Fashion and France are an inseparable whole that makes women's hearts beat faster. French fashion houses seem like beautiful magical castles with fabulously beautiful inhabitants. Every word and output of their majestic owners is watched by the whole world, which worships Haute Couture. And this is not happening by chance: the founders of the best fashion houses in France, during the periods of their absolute rule, literally changed fashion, forcing the whole world to mercilessly part with established stereotypes and forever fall in love with the unknown.
(1879–1944)
Reign: 1903-1927
“I declared war on corsets.”
Creating a free silhouette. Paul Poiret's reform, which allowed women to abandon corsets, had its origins in 1890-1910, when the designer promoted a return to ancient fashion. He invited fashionistas in Paris, and then throughout Europe, to wear a tunic dress and peplos cape that referenced Ancient Greece, and also laid the foundation for the fashion for the kimono. In 1906, the reform of the great fashion designer took place - Paul Poiret introduced to the world new silhouette outfit The shirt dress had no corset and was loose from the chest to the floor. The reform produced a colossal revolution in women's clothing all over the world, but it was not an end in itself for Paul Poiret - the new silhouette appeared only because the designer was inspired by the loose outfits of dancers Isadora Duncan and Mata Hari.
Release of the trouser skirt. In 1911, Paul Poiret introduced the culotte skirt to the fashionable European public. New item clothes provoked a huge scandal, but gained such wild popularity that Pope Pius X anathematized the great fashion designer. The ladies changed their attitude to clothing so decisively that they categorically rejected Paul’s new invention - the “lame-legged skirt”, tapering at the knees to 30 cm. After the global revolution, women no longer wanted to allow uncomfortable outfits into their wardrobe.
Introduction of new beauty standards. The great “tyrant fashion designer,” as Paul Poiret himself called himself, placed a new aesthetic ideal of a woman on a pedestal. The beauty standard assumed a thin, athletic figure without pronounced volume in the hips and chest, short hair and jerky movements. Following the new ideal, women could look organic in designer dresses. In the history of fashion, the name of Paul Poiret thus became associated with the creation of youth style.
Expansion of fashion house production. Paul Poiret proposed a new, most complete image of the fashion house: in addition to clothes, the designer began to offer personalized perfumes, household goods and other household items.
Costume creation as an art. Before the First World War, Paul Poiret reigned supreme in fashion, but by 1927, the frills of his outfits no longer suited the public. The designer treated costume creation as an art, but in modern times there was a general democratization of fashion. Paul Poiret’s approach was no longer in demand, and he had to close the “House of Poiret et al.”
(1883–1971)
Reign: 1913 – 1939
“Fashion goes out of style, but style never.”
Introducing ideas of practicality and functionality in clothing. Coco Chanel's innovation lay in the fact that she did not convey any philosophy with her outfits. The main idea of the designer was maximum practicality and functionality of the outfits. It is with simple models 20th century fashion began with Coco Chanel. Daytime and evening wear was developed by the designer, first of all, taking into account that the suit did not restrict movement. This is how the whites appeared patent leather shoes with black sock low heels, a soft jacket designed in 1925 and a black quilted handbag on a chain created in 1955 that freed up women's hands. In 1954, Coco Chanel introduced the tweed suit to the public - a symbol of a new generation that preferred clothes for all occasions.
Creating a classic women's wardrobe. Coco Chanel created a classic women's wardrobe: a little black dress, a tweed suit, low-heeled shoes, a string of pearls as decoration for all occasions. The designer developed the famous little black dress in 1926, when she wanted to create a universal outfit equally suitable for daytime and evening outings, which could be varied with accessories. New model black dresses, previously considered mourning, were enthusiastically accepted by all the fashionistas of the world.
