subject: A Brief History Of Designer Fashion [print this page] A Brief History Of Designer Fashion A Brief History Of Designer Fashion
Fashion design combines design and aesthetics to clothes and accessories. It can be influenced by almost anything. In fact, the reason why most fashion designers wear what appears to be a uniform, is because they are so busy looking around themselves to find inspiration to spend a ton of time on their own wardrobes. In that sense, fashion designers are like architects, they're like painters or filmmakers, with their creative minds constantly wandering.Architecture influences the shape and angles of clothing, while politics might influence the types of fabrics used. And of course pop culture plays a huge part. Mad Men for instance, a fabulous television show, set in a New York City, 1960s ad agency, is known for the very authentic outfits draped on the bodies of the beautiful men and women who make up its cast. The show became an overnight success, and it wasn't long before high street shops were selling puffy skirts, floral dresses, top hats for men and thin ties. High-end fashion designers featured these items in their collections. Louis Vuitton's Sping/Summer collection for 2010, for instance, was built on pencil skirts, waist-cinching belts, and long pleated skirts in a return to the sexy 60s secretary look. Generally speaking there are three types of fashion, haute couture, ready-to-wear, and mass market. Haute-couture is made-to-measure fashion items, that are created for individual clients. Until the 1950s most high-end fashion items were haute-couture. These pieces are one of a kind and usually made of expensive fabrics which often have detailing that is sewn by hand. Because of the quality and time involved to produce such an item, haute couture are very expensive and only worn by the rich and famous of the world.Ready-to-wear clothes aren't made for individual customers, but great care is taken in the production of the items and the fabrics used are of a high quality. A sense of exclusivity still exists in ready-to-wear clothing, as pieces tend to be produced in small quantities. Fashion houses present their ready-to-wear collections for the season during international Fashion Weeks.Mass Market fashion consists of ready-to-wear clothes that are made in large quantities and of cheaper fabrics, making them affordable by the masses. Unlike exclusive ready-to-wear collections that take a trend-setting, often avant-garde approach to fashion design, mass market fashion tends to wait a season to ensure that there is a market for the particular look before they start producing and selling the items. People who are interested in fashion tend to take a lot of pride in owning designer things. Having even the smallest high-end items can reinvent their wardrobes. People who are interested in fashion also like to stand out and set trends rather than follow them, and that means paying attention to cultural influences and occasionally, daring to be different.
