A SOMEWHAT SHORT HISTORY OF FASHION

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A SOMEWHAT SHORT HISTORY OF FASHION

From Prehistoric trends to contemporary designers

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What is 'Fashion'?

Fashion is a term used to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, accessories, cosmetics, and jewelry of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into outfits that depict styles and trends as signifiers of social status, self-expression, and group belonging.

! Fun Fact !

The French word mode, meaning "fashion", dates as far back as 1482, while the English word denoting something "in style" dates only to the 16th century.

Index

9. Fashion in the 90s

5. Great Depression and WWII

1. Prehistoric Fashion

From 1929 to 1950

10. Fashion in the 2000s

6. Fashion in the 60's

2. Fashion of Early Civilizations

Egypt, Greece, Roman Empire

11. Fashion in the future

7. Fashion in the 70's

3. Renaissance Spendors

From 1450 to 1789

Conclusion

8. Fashion in the 80's

4. The Roaring 20s

From 1920 to 1928

Prehistoric Fashion

Varna necropolis (Bulgaria) containing the oldest gold jewelry known to date, created between 4600 and 4200 BC.

Functional considerations

Our furry ancestors were not very fashionable. These were purely functional considerations. Several ethnologists agree that humans invented clothing: - to hide their nudity; - to cover their 'hairless' body, exposed to climatic attacks. Fashion trends : roughly assembled animal skins, dyed, sewed, customized with jewelry, depending on their tribe, geographic origin, family, age and gender.

Pierced shells from the Blombos site, South Africa, dating back 75,000 years

Fashion of Early Civilizations

Linen, made from flax seeds, was the main material for almost all egyptian clothes.

Egyptians, Greek & Roman

Greek : Linen or wool, loose or flowing, garments often sewn together

Loincloth : fundamental pieace of clothing which cover genitals

Roman : Linen and wool, then cotton (India) and silk (China), large uncut piece of cloth, folded and pinned, or tied with belt

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Renaissance Splendors

From 1450 to 1789

Aristocratic Fashion

Fashion is a showcase; if it does not yet really have an identity, it is the mirror of the social condition. Fashion moved from drapped garment to fitted, birth of the art of tailoring. It is also at this time that we start to wear perfume and makeup. 1625-1789 Baroque & Rococo styles : revolution in buckles and straps, the corset is more present, modification of the woman's body silhouette. Shortly before the French Revolution, the ancestor of the specialized clothing press appeared in the form of illustrated almanacs presenting Parisian trends to its provincial and European readers. From its first publications, this press played a fundamental role in the liberalization of clothing and later, the emancipation of women.

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

The Roaring 20s

From 1920 to 1928

Les Années Folles

After the war, simplification was the trend : less is more. Elaborated dresses and hairpieces were reduced to energetic, boyish look called Flapper. Hair were shorter, feeling of youth and fun. Coco Chanel's designs introduced the'mode garçonne' with fitted top, pants and short hair.

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Great Depression & WWII

From 1929 to 1950

From Glamour to Utility

Events cause a shortage of resources and materials. Sept. to mid-Nov 1929 : Wall Street Market Crash Dresses become longer again, bodies were covered again, elegance was the new trend and Elsa Schiaparelli designed elegant dresses with less materials 1939-1944 : WWI Women have to be clever and go so far as to dye their legs with tea to imitate tights, or sew dresses with curtains. As many men were at the front, women took an important place in industry and factories, and clothes became more utilitarian.

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Fashion in the 60's

60's : Return to childhood

Miniskirt

Orange & Brown

Beret

Babydoll Dress

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Vinyl fabrications

Space-Age Fashion

Animal prints

60's : Return to childhood

Flares

Rounded oversized glasses

Mix up prints

Tonal Dressing

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Sequins

Floral prints

Drop earrings

Fashion in the 70's

70's : Individuality

Hippies

Androgynous

Glam Rock

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Punk : UK to US

Disco

Fashion in the 80's

80's : Bold, Colourful, Rad

Shoulder pads

Mullet

Androgynous

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Tracksuit

Colourful makeup

Neon colors

Spandex

Fashion in the 90's

90's : Streetwear & Grunge

Overalls

Neon Windbreaker

Platform shoes

Grunge

Bleached hair

Ripped jean

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Combat boots

Crop Top

Bandanas

10

Fashion in the 2000's

2000's : Global Mash Up

Cargo Pants

Printed skinny jeans

Tracksuits

Leggings

Bedazzle jeans

Vests

Ripped jean

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Graphic Tees

UGGs

Bandage Dress

11

Fashion in the Future

Sci-Fi Fashion predictions

Star Wars (1977)

The Fifth Element (1997)

The Matrix (1999)

Back to the Future (1985)

Blade Runner (1982)

Tunics : worn by nobility or royalty

Alien (1979)

Star Trek (TV 2001)

2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968)

Conclusion

From the 20's to the 90's, fashion trends evolved with defining styles of each era. At the end of the 20th century, did the fashion industry shift from fashion to clothing? Did fashion end in the 1990s? Or has fashion just evolved again? Fashion has not ended, it has changed. It is on the brink of another major shift. The Western fashion industry hasn't died yet, but it will need to respond effectively to new global challenges such as sustainablity, worker's rights and innovation.