Simplifying outfits. Coco Chanel taught ladies how to create a sexy image without exposing their bodies. Her outfits were distinguished by their simplicity and lack of unnecessary details. The little black dress, mid-calf length, was called “small” primarily because of the lack of decoration. The designer abandoned the previously fashionable heavy fluffy hats, complex designs of outfits and all kinds of details that had no practical value - flounces, ruffles, draperies. Simple, comfortable and elegant clothes from Coco Chanel were called the “Ford” of fashion by the American magazine Vogue. The only fetish of the fashion designer that complicated the outfit was jewelry. She wore a simple suit with costume jewelry and jewelry at the same time, and her signature symbol was a cameo brooch and pearls.
Feminization of the costume. Coco Chanel created many items of clothing that allowed women to exist on equal terms with men in all walks of life. The fashion designer designed and began wearing trousers, thanks to which the fair sex were able to walk quickly for the first time. Coco Chanel designed cropped trousers for daytime events and wide-leg trousers for evening events. The designer easily took on the task of improving the clothes of her fans, such as polo player Boy Capel's sweater or the Duke of Westminster's tweed coat, and gave the recycled creations to all women.
(1905–1957)
Reign: 1947 - 1957
“It’s always worth highlighting your best features. Actually, that’s what fashion does - it enhances and emphasizes female beauty.”
Creating a New Look silhouette. Christian Dior brought back the feminine form into fashion " hourglass"- cinched waist and full skirt. The New Look silhouette presented the previously popular cult of grace and forgotten lines in clothing in a new light. Christian Dior resurrected exquisite ballgowns, the hems of which took up to 50 meters of fabric, in which it was difficult to walk or even breathe. Coco Chanel did not like the designer for this, but most women in the difficult post-war times happily returned to the forgotten image.
Emphasizing inequality. Christian Dior created outfits for women who no longer wanted independence and equality with men. The designer also designed clothes that demonstrated the social status of their owner, which again spoke of a desire for inequality, now between layers of society. These ideals - female helplessness and demonstration of financial capabilities - were extremely popular in the post-war era, when people were tired of constant deprivation and stress.
Reviving the idea of a suit for every occasion. Christian Dior revived the fashion not only for elaborate hairstyles, small hats, corsets and elbow-length gloves, but also for the bourgeois idea of a suit for every occasion. Now any outing, be it a meeting in a cafe or an evening reception, required its own outfit with its own color combinations and set of accessories.
Introducing the concept of seasonal changes in fashion. The Dior fashion house has released 22 collections over ten years. Each of them radically changed the silhouettes of the previous one. Thus, it was Christian Dior who initiated seasonal changes in fashion.
(1936–2008)
Reign: 1962 - 2002
“In this life, I regret only one thing - that I didn’t invent jeans.”
Mixing styles. Yves Saint Laurent became fashion's first anarchist by mixing haute couture And youth subculture. He combined classic suiting and modern art, simple cut and complex patterns. The designer promoted variability in clothing and believed that there was no need to give preference to one style.
Introducing an element of dress-up play into clothing. Yves Saint Laurent freed fashion from excessive pathos and seriousness. The fashion designer for the first time showed the process of dressing as a game, and not a demonstration of status and merit.
Introduction of innovative ideas. Yves Saint Laurent created many innovative outfits: men's tuxedos for women, safari-style dresses, transparent dresses. The fashion designer introduced widespread fashion for trousers. In 1983, a retrospective exhibition dedicated to Saint Laurent was opened at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in 1985, the fashion designer received a fashion Oscar for his outstanding ideas.
(1821–1892)
Time of reign: mid-19th century - present
“Every suitcase should combine mobility and lightness.”
Revolution in the luggage market. Louis Vuitton introduced the world's first flat suitcase in 1858. The invention created a sensation - suitcases significantly simplified the life of travelers and replaced chests in the shortest possible time.
Creating a fashion for open demonstration of social status. Thanks to Louis Vuitton, as well as his sons Georges and Gaston, fashionistas around the world were able to demonstrate their social status at train stations, hotels and airports. The famous Louis Vuitton monogram has led to the widespread disease of “logomania.” Louis Vuitton freed the world from the idea that a suitcase is just for storing things.
