Trends

The young man standing here with the police officer is wearing a zoot suit.  It was taken during 1943.  The zoot suit was a very popular fashion of that era.

The two above photos are from John Galliano’s spring 2002 RTW collection.  The women are wearing modern day renditions of the classic 20’s and 30’s Zoot suits.

This is the winner of the Miss Beatnik 1959 contest.  It was held in Venice California.  She is wearing leggings and an oversized shirt, which were characteristic of the beatnik women’s fashion.

In the fall 2008 RTW collection by Betsey Johnson beatnik origins are prominent in the long sweater dresses, leggings and preppy hats worn by the models.

This is a group of Teddy Boys in England during the 1950’s.  The style was inspired from the Edwardian period and started the market for teenage focused clothing lines.  The style includes long suit jacket and necktie apparel. 

Givenchy took inspiration from the Teddy Boy style of the 50’s and used it to create a chic women’s RTW collection for the spring 2001 runway show.  His collection implemented not only the ties from the teddy boys but also their signature hair do’s.

Designer Gernreich made this mod outfit during the 1960’s.  The popular mini-skirt and white go-go boots were trademarks for the mod fashions.

These short skirt and shift dress styles graced the fall 2007 RTW runway as part of the Abaeté collection.  Each outfit has the style and feel popular during the mod era.

This photo was taken at the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, NY during 1969.  These two hippie men are relaxing at the festival.

Balmain’s spring 2008 RTW collection featured hippie influenced clothing.  His flower pants, vests and multi-tones floor length dress bring an air of the spring from the 1960’s hippie era.

This is a woman at a disco club in Europe in the 1970’s.  This style of clothing marked the disco era.

Sue Stemo brought a modern disco style to the runway in her spring 2009 collection.  These garments are relevant to the disco era due to the shiny fabric, headband, and oversized high waist gold belt.

This is a 1981 picture of a French teenager wearing combat boots, a Mohawk and a home decorated blazer. 

Luella’s fall 2009 RTW collection brought back a love of the 1980’s punk.  Her collection was relevant to the punk style because of the high boots, funky hair do’s and creative ensembles.

Jay-Z and his friend are wearing hip-hop clothes in New Jersey around 1989.

Current hip-hop influence graced the runway in the fall 2006 RTW Lacoste collection.  His garments had the oversized, sporty but sophisticated feel of the 1990’s hip-hop fashion movement.

The Lolita is a style in Japan seen mostly worn by females. These girls are wearing the high socks and Victorian age inspired outfits.  The pictures are from 

2008.

Charles Anastase was influenced by Lolita fashions and introduced his own interpretations at his spring 2009 RTW show.

This is a person in Japan wearing a decorated facemask in 2008.  Fashion facemasks are a common fashion statement seen in Japan. Though many people do wear them for health recently they have become an increasingly fashionable way to express oneself. 

Comme des Garçons caught some of the facemask fever and used it to add flavor to his fall 2009 RTW collection.

Historical and Artistic Styles

Surrealism 

Moschino captures a sense of surrealism in the spring 2008 RTW collection.  A sense of shock hits as we see the draped coat over a bathing suit like collared outfit.  The giant bows and bold shapes lead the audience to see the almost revolutionary style Moschino presents in this collection.

Romantacism

This is an art form that focus’ on expanding beyond the “norm”.  Romanticism seeks new and creative forms of thinking and being which at the same time connect us to nature.  Aesthetic pleasure is a main focal point of Romanticism and all of these elements can be seen in the creations of Givenchy in his spring 2006 RTW collection.

Renaissance

Renaissance art springs from the era of reform from tradition and a society that became more refined and aware of detail.  Art changed during the renaissance era as people became more educated and art itself became more structured. In this fall 2008 couture collection by Elie Saab we see the essence of this time. A time of sophistication, and linear beauty. 

Futurism

Futurism focus’ on the up and coming. A bigger, better, faster and stronger tomorrow.  This is exactly what Karl Lagerfeld captured in his spring 2009 RTW collection.  It is illustrated through the new shapes and materials used to create this collection.

