Tailoring and Draping

This tailored dress made Elizabeth Hurley a household name when she wore it to a movie premiere.  It was worn in 1994.

These pants were the talk of the era as Grease hit theatres.  They were tailored to fit Olivia and she was actually sewn into them.  These pants were made for the film in the early seventies.

This tailored wedding dress awed the world when worn by Princess Diana. She wore it in the 1980's.

Members of ancient Greece used draping to wear their togas.  Togas were worn only by citizens of Greece.  This type of clothing would have been seen around 100-300B.C.

Ancient Egyptians were very fond of draped clothing.  Many drawings we have from their time depict this ancient style of dress.

This dress has a draped skirt and exemplifies a modern twist on the old art form of draping. 

Multiple Functions of Clothing

Sexual Enhancement:  This dress made headlines when Jean Harlow wore it in the film, "Dinner at Eight" (1933), and embodied the idea of sexuality.  It was designed by Adrian who was MGM’s costume designer of that time.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/files/2009/01/iconic-jean-har.html

photo by Marcio Madeira on Style.com

Group Membership:  Lacoste illustrates the “preppy” group through this design in his spring 2006 RTW collection. 

Gender Differentiation:  This dress made by Worth in 1903 was designed for Lady Curzon.  It’s corset shape was a symbol of femininity.

http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/index.cfm?UUID=DB5563A8-C34C-48B7-9511936786E23DD7

This warrior from Maasai decorates his face and  head to show his strength and masculinity. Designer Unknown. (http://www.africanceremonies.com/gallery.html)

Ceremonial:   

The Furisode is a traditional Japanese kimono that is wore by young unmarried women. They first begin wearing the Furisode around the age of twenty. Its long sleeves characterize it. Designer Unknown. (http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/kimono.shtml).

Environmental Protection: NASA manufactured these space suits for their astronauts. David Clark designed this type of space suit. Space suit from the 1969 Apollo 11 moonwalk

 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_suit)

The spacesuit is essential to survival when a person travels into outer space.  This is an earlier version of a spacesuit but represents the incredible technology possible in constructing clothing to protect a person against harsh environments.