Fashion comes and goes, but only those names remain that have managed to keep their finger on the pulse of fashion. These are names that knew how to create something unique and who managed to leave their mark in the fashion world. All of the fashion houses listed below were built on the dreams and ambitions of just one man, so today let's look at the ten most famous old fashion houses and designers.
1. Chanel
The world famous Chanel was founded by Coco Chanel in 1909. She was a designer who truly revolutionized women's clothing.
Founded by Christian Dior in 1946, Dior was another fashion revolutionary who launched his New Look in 1947 just after World War II.
3.Versace
Perhaps not the oldest, but still one of the most famous fashion houses is Versace, which was created in 1978 by Gianni Versace.
4.Givenchy
Unlike many fashion designers who started from humble beginnings, Givenchy's founder, Hubert de Givenchy, was a French aristocrat whose family already had experience in fashion design.
5. Lanvin
One of the oldest fashion houses still in existence today, the House of Lanvin was founded in 1889 by Jeanne-Marie Lanvin.
6. The House of Worth
The House of Worth, created by Charles Frederick Worth in 1858, is considered the earliest forerunner of the modern fashion house, and Worth was the first person to put his name on clothing labels.
7. Mainbocher
Mainboucher is an American fashion label that was founded in 1929 by Mainboucher.
8. Vivienne Westwood
A more modern designer, but still very influential, is Vivienne Westwood. She came to public attention as the designer of clothes worn by the famous British punk band, the Sex Pistols.
9. Ralph Lauren Corporation
Ralph Lauren Corporation began operating in 1967 as a brand men's clothing, which originally made ties. His first line of women's clothing was released in 1971.
10. Saint Laurent Paris
Saint Laurent Paris, or YSL as it is often called, is a fashion house that was founded by Yves Saint Laurent in 1961.
France entered the war as an ally of Poland on September 3, 1939, declaring war on Germany. But until April 1940 active fighting were not fought on the Western Front - the so-called “Phantom War” lasted. In April 1940, German troops occupied Denmark and began the occupation of Norway, and on May 10 they unexpectedly invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Having bypassed the fortified border with France (the Maginot Line) from the north, the Germans occupied Paris on June 14. After the capitulation on June 22, 1940, France was divided into two zones: occupied and free, on the territory of which power was formally exercised by the Vichy government, which collaborated with the occupation authorities. In May 1942, the German army crossed the demarcation line and occupied the free zone.
During the “strange war,” almost all fashion houses continued to operate (in 1939, only K. Chanel and M. Vionnet closed their fashion houses). The collections of French couturiers were extravagant models, mainly intended for export to the United States. Favorite colors were the national colors of France - red, white and blue. E. Schiaparelli, for example, presented sets of colors “Foreign Legion Red” and “Maginot Line Blue”. Couturiers offered special overalls for bomb shelters (R. Piguet,
Rice. 5.2.
E. Schiaparelli) (Fig. 5.2). In May 1940, during a panic in anticipation of the arrival of the Germans, many fashion houses left Paris: some went to London through the south of France (Charles Creed and Edward Molyneux), others to the USA (Mainbusche,
"Jacques Aime", "Charles James").
E. Schiaparelli, who had a contract to give lectures in the USA, also left, but her fashion house remained in Paris. Factory owners of Jewish origin moved to Nice or the USA. Other fashion houses (Maggie Rouff, Lucien Lelong, Paquin, Jean Patou, Marcel Rocha, Nina Ricci, Jacques Fath, Cristobal Balenciaga, Worth) first moved to Biarritz and Lyon. But then L. Lelong, who from 1936 to 1946 was president of the Syndicate high fashion, decided to return to occupied Paris, as he said, “into the jaws of the devil,” where he had to fight with the German authorities for the preservation of high fashion in France.