Art Nouveau

In these photos from Anna Sui’s fall 2008 RTW collection the essence of Art Nouveau is captured.  These garments adorn the classic flowing lines, styling and floral motifs of Art Nouveau.

Abstract

Comme des Garçons spring 2007 RTW collection graced the runway with a touch of abstract art.  This is seen through the construction in his garments as pieces are broken up and meet at overlapping and varying points on the outfit.  A single outfit finds unity through the disconnected artwork of abstract by Garçons. 

The Strapless Dress

The beginnings of the strapless dress began with the beginning of people wearing clothing.  As we can see in the hieroglyphics from around the 15th century BC women would wear dresses in the made of lightweight and transparent material.  Some of their dresses only had one strap holding them on.  As time progressed so did fashions.  Dresses evolved becoming more modest around the meridian of time, covering women from neck to toe, and then once again fashions became more and more revealing.  In the portrait of A Charlotte from the 17th century AD we see a tight fitted, corset like dress, with a broad neckline that almost falls off the shoulders.  Her chest is raised and the dress had puffy sleeves coming up to her shoulders.  Fashions continued to shift from modest to more revealing.  In the 19th century AD we see a portrait of a woman who's dress also is tight fitting and broad necked but her sleeves are very short showing off almost all of her arms and shoulders.  This style was very popular during this era.  By the 20th century AD the sleeveless dress had made it's debut and was wore by the fashion icon of the 1960's Jacqueline Kennedy.  Today the strapless dress continues to grace runways and gain in popularity.  

This is a mural taken from a tomb dating back to the 15th century BC.  The popular clothing styles of the time can be seen here.

This is a painting of Charlotte von Hessen-Kassel around 1650.

In this painting from 1883 by Toulmouche, we see the broad neckline and short sleeve style of that time.

This is a photo from 1962 of Jacqueline Kennedy wearing a strapless dress made by Guy Douvier.  

This is a contemporary version of the strapless dress.  It is a Cynthia Steffe dress made for her spring 2009 RTW collection.

The Birth of Body Stockings

During Roman times people were accustomed to wearing tunics.  As these garments were course and also loose it was necessary for people to adapt by wearing trousers underneath.  These trousers often had the socks sewn onto them and thus came the birth of body stockings or pantyhose.  As time went on the stockings became fashionable and were worn to show off the legs of men while also protecting them.  Upper class men would have silk and sating stockings while common men wore stockings of more corse material.  Later stockings were worn by men and women as they rode horses.  As pants became more available stockings made the transition from a male to a female garment.   The following images give a visual timeline of this evolution.

This painting by Hans Holbein the Younger was painted sometime around the 1550's.  King Henry VIII is wearing an early version of pantyhose, worn to show off his legs.

In this photo entitled Domestic Conflict by Guercino in 1630 the man is also wearing a style of stockings very fashionable during that time. 

This American painting done in 1812 titled is The Capture of Major Andre shows a man of prestige wearing white tights to show his status and is leading his captor off to justice.

Stocking began to become a popular item for women and were made of silk.  This advertisement from the 1930's shows a pair of women's stockings. The line in the back is visible because stockings were sewn together during this time period.

This last photo is from L'eggs and shows the modern version of pantyhose.  There are no seams in the back and the fabric is reinforced as you reach the top of the pantyhose.

Historical Styles

This garment would have been worn in Western Europe around the 1500's.  They are medieval garments and called tailored peasant dresses.  

These are examples of medieval garments worn around the 1400's in Middle and Western Europe.  They are dresses and would have been worn by the higher classes of people.

This is an example of a classical style of clothing worn by people in the 1700-1800's.  This style of dress was worn mostly by middle class citizens in Western Europe.

This photo is also a representation of classical clothing and would have been worn by Western Europeans in the mid 1800's.

This is a medieval revival example made modern in the 2000's.

This is an African folklore style clothing made in the mid 2000's.

This is an example of an ethnic costume from India style made modern.

This is an example of an ethnic costume from China.

This dress was made modern by a designer in the 1950's and is a representation of classical revival here in the United States.

This is a dress worn by a dutchess in the 1940's in Europe.  It is a representation of medieval garments.