Fashion




 * Coco Chanel-** French, 1920-1940's. Her design was simple, practical and sophisticated all at the same time. Known for her "little black dress." She introduced the jersey suite, the chemise, the pleated skirt, the turtleneck sweater and the strapless dress.

Coco Chanel started the pants revolution and the craze for bobbed hair style using the philosophy "luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury."

Convinced that "fashion is architecture and a matter of proportion" she dressed some of the most beautiful women of her time, from Marlene Dietrich to Ingrid Bergman and Princess Grace. Her style of simple elegance never changed much with time and it is easily recognizable.




 * Christian Dior-** French, 1940's-1950's. He was more interested in perfumes and cologne at the beginning of his career, until he come in contact with Yves Saint Laurent and together created the "New Look" presented at a fashion show in 1947. Known for the fitted jacket and the full calf length skirt, he created evermore extravagant designs. Some of his dresses used up to 80 yards of fabric, most of them 35 to 60. His rounded shoulders, small waist, wide skirts and little hats made the trade mark of the "Dior woman". A few short years later Dior presented the "Second look" characterized by a loose fitting shape, elongate torso, narrow shoulders and triangular shapes.



 He was seeking simple essence, elegance and simplicity. His most productive era was the '50 when Balenciaga introduced the "sack" dress and the "Baby Doll look" pictured at left. His preference was for deep black and rich brown colors.
 * Cristobal Balenciaga-** Spanish, 1930's-1950's. Known as "The Master" was the only Spanish giant in the fashion world dominated by French and Italian designers. Eventually he moved to Paris, the undisputed capital of the fashion world and he was known both as a designer (anticipating trends) and a craftsman obsessed with perfection.


 * [[image:ferragamo.jpg width="120" height="120" align="left"]]Salvatore Ferragamo-** Italian, 1920's through present. A leader in the shoes industry for more than 70 years. As a very young boy he immigrated to United States and made imaginative, but also absolutely comfortable shoes for Hollywood stars as Rita Hayworth, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn.

In 1927 he returned to Italy and introduced innovative materials as raffia and jersey, Bakelite heels, wooden soles and in 1937 the most famous invention of them all - the cork wedge. He is also the father of stiletto heel and platform shoe introduced in 1947, only to be revived in the '70's and then again in the early 2000.


 * [[image:03m.jpg width="192" height="288" align="right"]]Valentino-** Italian, 1960's-present. Emphasized the feminine style and accentuated the delicate side of every woman and her liberated spirit. In 1960 he introduced the gypsy look with the full skirt, mixed prints, knotted fringes, making it an inspiration for the hippy era. A new collection presented in 1962 was called "No color" and every single dress was a shade of white, cream, sand, ecru and beige. His biggest contribution to the world of fashion was the introduction of the first "pret-a-porter" (ready to wear) line in 1969.

The success was immediate, but Valentino's ego was not satisfied; his heart was forever in high fashion, his dream was to capture the imagination of the very rich and very famous, the most beautiful women of our times. In the early '80 he went back to luxury and sophistication, his designs become characterized by puffed sleeves and ruffles intended to balance tight bodices; light and ethereal fabrics were used adding mystic to a translucent look.

His dresses are not only romantic, youthful and beautiful, they are also impeccably made. The king of the red carpet, Valentino designed the wedding dress for many celebrities, including Jackie Kennedy (when she married Onassis), Claudia Schaffer and Jennifer Lopez.

Princess Diane, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and many other legends enjoyed his unique sense of beauty; his quotation "I design energy not dresses" explains best his enormous success. 

This information was taken from [] 


 * Student Work**

media type="custom" key="7379347"

media type="custom" key="7392805"

media type="custom" key="7972444"