According to Hitler's plan, Parisian haute couture houses were to move to Berlin or Vienna so that the capital of the Third Reich would become the capital of fashion. German authorities at the office of the Syndicate of Haute Couture seized all documents related to the export of models. However, L. Lelong managed to convince the occupation authorities that high fashion could only exist in Paris, closely associated with many companies supplying linen, shoes, jewelry, hats, gloves, lace, bags, buckles, buttons, etc., some of which have existed since the 16th century. This helped save 92 fashion houses in Paris and 112 thousand skilled workers from forced labor in German factories in Germany. Since LShelong achieved some benefits for high fashion houses on the purchase of materials and the right to sell models in addition to the coupon system, the number of clients did not decrease during the war. New clients included representatives of the middle class and black market figures, as well as German officers who bought Parisian models for their wives and mistresses. The collections became much smaller than before the war (only 100 models were allowed to be made); in addition, the German authorities limited the amount of fabric that could be used in one model. It was impossible to sew models reminiscent of German military uniform. In 1942, Lelong decided to hold shows in Lyon, where clients from other countries - Italians, Swiss and Spaniards - could come.
Opened in Paris in 1942 new house high fashion - "Madame Gre". Its creator was Germaine Krebs, who was left without work after the closure of the Alike House in 1940. Having fled from Paris to the south of France in May 1940 with her husband and daughter, she was left without a livelihood, so she made the courageous decision to return to occupied Paris (she was Jewish) and start a new business there, taking the name she used as a pseudonym. her husband, Russian artist Sergei Cherevkov, signed his paintings - “Gre”. The house of Madame Grès, like its predecessor Alike, offered exquisite draped dresses that were popular with French clients. Despite her risky position, Madame Gre behaved defiantly towards the occupiers - she refused to serve the mistresses of German officers. When she was forced to hold a show for German officers, she showed dresses in only three colors - blue, red and white, the national colors of France. As a result, the Madame Gre House was closed by the authorities for exceeding the fabric limit. Then Madame Gre's collection was completed in other fashion houses. When she hung a large tricolor flag made of Lyon silk on the building of the Fashion House, it was closed again, and she herself had to flee to the Pyrenees, as she was threatened with arrest. Madame Gre returned to Paris only in 1945.
The occupation authorities introduced food rationing and rationing for fabric and clothing in France (in July 1941). In February 1941, the first measures were taken to control the use of fabric in clothing factories, and in April 1942, measures were taken to reduce the consumption of materials in the production of clothing: the length of the skirt and the width of the trousers were limited, unnecessary details were prohibited (for example, cuffs on trousers) . German authorities confiscated stocks of materials in French factories and sent them to Germany or forced them to fulfill German military orders. Things were especially bad with shoe leather, almost all of which were confiscated for military needs. There was practically nothing to make shoes for the civilian population from - old car tires, rubber, cellophane, felt and ropes made of hemp and raffia were used. Many remembered the traditional peasant footwear of France - wooden clogs and mastered their manufacture. Fashionistas made their own shoes with high wooden or cork soles (platforms or wedges).
Fashion became one of the forms of resistance to the occupiers for French women. The authorities called for saving - the French tried to use as much fabric as possible so that the Germans would get less. The Vichy government encouraged the wearing of modest berets - French women wore unimaginable structures on their heads from scraps of fabric and tulle, feathers and wood shavings, newsprint and cardboard. In 1942, extravagant hats were replaced by more practical and comfortable turbans. During the war, Parisians confirmed their status as the most elegant, flirtatious and inventive women in the world, literally creating extravagant outfits out of nothing and using bright cosmetics (nail polish, for example, could be bought at any pharmacy). Haute couture models corresponded to this spontaneous fashion. The defiantly extravagant style of French fashion houses during the war was a kind of moral rebuff to the occupiers. Parisian couturiers created models with huge shoulders and draperies made of forbidden silk and viscose bright colors, intricate turbans (for example, models of the famous milliner Paulette). Fashion houses offered models in a “peasant” style, with medieval and Latin American motifs (Paquin House). The most extravagant were the models of E. Schiaparelli. For example, in 1939 she introduced a coat with buttons featuring the letter S (the first logo buttons).
