an ode to Jackie Kennedy style.

google images

google images

During the early 1960s, Jackie Kennedy was a fashion icon for many women. She enlisted Oleg Cassini to design her wardrobe when her husband was elected president of the United States. Cassini designed nearly 300 looks for Kennedy. 

Cassini, a French-born American designer,  originally worked as a costume designer. Cassini grew up in Florence, but visited Paris twice a year with his mother to study French fashion. In later years, he moved to New York and eventually Hollywood. 

Kennedy's style was elegant, yet simple. She wore pieces that were tailored, geometric and decorated with large buttons. Many women copied the "Jackie" look by donning pillbox hats, above-the-elbow gloves and low-heel pumps. However after her time in the White House, her style changed dramatically. Her conservative First Lady clothes disappeared and she started to wear wide-leg pantsuits, headscarves, large sunglasses and gypsy skirts. Her clothing was also bright in color. 

Not only did Kennedy wear Cassini, she also wore Chanel and Dior. 

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was the inventor of the "little black dress," quilted handbags and the tweed suit. Chanel grew up in an orphanage during the late 1800s. Though she never married, she had several lovers and eventually obtained the funds to start her fashion empire. She shortened the hems of skirts to just below the knee (this was long before Courreges instituted the miniskirt in France) and made costume jewelry fashionable. According to Werle (author of "50 Fashion Designers You Should Know"), Chanel was not the first to reject the corset in her designs (Poiret and Vionnet had previously done so), but it was ultimately she who banned this garment from the wardrobes of the world. 

During World War II, Chanel stopped production of her clothing (as did most other French designers). However, in 1954 at the age of 71, Chanel made her comeback. 

Christian Dior, yet another French designer, took his wearers into the past. His evening gown creations used up to 40 meters of fabric. Chanel is quoted as saying, "These heavy, stiff dresses that don't even fit into a suitcase--ridiculous! Dior doesn't dress women, he upholsters them." However, Dior said his aim was to "make elegant women more beautiful and beautiful women more elegant." 

Dior proved to be successful, and by 1950 he had as many as 1000 dressmakers working for his fashion house. In only ten years he created 22 collections, and changed the silhouette of his designs each season. As many designers abolished the corset, Dior brought it back. Chanel's answer to this was tweed suits, quilted bags and the "little black dress."

the forgotten, yet notable: part II

google images

In 1946, Pierre Balmain yearned to bring buyers and clients back to Paris. After World War II, the French fashion scene was at a standstill. This French designer traveled throughout America to re-conquer the hearts of the elite American women, as well as their pocketbooks.

A year prior, Balmain's designs were featured in American Vogue. His designs were ultra feminine and flattered the waistline with a wide tapering skirt. This change was accepted after an era of long, fitted suits with wide shoulders. According to Simone Werle, the author of "50 Fashion Designers You Should Know," the wide, graceful shape of Balmain's clothes was exactly what women wanted--excitingly different, romantic and luxurious. However, it was Christian Dior who became famous for this look in 1947.

Originally Balmain desired to study architecture, but soon found a passion for fashion, which he called the "architecture of movement." Not only did Balmain introduce the wide tapering skirt, he also pioneered dresses and skirts that were fitted until the wearer's knees. In the 1960s, these gowns were popular among the Hollywood starlets.

Also during the 1960s, another French designer created a collection that was unlike any previous creation. According to Werle, Andre Courreges' collections looked as if they had come straight from the moon. Courreges' specialized in geometric cuts, lines and the color white. His creations were paired with goggles, hats and thigh-high boots. Courreges also raised the hemline of the skirt to above-the-knee. This was the first appearance of the miniskirt on a French runway.

In the late 1960s, Courreges launched three collections: "Prototype," "Couture Future" and "Hyperbole." Courreges clothes were as modern as the names of his collections--he created modern clothing for the modern, active woman. He also created form-fitting women's pants with a masculine style. His designs were not restricting and women had the freedom of movement while wearing Courreges' creations.

Eventually, Courreges closed his fashion house to the press and buyers because his designs were frequently being copied. In later years he tried to make several comebacks, but his creations remained low profile.

Because fashion is always about the newest trends or what is upcoming, designers have to evolve with trends. However, as the history of fashion proves, many designers cannot sync their style with these upcoming trends. Thus, they are forgotten.

the forgotten, yet notable: part I

google images

google images

I found this gem during one of my many trips to NW 23rd Avenue this summer. This fashion bible begins with the success of Jeanne Lanvin, the creator of the oldest fashion house in the world, and ends with Stella McCartney, the daughter of Paul and mastermind behind high-end fashion with a green conscience. 

Though several of the designers depicted in this book are practically forgotten, current fashion will forever be indebted to these designers. 

Madeleine Vionnet, a French designer, was the first to blend elegance with comfort. Vionnet eliminated the corset from her softly-draped creations and experimented with cuts that flowed carelessly around the body. 

During my travels through Europe last year, the statues lining the walls of Greek museums were adorned in marble and stone dresses, yet the craftsmanship made them appear as silk flowing freely around the statue's body. The Louvre in Paris also displays this Greek artistry with one of its most famous statues, Nike of Samothrace. Though her dresses were not carved of stone, it is clear that Vionnet found her inspiration in the beauty of Greek culture. In fact, her fashion house displayed frescoes of Greek beauties wearing Vionnet designs.

Though Vionnet was the first to eliminate the corset from her designs, Paul Poiret took the credit for the abolishment of this undergarment. Poiret's most controversial designs were pants for women--which were hardly considered acceptable for women during the early 1900s. He also had a hand in creating t-shirt dresses and "lampshade" tunics. Like Vionnet, Poiret's garments were inspired by culture and art. The Russian Ballets (Ballets Russes) inspired Poiret to create turbans, coats with kimono sleeves, richly decorated tunics and flat slippers.

Poiret spent time traveling Russia and America to promote his label--he had an instinct for marketing. He introduced window displays and gave fashion photography an artistic edge. However, the clientele of his competitors, such as Coco Chanel, forced Poiret into debt. He died in 1944, homeless. 

The world of fashion is cutthroat. Designers come and go, but their designs stay inspirations. Culture and art, as evidenced by Vionnet and Poiret, play the leading role of inspiration. Though Paris was and remains the center of the fashion world, French designers were influenced by various other cultures and art movements of the time. 

the beginning.

google images

1943. This is the year of the first New York City fashion week--or Press Week, as it is originally known. This highly anticipated week of models strutting haute couture and upcoming trends down the catwalk began with Eleanor Lambert, a fashion publicist.

During the early 1900s, Paris was the center of the world of fashion. Before World War II, American designers found inspiration within the style of the French. However, when the Germans occupied France in 1940, those accustomed to traveling across the Atlantic Ocean for Paris fashion week had to find their inspirations elsewhere. Designers were free to create collections without the added pressure of the French.

Previously obsessed with Paris couture, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar began featuring American designers after Lambert presented the American sector of fashion. More importantly, these designers were given credit for their work and American fashion began to make a name for itself.

Nowadays, models, buyers and editors assemble twice a year in the fashion capitals of the world to drool over forthcoming trends.

However, unlike fashion week, I hope to take you--the reader--back through the eras of fashion in hopes of discovering how our style came to be. After all, fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.