Designer Spotlight: Madame Gres
Madame Grès pursued sculpture before turning her interests towards fashion. She was was initially a hat maker, but her eye for design soon propelled her into haute couture dressmaking. By the 1930s, Gres had made a name for herself, and by the end of her career she counted a number of famous women in her client list, including: Wallis Simpson - the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Matilda of Greece, Paloma Picasso, Grace Kelly, Marella Agnelli, Marie-Helene de Rothschild, Edith Piaf, Jacqueline Kennedy, Dolores del Río, Barbra Streisand, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo.
Designer Spotlight: Azzedine Alaïa
Azzedine Alaia was the master of his own destiny, rejecting aspects of the fashion industry including the traditional calendar, timelines, and advertising norms. He refused to bend to the market’s will. He was a perfectionist who would show his work only when it was finished. Alaia was internationally renowned, his designs appearing on the covers of magazines, runways across the globe, and in the halls of Museums.
Designer Spotlight: Hubert de Givenchy
Givenchy opened his couture house in 1952. La Maison Givenchy launched with a collection of separates including the iconic Bettina Blouse. The Bettina and the rest of the collection was a roaring success, earning Givenchy 7 million francs by the end of the day. Givenchy produced fine couture, but in 1954 became the first couturier to present a ready - to - wear line.
Givenchy went agains the “New Look” wave and released his “sack” dress in 1957. The sack dress was provocative, with a loose, circular silhouette that hid the torso, but with high hemlines that showed off the legs. Givenchy’s loose silhouette was a clear predecessor to the shift, trapeze, and babydoll dresses of the 1960s.
The New Look
A Bite - Sized Look at Christian Dior’s Post-War New Look
After a years of wartime rationing, of scrimp and save, of fear and force, Christian Dior’s “New Look” brought fashion back to France. Dior launched his collection on February 12th, 1947, to uproarious applause. The “New Look” - dubbed so by Caramel Snow, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, when she declared "It's such a new look!" - was defined by cinched waists, full skirts, and an extravagant use of fabrics.
Designer Spotlight: Christian Dior
Dior continued to receive offers from fashion houses, however he wanted to build his own empire. The success of Balmain’s 1945 launch emboldened Dior, and in December of 1946, he quietly opened his fashion house. For two months Dior worked on his first collection. On February 12th he stunned the world with his “New Look.” The collection was a fresh return to opulence, with sculpted lines, full skirts, wasp waists, and yards and yards of silk.
Designer Spotlight: Nina Ricci
Ricci worked intimately with each garment, pleating and pulling until she was satisfied. Although she sketched and drew patterns, she preferred to work directly on a mannequin. When she had finished perfecting her vision, she would send the prototype garment off to her seamstresses for the next step in production. Ricci was a designer who understood her clients needs and accommodated to their lifestyles without withholding style and substance.
Designer Spotlight: Jeanne Lanvin
Jeanne Lanvin began working in fashion at a very young age, first as an errand girl at a dressmakers, then later as an apprentice milliner. In 1885, at the age of 18, she gathered her savings and opened her first store in rue du Marche Saint Honore in 1885. This small millinery workshop would be Lanvin’s first stepping stone in the creation of a fashion empire that endures till this day.
