fashion industry's actors, practices and ideologies.
Download or read book London Uprising written by Tania Fares and published by Phaidon Press. This book was released on 2017-02-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unprecedented and intimate behind-the-scenes look at London designer fashion over the last fifteen years, edited by Tania Fares and Sarah Mower and profiling 50 leading London fashion designers, from Paul Smith and Stella McCartney to Erdem and Simone Rocha. London has long been a fashion-world capital, and the past fifteen years have been an especially fertile period in its centuries-long history of setting trends. This stunning book is an all-access pass into the world of designer fashion - an exclusive behind-the-scenes studio tour that calls in on fifty of the city's leading design talents - London-based global superstars - all of whom open up about their practice and philosophy, and share a wealth of images from their rivate collections.
