CONTENTS Page 1 & 2: Editors Letter Page 3 & 4: 1900 Page 5 & 6: 1910 Page 7 & 8: 1920 Page 9 & 10: Chanel Page 11 & 12: 1930 Page 13 & 14: 1940 Page 15 & 16: 1950 Page 17 & 18: 1960 Page 19 & 20: Balenciaga: Exhibition Review Page 21 & 22: 1970 Page 23 & 24: 1980 Page 25 & 26: 1990 Page 27 & 28: 2000 Page 29 & 30: Stylized Pictures Page 31 & 32: Bibliography
Editor’s Letter
The power of women and their fight for equality has changed and still is changing the world around us. But have you ever stopped to think about the influence this has / had on fashion throughout the last 100 years? With this first issue of Fem-equality, I wanted to focus on the evolution of the female form and its influence on fashion as a direct consequence of the feminist movement; from what is perceived as the ‘ideal’ female body in a certain time period, to how this influences lingerie worn beneath garments to enhance specific body features. In fact, lingerie has been an influential part in defining women’s identities for years on end. Designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier have pushed the boundaries of lingerie with his creation of Madonna’s famous conical bra, inspired by what was originally a 1950’s trend. I have noticed how during time, what
is considered as the ‘perfect’ body type, mirrors the industry of lingerie. I aim to touch upon the effects of two World Wars, the great depression and various revolutions upon women’s emancipation; including the era of the Roaring Twenties where women became more provocative and the bra burning era of the 1960’s, to today where ‘Free The Nipple’ is an on going campaign which started in 2012. Fashion persists to push boundaries then and now with the influence of the female form. The power of the female and the continuous fight towards gender equality is a story that can be shown throughout imagery.
Lizzie Hayward, editor.
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Q: What does it mean to be a radical designer? A: Someone who has had a large influence on the fashion industry and the way we live our life today. When I think of an influential designer, I immediately think of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (1883 - 1971). She was a designer of elegance, class and sophistication. But she was also radical in her approach to design. Fellow fashion designer Christian Dior said Chanel ‘revolutionized fashion’. Born into an impoverished family, Chanel grew up in an orphanage. But this did not have a negative effect of her success: in fact, it fueled her ambition to make something of herself. Her garments broke away from the overly decorated, elaborate clothing of the 19th century by switching up the norms of fashion. Firstly, Chanel adapted the kind of men’s tailoring that was worn by her lovers and produced female versions. The classic, tweed Chanel suit is still iconic today, for example, Karl Lagerfeld reinterpreted it in his recent SS/18 runway show. Chanel empowered women by adding masculine features to her feminine designs. By fusing tweed (a fabric related with masculine sports like hunting) with a skirt and cardigan jacket, she produced a timeless suit. This changed tailoring forever due it being considered ‘masculine’ to wear suits, where as now it is simply a normal part of women’s clothing. Chanel believed fashion must meet the needs of modern lifestyles and give women the freedom of movement. In 1916 she began to use knitted jersey fabric which was a relatively cheap fabric and was only previously used for men’s underwear. With jersey being a breathable, comfortable and flexible fabric, women had no restrictions in movement. Females were able to wear clothing that was made by a woman for women and that were corset-free. This
nel shows how Chanel’s feminist views were portrayed in her designs even before feminism and the fight for equality started. Her creation of the little black dress in 1926 was a shock to many people due to the fact that the colour black was usually only worn when mourning the death of a person. Her design was so simple that Vogue called it the ‘Chanel Ford’ because like Henry Ford’s popular car at the time, it was easy to manufacture and available to most women of all social classes. Wallis Simpson (the woman whom Edward VIII gave the throne up for) said ‘When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place’. It is still inevitable that you will find one in a woman’s wardrobe today. Like Vogue said, ‘it is the frock that all the world will wear’. After Chanel passed away in 1971, her designs still live on today through the creative directorship of Karl Lagerfeld. His latest shows build upon Chanel’s legacy by incorporating signature Coco stylings like tweed jackets. Chanel liberated and influenced women, blurring the lines of what is perceived as masculine and feminine and will forever be thanked for doing so. ‘Fashion fades, only style remains the same’ ‘A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous’ ‘Everyday is a fashion show, the world is a runway’ -Coco Chanel.