In June 1944, the allied Anglo-American troops began landing in Normandy - in August they, together with the Resistance Army, liberated Paris. Post-Liberation fashion continued to evolve wartime styles, but skirts became even shorter, shoulders wider, and hairstyles and turbans higher. Patriotic motifs came into fashion - striped fabrics in tricolor colors, tricolor embroidery and rosettes made of ribbons, high-crowned hats reminiscent of a Phrygian cap - one of the symbols of the Republic.
After the Liberation, Vogue magazine, which had not been published during the occupation, began to appear again. During the war, French fashion magazines did not print photographs (there was not enough film and reagents) - only hand-drawn illustrations.
France is one of the first countries to make a change in fashion at the beginning of the 19th century. Thanks to famous French fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Hermes, Jean Paul Gaultier and other famous names, designing and creating clothes has ceased to be a craft and has become an art. In addition, much of what we use now, what we wear, and what seems so natural and ordinary to us, first appeared thanks to famous French fashion designers.
The dominance of French fashion began in the mid-17th century, during the time of Louis XIV. It was then that the phenomenon of “world fashion” arose. Clothing gradually began to obey certain laws dictated by the French royal court. Even then, France made its contribution to the development of fashion: corset, umbrella, high heels, lacing on the bodice, lorgnette, cocked hat.
The name Coco Chanel is written in golden letters in the history of modern fashion. Her first discovery was men's English classic style for women. Short haircuts, jackets, knitted pullovers And plaid skirts, a handbag with a thin shoulder strap and a little black dress, which became a symbol of elegance of the twentieth century... All this was invented and created by Coco Chanel. She was the first to reflect the twentieth century in fashion, combining comfort and elegance in her works.
Her perfume requires a separate story Chanel No.5 who became a legend. In perfumes, the scent of one flower used to prevail - roses, violets, jasmine, lilacs, lilies of the valley; mixtures of different aromas in women's perfumes were considered indecent. IN Chanel No. 5 the aroma of a spring blooming garden was fragrant. By the way, Chanel herself used her perfume only in the city; in nature she preferred natural scents.
The secret of Christian Dior's success was a new image of a woman, radically different from the fashion of the 40s. Women, tired of war, wanted to be feminine and graceful. Dior created dresses for ladies with wasp waists and sloping shoulders, and his fluffy skirts required up to 40 meters of luxurious fabrics. The internal design of the model, which allows it to maintain its rigid shape even on a hanger, remains a secret to this day.
In addition, already in the 50s, Christian Dior created several lines of clothing styling under “H”, “X”, “Y” and “A”. Today, almost no collection is complete without Dior’s silhouettes.
A set of “poisons” from Christian Dior became a sensation in perfumery at the end of the 20th century - Poison, Tendre Poison And Hypnotic Poison. A dark glass bottle with a magical potion is a legacy of the Middle Ages. The sensual, spicy aroma and delicate trail of wild berries will forever remain the property of Dior.
Yves Saint Laurent devoted more than 40 years to the art of haute couture. None of the fashion designers was so inventive, none created so many styles. The beginning of the creative career of the recognized genius of the century occurred in the 60s, the heyday of the hippie movements and youth protest against all established traditions.
The innovator and inventor Yves Saint Laurent admitted that his only regret is that he did not invent jeans. But otherwise, the fashion of the last forty years owes almost everything to him. The iconic trouser suits, sheer dresses and tuxedos, the mini became as common as the maxi, and black became the color of the day. Yves Saint Laurent grasped new trends in the development of society and exquisitely transformed the spirit of this rebellious time into “haute couture”.
