August

Having been on holiday (amazing going from rainy England to heat-wave hit Cyprus) and then had a lot going on I’ve found it difficult to blog. However, the thought of August being upon us- over half way through 2012 now pushed me back into this- so I aim to get back to blogging as much as possible I promise. Here’s some fashion history to start of the month:

·         Coco Chanel born 19^th August 1883.
·         Andy Warhol born on 6^th August 1928.
·         Louis Vuitton born on 4^th August 1821.
·         Blake Lively born on August 25 1987.
·         Betsey Johnson born August 10 1942.
·         Tom Ford born August 27 1961.
·         American model Karlie Kloss born on August 3 1992.
·         Although the 2012 games started July 25, they continue throughout August- Stella McCartney worked with lead sponsor Adidas to create the Great Britain’s team kit and the patriotic atmosphere continues to inspire the fashion.

June

It’s June already. That means we are halfway through 2012 already. This year is going too fast but some history in the world of fashion for June includes:

·         Marilyn Monroe born June 1 1926.
·         Rationing for clothing during the second world war, started on Whit Sunday on June 1 1941.
·         Supermodel Heidi Klum born June 1 1973.
·         Cheryl Cole born 30^th June 1983.
·         Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen born June 13 1986.
·         Asos was established in 2000.

Enjoy June, let the summer begin...

May

It’s May already; where is this year going? So here are a few little May cheeky fashion dates for you:

·         Audrey Hepburn born May 4 1929.
·         Naomi Campbell was born on May 22 1970.
·         Henry Holland was born on May 26 1983.
·         2008 Sex and the City (film) was premiered.
·         In 1938 May 4 Prince Louis Ferdinand married Kira Kirillovna (there was three ceremonies and three different dresses including an Elsa Schiaparelli and possibly a custom-made Chanel).

Vivienne Westwood's Jubilee Collection

When you think of Britain, you think fish and chips, ability to queue, narrow mindedness, the royal family and Vivienne Westwood. And so it only appropriate that Vivienne Westwood launches a capsule collection to mark the Jubilee; celebrating 60 years of her reign.

The Queen of British design, Westwood frequently uses typical British shapes, designs, Union Jack and crown motifs designed the collection inspired by gowns that Her Majesty has previously worn.

The range of ten dresses and four pairs of earrings will launch in May is beautiful with Union Jack colours, corseted styles and full-length dresses in silks, satins and tafetta. My favourite from the collection is the stunning full-length dress in Union Jack print that has aged effect; a cowl neck, rouched shoulders and flattering draped style it is amazing and not tacky being Union Jack at all as it Westwood.

The breath-taking Union Jack print dress by Dame Vivienne Westwood; image courtesy of Vogue.com.

Although being inspired by royalty and designed by fashion royalty it comes with the matching price tag- prices range from £650 to £3,000.

http://www.viviennewestwood.co.uk/

April

April 1, Aprils Fools, the first day of the month. What a month April is, for fashion history read below for a list of fabulous fashion events in April (and no April fools jokes):

·         Vivienne Westwood born April 8 1941.
·         April 29,  2011- ‘That dress’ that displayed Sarah Burton’s talent when Kate Middleton married Prince William.
·         First ever Vogue festival- April 10-21, 2012.
·         Issey Miyake born April 22, 1938.
·         Jean Paul Gaultier born on April 24, 1952.
·         In April 2005, Tom Ford announced the new ‘Tom Ford brand’.
·         In April 1992, Alexander Shulman took over the reins as Editor-in-chief, the position she still holds today.
·         Emma Watson born April 15, 1990.
·         In April 2008, Just Dance was released as Lady Gaga’s debut single this marked the start of a very influential fashion icon.
·         Marc Jacobs born
·         April 9, 1963.

Punk... Then and Now

Rebelling. Attitude. Originality. Anti-glamour.

After the perfect eras of the swinging sixties, hippie seventies, squeaky eighties and punk is on your doorstep. With permanent tattoos and that Doc Martin shape footprint engraved into fashion history punk made a lasting impact on fashion.

The look; a reaction against glamour and the falseness of fashion meant to symbolise a change in attitude and the public’s desire for realness. Not only a direct rejection of the ideology ‘sex sells’ and the optimism within fashion adverts and photography like the Wonderbra campaign of the early nineties featuring Eva Herzigova in lingerie with just the words ‘Hello Boys’.