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Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895 – 1972) was the Spanish couturier who could design, cut, tailor and sew like no other in the 20th century. The phenomenal Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in London contained over 100 innovative pieces. From spending hours appreciating the work of this iconic designer, I discovered what made his designs outstanding and how it continues to shape fashion not only in couture but also the high street today. “It is the fabric that decides” – Balenciaga. His way of designing intrigues me. He started with the fabrics and designed around them; unlike most other designers who choose fabrics based on a design. He was well known for his use of lace, specifically layering black over a contrasting patterned fabric. It was used for both eveningwear and also daywear, which was unusual in the 20th century. Fabric was chosen for shapely sleeves that had more supportive structures. For example, the use of gazar: this was a lightweight silk produced by a manufacturer Abraham in 1958 that became one of Balenciaga’s favourites. Iconic dresses like the baby doll dress and the envelope dress were a thought provoking part of the exhibition as it was denoted how these types of designs changed the way women dressed themselves. His pioneering designs also caused controversy: the baby doll dress (introduced in 1958) hid the figure of women, concealing their shape at a time when Christian Dior’s designs showed the figure off. Similarly, the envelope dress was an experimentation of the body form with the use of fabric. This was popular with the press but did not sell well due to it
being so impractical – and by impractical I mean it would have been almost impossible to go to the bathroom… Balenciaga was a designer who would rarely use corsetry in his garments. Nick Veasey, an X-ray artist, looked into how his amazing designs were constructed by looking beneath several garments. The X-ray images exposed details which were not detectable with the human eye, such as hoops, boning, and the dress pins left inside the hems by the dress makers. This was one of my favourite parts of the exhibition as I felt it successfully shows the talent it takes to produce a garments like these. By the 1940s, Balenciaga was known for his tailoring skills, which had developed from the very young age of 12 where he began an apprenticeship at a tailors in San Sebastian, Spain. The 1950s ‘looser fit’ styles of Balenciaga’s designs offered a more modern approach to the hourglass silhouette, which was loved by his consumers. He ensured his tailored jacket designs would appeal to his consumers by including sleeves which were three-quarter length and stand-away collars. This allowed women to wear their jewellery and for it still be on display. With the upper floor of the exhibition containing a more contemporary approach to Balenciaga’s vision of fashion – the perfectionism, minimalism, shape and volume made it clear that Balenciaga was truly influential in the past and still is now and will be in the future. The shapes of his designs stood away from the figure, framing it instead of restricting it. Balenciaga simplified his designs by creating garments with very few seams and simplistic decoration. Modern designers such as J.W Anderson, Celine’s Phoebe Philo and Rick Owens continue to use inspiration from Balenciaga’s simplified aesthetic, the influence of which has trickled down into many women’s wardrobes. After witnessing this exhibition with my very own eyes, I could not agree more with Erdem Moralioglu’s quote: ‘His vision was so modern. There is a beautiful oddness and femininity to his clothes which is timeless.’
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Bibliography: Primary:
Carinali Isabella.(2012). Lingerie and desire : La Perla. Newman Karoline. (1998). A century of style in the 20th century NJ Stevenson.(2011). The Chronology of fashion. A&C and Black Publishers Limited: Jason Hook.
Secondary:
http://astrumpeople.com/co-cochanel-biography/ http://glamourdaze.com/ history-of-womens-fashion http://inside.chanel.com/en/ timeline/1910_chanel-modes http://www.thelist.com/44261/ womens-perfect-body-typeschanged-throughout-history/ http://shemagazine.ca/ features/hundred-yearsperfect-female-body/