THE HISTORY OF FASHION BETWEEN 1970-1983

In the history of fashion between 1970 and 1983 constituted a period of reorganization and regrouping after decade of tumultuous experiences. The young, always the most sensitive and dynamic facet of society, refused the commercialization of their particular style by creating what was mistakenly seen as an anti-style. Rather, it was a hyper-stylization that largely called upon the personal tastes of its followers. The designers, whose original customers had grown older, became the most significant force in the fashion world.

The magical atmosphere of the haute-couture collections of days past was now applied to a vaster, more varied fashion industry, which addressed itself to an increasingly diversified clientele. Designers' presentations were eagerly awaited each season.

It was around 1970 that certain designers who had appren­ticed in couture houses made their mark by establishing a group of "industrial creators". There, in 1965, the Dorothee Bis boutique, which constituted a centre of talent in the sixties, showed its first collection designed entirely by Jacqueline. The collection was characterized by a mix of styles, including supple, shimmering knits, multicoloured un­derskirts, and very short shorts. Later, she created a deserved­ly acclaimed line of knit "landscape" coats. Sonia Rykiel, another designer from the sixth arrondissement, began her ca­reer designing dresses for pregnant women and went on to cre­ate a line of casual layered knit and crocheted separates that were reversible.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac made his name with outfits of ample cut and unusual materials, such as brightly coloured jute . The Japanese designer Issey Miyake adapted the tradi­tional dress of his native country to modern Western society, using pressed cotton and jersey delicately shadowed in stripes for his free-flowing and liberally cut coats and jackets with square arms. Kenzo, another Japanese designer, offered a collection that melded reassuring classicism and pro­vocative eccentricity. The German Karl Lagerfeld, became the top designer. His refined style bridged the gap between the elegant traditions of old-world Europe and the most recent trends. Nothing is im­provised in the designs of Lagerfeld, whose inspiration is ex­ceptional. Since 1983, Lagerfeld has been at the helm of Chanel haute couture.

These new names altered the image of fashion. The press, avidly interested in novelty, began consulting various design­ers and heartily supporting their efforts. For the general pub­lic, designers were no longer the poor relatives of the couturiers, but admired partners in the game of fashion.

Young people of both sexes, rebelling against conformity, began to set themselves apart by choosing clothes that were not mass-produced. They bought second-hand clothes at flea mar­kets, from old American army jackets to lingerie. These diverse elements were worn together to create a nonconformist look that some deemed "kitsch" but was real­ly simply retrospective. The "retro" look, because it repre­sented the taste of the times, came to inspire an entire style of dress, the primary proponent of which was the British designer Laura Ashley, who created a line of products loosely derived from Kate Greenaway.

Between 1973 and 1983, new faces appeared in the world of design. From 1974 Anne-Marie Beretta showed collections of great daring and originality. She masterfully rendered great wool coats in natural tones, squarely cut clothes with leather piping, prints inspired by contemporary painting, and white dresses that fell with a noble simplicity.

Claude Montana signed his first collection in 1977 and immediately proved himself to be one of the most gifted designers in of his generation, combining a technical assurance with an exceptional intuition regarding colour and form. His favourite material is leather, which he dares to combine, for example, with lace. Even his most eccentric designs possess an undeniably aesthetic quality.

It is not yet possible to ascertain the evolution of modern fashion, since it is only with a certain distance that we can clear­ly determine the dominant trends. The press has the habit of signalling trends that are not always in accordance with what people are actually wearing. Unless the world suffers an eco­nomic disaster, it is unlikely we will return to the days when one single style dominated fashion. For now, Western culture seems interested in clothes inspired by the traditional dress of Asia, clothes that hang loosely on the body and can take on various appearances when worn with belts or pins. For women who desire one-of-a-kind clothes, but cannot make them themselves, there still exist a few artisans who cre­ate pieces that, are produced in very limited series and will never become factory-made.

This tendency has had only one notorious representative in Paris since 1950, Lola Prusac. A specialist of hand-woven and knit clothes with embroidery executed according to her direc­tives, Prusac created completely original and highly varied models for over thirty years, during a period when craftsman­ship was out of vogue. The Prusac firm closed in 1981, but there still exists in France a certain number of artisans who work in textiles and create clothing of all sorts.

While haute couture has almost disappeared in Europe, the craft is now being reborn in the United States, where small firms that create one-of-a-kind or limited-series clothes are multiplying.

No designer can forget the golden rule that guided haute couture until World War I: create models that are unique. This preoccupation is evident in designers as different as Paco Rabanne, whose every design is extraordinary and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac with his manufactured clothes, makes hand-painted unique dresses and jackets woven with rare materials, creations that remain the prized possession of a single client.

This brief summary of current movements in the world of fashion aims to portray the rich variety in design. Human be­ings cannot refuse to clothe themselves without losing their identities, and it thus seems impossible that fashion will disap­pear in the near future. Fashion may soon benefit from innu­merable variations with the help of computer technology. There remain in this world many people who have never had access to fashion, and a vast and open terrain exists for design­ers of the future.

THE DESIGNERS

The first designers appeared on the scene around 1960, encouraged by the debuts of design houses such as Mafia and Promostyl. They made their mark by offering models that could be produced in large numbers to sell at ready-to-wear prices. Their designs were destined for the young clientele who were refusing the sophisticated look of haute-couture fashion. Notable pioneers included Daniel Hechter, whose "Babette" line was inspired by Brigitte Bardot, Jean Cacharel and Michele Rozier. Also part of this first generation were Emmanuelle Khanh, Gerard Pipart, and Christiane Bailly.

While the new designers' names started to become familiar, haute-couture houses began to launch their own ready-to-wear lines, with clothes of high quality. Pierre Cardin, Saint Laurent, and Saint Laurent-Rive Gauche were the first to follow this road, which had in fact already been paved by the pre-war couturier Lucien Lelong.

The gap between the diverse branches of the fashion industry began to close, and the most prominent designers began to group together, at least partly to attain the prestige that accompanied the creations of haute couture. With this in mind, an association called Mode et Creation was founded in 1973, in the wake of the founding of the Paris fashion industry's trade union. Mode et Creation brought the designers in vogue together with the fashion houses that carried ready-to-wear lines. Today the members of this group of internationally acclaimed designers come together to present their collections for each season. Journalists and buyers from around the world flock to see these prestigious fashion shows. In the same tents, erected in public places in Paris, the Federation of Women's Ready-to-Wear presents its lines.

The leaders of the fashion industry today are a small group of designers from around the globe who show their collections in Paris, New York, Milan, and Tokyo and sell them, either directly or through licensed distributors, in any country where they are appreciated.

Today, however, unlike in the past, a "new" style will not necessarily devalue an old one. The offerings of designers are so varied that they are bound to please a diverse public. The choice of clothes depends essentially on the image one wishes to project. In these times of liberalism in life style and morals, people can opt for the "look" that will best express their personalities. In surveying the evolution of fashion between 1960 and 1980, formal dress became less and less common. Black suits worn with starched white shirts were rarely seen except at important ceremonies. Women's hats, despite designers' efforts to keep them in fashion, were relegated to weddings and solemn functions. Gloves worn for anything but sports and cold weather disappeared. Ties became the symbol of constraining office wear and were increasingly abandoned in leisure hours. Men's hats gave way to berets, caps, and motorcycle helmets.

In terms of the overall line of clothes, the tight-fitting curvaceous silhouette disappeared in the sixties. Although it failed to catch on, the "bag dress" introduced by couturiers in 1959 did serve to accustom the eye to clothes that hung loosely on the body.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 494