His famous perfume can also be called shocking. Name idea and appearance bottle Opium belongs to Yves Saint Laurent. Like all great perfumes, this composition was created as a counterbalance to the then fashionable fragrances: Saint Laurent set the perfumers of the Ruhr laboratory the task of creating “something suitable for the Chinese Empress.”
Cardin is the standard of Parisian taste and chic. In his creations, the principles of classicism are intertwined with modern ideas and innovations. Pierre Cardin quickly found his own style: the silhouette became increasingly straight and narrow, with very clear contours. This became a distinctive feature of Cardin's clothing.
In 1949, Cardin made a revolutionary move by developing a collection of ready-to-wear dresses for industrial replication. The High Fashion Trade Union expelled the designer from its ranks, but soon recognized such collections, giving them the name “pret-a-porter.” In 1958, he created the first unisex line, which united men and women on the principle of a common lifestyle.
Pierre Cardin was delighted with its appearance in the 60s. mini mods. The master's talent was very consistent with her style: constructiveness, interconnectedness of parts and love for geometric lines. In addition, it was Cardin who invented and introduced into fashion tights that matched the color of a miniskirt. Cardin also came up with many shapes and designs that at different times conquered the world: straight and tapered “bag” dresses, “tulip” skirts, metal jewelry, appliqués and patterns, hard vinyl borders on the hems and “lampshade” crinolines. under tight dresses.
John Galliano is a young Spaniard who lived in England, but became famous as a French fashion designer, he surprises with originality, courage and a cocktail of all kinds of styles, drawing all this from his imagination, emotions and fantasies. He is the leading designer of the Dior Fashion House. Mermaid dress, cut on the bias, with a train painted with lilies. And heels of dizzying heights - this is now the Dior woman. Or rather, the Galliano woman.
Among Galliano's inventions are many clothes that were previously considered unwearable, but are now too traditional. These are, for example, skirts cut on the bias or an original sleeve cut that he invented in college.
He loves whims, heaps up jewelry, embroidery, fringe, appliqués - and at the same time he can tailor a simple dress in such a way that it will be the ultimate dream. A born showman, he can eyes closed describe all the technical subtleties of the cut of an 18th century vest.
Galliano is one of the few modern designers who really knows how to sew clothes. Even in our time, when it is difficult to surprise modern society with anything, he, in the best traditions of French fashion designers, continues to shock the public.
The attachment:
Dior Christian Dior could not find his purpose in life for a long time.
He studied at the Diplomatic Academy in Paris, tried to run his own art gallery, in the fashionable houses of Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong. Finally, in 1946, Christian Dior opened his own fashion house.
Less than a year had passed before he became famous throughout the world: on February 12, 1947, Dior’s “new look” collection produced a real cultural revolution.
It is interesting that fashion historians consider Dior not so much a talented designer as a good stylist and a competent entrepreneur who guessed what to offer the public and how to sell it competently. So, the hourglass silhouette with full skirt and the wasp waist, which formed the basis of the “new look” style, was not invented by Dior: this style was known much earlier. But Dior proposed these classic proportions “at the right time and in the right place”: at the end of the 40s, ladies tired of military asceticism wanted to feel fragile and elegant again.
After Dior's death in 1957, the House was headed by his young assistant Yves Saint Laurent. Today, the creative director of the House is John Galiano.
GIVENCHY
Givenchy. Hubert de Givenchy is considered an aristocrat of the fashion world not so much because of his origin, but because of the elegant style to which he was faithful throughout his career.
This style was said to be too sophisticated, and the designer was compared to a “little prince” who creates his own worlds.
However, Givenchy, by and large, did not create any style.
His main invention is the cinematic image of Audrey Hepburn, whom he met in 1953. Hepburn was then preparing to star in the film Sabrina. The dresses created for “Sabrina” brought Hubert de Givenchy his first Oscar for costumes and turned Audrey into a “fashion icon.”