When you say the words punk you think of mohicans, leather, tartan, safety pins and studs. Quite ironically punk came to a dramatic end when it became too mainstream. Punk stood for originality and wasn’t afraid to be different but the punk minority grew into more of the majority and fr punk to survive it had to die then.

Fashion is always a direct link to societal change and the mood of society. Punk fashion is a great example of that. What I think is so moving is that it remains one of the most iconic fashions.

I love the fact that our fashions today are influenced by punk. Even with my girly fashion I love that fact that my wardrobe contains punk elements to it and had great delight in 'punking' my little sister up for a school disco a few days ago. Anything from a denim jacket to checks to leather can be punk inspired. I love a few studs too and one of my favourite pieces has to be a vintage denim jacket in a washed denim colour and baggy style.

It’s not only me punk affects its all of us but my brother went through a big punk phrase. Looking at my brother now with his 2 year old son you would never believe that he had a 5 inch Mohican he used to spike up and tartan trousers (probably the most larriest trousers you could find with one leg a royal, bright blue and the other a canary yellow). He may have calmed down in his fashion since then although he still has his leather jacket as one of his prized possessions but I think he did punk to express himself. He wanted to reject the reality of what was going on around him, rebel and shock everyone.

I love the fact that even 20 years on punk fashion still remains the greatest influence to fashion and even in my feminine look will probably continue to do so. Look in your wardrobe I am in no doubt everyone will probably have something influenced by punk in there... I didn't believe it until I truly thought about it with my wardrobe doors open. So take a bow to such a quick fashion 'fad' that caused a storm at the time and still continues too...

Photography through the ages...

Like fashion, photography has changed over the years. The scene of what reflected and the angle of photo’s has evolved over time.

The phenomenon that was the 1947 Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ although not that ‘new’ considering the work of Parisian couturiers during the war saw the age of photography meant to encapsulate a sense of freedom, breaking free and independence for women. The image below is posed on the street although kept clean, with minimal background the photography was designed to sell women a new, better lifestyle.

 

Above: Dior’s 1947 ‘New Look’ Collection. Image courtesy of designmusuem.org

 

Photography developed more, if you look back at the swinging sixties for example most of the fashion shoots are studio based. If you was to search on for images of Twiggy in the sixties the majority are in studios using different coloured backdrops with some location shoots. These location shoots were mainly streets not really giving information or character about the model. It was intended to represent women of the sixties having increased freedom although at the time there was still a gender power issue.

Above: Twiggy in one of the many studio-based photos during the sixties. Image courtesy of twiggylawson.co.uk

As the photography has developed the nineties was a significant era. I think after the punk movement gave fashion more of a reality outlook and the connection to personal feelings and attitudes become apparent change descended. The photography during the 1990s; which saw the rise of the now style icon Kate Moss become raw to the point that it was not known whether the designer, stylist, model or photography was in fact on drugs. Was that blur intended? The photographs revealed a reality, meant to show a glimpse into the models life giving more personality than a show ironically these photographs down to the placing of cigarette butts and the awkward pose of the model was all staged. The anti-glamour shots were also symbol that the world is imperfect but that imperfection can still be beautiful and who better to show that than Kate Moss.

Above: Kate Moss  shot by Corinne Day in the ‘heroin chic’ era of the 1990s. Image courtesy of corinneday.co.uk

However I feel that fashion photography has always reflected more than just the clothes in them. The era of ‘heroin chic’ just demonstrated it.

Vogue

The world’s most influential and well-known fashion magazine… Of course you know I’m talking about Vogue.

Some call it the fashion bible; scour the website daily perhaps even hourly to find the latest fashion news but there is no doubt that Vogue is extremely popular worldwide. British Vogue deemed to be one of the most commercial of the Vogue magazines is also the most profitable edition of Vogue apart from US Vogue.  

It was in 1916 that Conde Nast spread the publication overseas to Britain. The cover of the first British Vogue edition of September 1916 looks so different to today’s editions; illustrated by Helen Thurlow for Elspeth Champcommunal (the 1916 editor).

 

Above: The 1916 cover of Vogue.

 

Above: Februarys edition of Britsh Vogue with model Arizona Muse as the cover star and its nice to see the cover image a smiley one.

And in comparison to today’s price of £4.10, one shilling is a bit different. Just shows how time and fashion changes.