Since then, she has become the designer's permanent muse. So, in 1957, Givenchy dedicated its first perfume to Audrey - L'lnterdit: in the future, the House of Givenchy would become an active player in the perfume market.
In 1988, Hubert de Givenchy sold his House to LVMH, but retained the position of art director.
In 1996 " a little prince" is leaving the fashion world forever. Today the traditions of the House are continued by the Briton Oswald Boateng.
YvesSaintLaurent
Yves Saint-Laurent.
The scion of an aristocratic family, Yves Saint Laurent owes a lot to his mother Lucienne. It was she who noticed in the sickly boy a penchant for the profession of designer and cultivated it in every possible way.
At the age of 19, Yves Saint Laurent entered a competition for young designers and became its laureate - together with the young Karl Lagerfeld. After this victory, many doors opened before him: in particular, Christian Dior himself offered him the post of his assistant.
Yves Saint Laurent fully lived up to Dior's expectations, but his mission in fashion was completely different: if Dior's fashion was mature and elegant, then Yves Saint Laurent was always a rebel, an innovator who brought into fashion something that was not there before . He was the first to offer ladies tuxedos, trouser suits, transparent dresses and safari style. He posed nude for an advertisement for his men's perfume (1971), and women's perfume gave the provocative title “Opium” (Opium, 1977).
Being a 100% creator, Laurent would hardly have been able to create his House without the support of a talented manager, Pierre Berger. Their collaboration began in 1961 and continued until the death of the great couturier: Yves Saint Laurent died on June 1, 2008.
LANVIN
Lanvin.
At the beginning of her professional career, Jeanne Lanvin made hats. At the end of the 19th century, hats were the main ladies' accessories, so business in her hat studio, opened in 1890, was going well.
Soon Jeanne Lanvin switched to the production of women's clothing and by 1909 had already acquired her own fashion house, famous evening dresses: romantic and richly decorated with embroidery “a la the 18th century” and extravagant - in oriental style. The oriental theme was at the peak of fashion at that time, and Jeanne Lanvin, who had not only the talent of a designer, but also the flair of an entrepreneur, never lost sight of the key trends.
So, in the 30s, when wide trousers had just appeared in women's fashion, the House of Lanvin produced the famous evening “pajamas” for going out. And after World War II, he switched to the “new look” style proposed by Christian Dior.
Fashion, among other things, owes Jeanne Lanvin one extremely useful discovery: she divided women's clothing into “adult” and “children’s”. Madame Lanvin was the first designer to create a full-fledged children's collection, not similar to clothes for adult women. The first person to try it on was Jeanne Lanvin's daughter, Marie Blanche. She inherited the House of Lanvin after the death of her mother in 1946. Currently, the main designer of the House is Alber Elbaz.
CHANEL
Chanel.
Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel was a great inventor all her life: she came up with not only the little black dress (1926), the first ever synthesized perfume that did not replicate the smell of any natural plant (Chanel No. 5, 1921), quilted handbags on a chain and suits from loose tweed (1954).
She also thoroughly “worked” on her biography: she added something, hid something, and like a true woman, she pushed back the date of her birth by ten years.
She started her career in a ladies' hat shop. And her first “full-fledged” fashion house opened in the resort town of Deauville, where the “rich and famous” spent their holidays.
In 1919, she could already afford a boutique in Paris - it opened on rue Cambon (where it remains to this day).
As a designer, Coco Chanel never had her head in the clouds. On the contrary, she was too “of this world”, and her ideas were primarily practical. Her main talent was the ability to “rethink” familiar things and find new uses for them. Thus, at her instigation, a men's sweater became part of women's wardrobes, cheap jewelry and an “orphan” black dress turned into evening classics, and loose tweed became a symbol of elegance.
Gabrielle Chanel passed away on January 10, 1971. It is noteworthy that only three suits were found in her closet: a practical view of things extended to her own wardrobe.
