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ABout: Fashion Designers / Fashion History & Collection / Fashion Archive

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ABout: Phoebe Philo

‘It felt better for me to work on an idea of a wardrobe than too much trend,’ Philo said at her 2009 Celine debut.

For the past decade, Phoebe Philo has become a phenomenal British fashion designer who has transformed women's wear. 'Philophiles' and 'Celine-ification' were coined to describe her clean and minimalistic designs, which elevated everyday essentials and influenced several other designers.

She was born in Paris and relocated to London at the age of two, and it was known that she had been customising garments ever since she was gifted a sewing machine for her birthday at the age of 14. She went on to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where she graduated in 1996. She returned to Paris a year later to join Chloe as first assistant on ready-to-wear, where she worked alongside Stella McCartney, a fellow CSM classmate. In 2001, Philo was appointed as the brand's creative director after McCartney stepped down. She remained in Chloe for around five years before resigning in 2006, shortly after receiving her first British Designer of the Year in 2005, to take a maternity leave.

In 2008, she was appointed and offered a position as Celine's creative director and board member by LVMH. She accepted the opportunity while establishing her own studio in London to be closer to her family while also exhibiting her work in Paris. She won her second British Designer of the Year in 2010, International Designer of the Year by the CDFA in 2011, and was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to fashion.

AT Chloe

During her five years at Chloe, she revived the brand by emphasizing the company's aesthetic while adding her own personal touch. High waisted jeans, baby doll dresses, wooden wedge shoes, and the padlocked Paddington bag were among the many memorable designs she displayed during her time at Chloe.

AT Celine

Phoebe Philo's period at Celine has left a lasting impression on the fashion world. Her designs, which combined luxury with practicality and wearability, seamlessly transitioned from the runway to become wardrobe staples. The term 'Old Celine' lived true to its name because of her particular flair. Box shaped bags, Boston tote bags, silk pants with interesting forms, coats inspired by menswear, fur-lined Birkenstock sandals, prints, colour blocking, wearable accessories and so much more were Philo's tools to create impressive garments for 10 years at Celine.

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Illustration in Fashion

Have you ever seen the cover of a vintage Vogue or Harper Bazaar’s and admired the vibrant illustrations that showcased the latest fashion trends during that time? Although they have been gracing some of the first high fashion magazines, such as The Lady’s Magazine and Le Cabinet des Modes, since the 16th century, fashion illustration was not recognized as an art form until the early 20th century.

It all began when the French courtier Paul Poiret was drawn to French illustrator and designer Paul Iribe’s earlier works in the satirical journal Le témoin and requested him to illustrate his designs for a small promotional publication, intended for the elites of good society.

Poiret's second collection of designs, Les Choses de Paul Poiret, was published in 1911 and was illustrated by Georges Lepape, whose work was inspired by the paintings of Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse; expanded stances and figures, opposing Iribe's approach. By 1920, Lepape had demonstrated his artistic approach on a number of other Vogue and Vanity Fair covers.

Because of the increased demand for fashion and the acceleration of trends during this century, Lucien Vogel, the founder of La Gazette du Bon Ton (1912), intended to provide a forum for artists to not only demonstrate their talent but also illustrate for seven haute couture houses; Poiret, Doucet, Paquin, Cheruit, Redfern, Doeuillet, and Poiret, Doucet, Paquin, Cheruit, Redfern, Doeuillet, and Poiret, Doucet, and Worth.

The Beaux Brummells were a group of artists who appeared in the magazine. All eight artists studied at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts: Paul Iribe, Jean Besnard, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Pierre Brissaud, A.E Marty, George Barbier, Charles Martin, and George Lepape. They were grouped together under one movement category, where they gave a realistic depiction of the Leisure Class's daily existence.

Despite the fact that La Gazette du Bon Ton was only published from 1912 to 1925, each issue had varied sketches of the designs, stenciled sheets, and colorful pages printed on handmade paper. Jean Saude used a Japanese technique to stencil these stenciled sheets by hand as well. When World War I broke out, Conde Montrose Nast bought a majority interest in the magazine at the end of its run.

This is where Conde Nast enters the picture, as the home of many of the world's most important brands and publications. Conde Nast, who purchased Vogue in 1909, pioneered a new approach to publishing by presenting avant-garde developments in art, photography, literature, and fashion in relation to their cultural context.

Vogue US featured a more romantic illustration style, which was influenced by painters such as Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, and Alphonse Mucha. After WWI, however, modern art forms such as cubism, expressionism, futurism, and abstract art began to appear on magazine covers, including the French issue of Vogue. As a result, artists like Lepape and Eduardo Garcia Benito disregarded American illustrators like Dryden and Plank in the mid-1920s.

Meanwhile, in the early 1930s, a new art movement known as new realism emerged, which was centered by American illustrator Carl Erickson, who emphasized more natural fluid lines. They redefined the approach of the artistic style for fashion illustration seen on Vogue covers alongside Rene Bouet-Willaumez.

Despite the high demands placed on illustrators throughout this decade, fashion illustration began to fade as photography took over. Edward Steichen's color photography was the first to grace the cover of Vogue, which appeared in 1932. As a result, publishers concluded around the turn of the century that magazine covers with photographs sold better than those with graphics. Even though they continued to try to merge digital and manual creative works, pictures were the primary instrument in the 1950s and beyond.

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ABout: Helmut Lang

The Beginning.

Helmut Lang is credited with being one of the first designers to introduce utilitarian minimalism on the runway in the 1980s. Lang, who was born in Austria and raised in Vienna, began his career as an aspiring artist and trade student before launching his first made-to-measure studio in 1977 and a boutique in 1979 in Vienna, where he designed T-shirts and jackets.

After gaining a following in Austria, he displayed his work as an exhibition titled "l'Apocalypse Joyeuse" at the Centre Pompidou in 1986. In the same year, he then created and established his label "Helmut Lang" in Paris.

The Label & Designs

Because of his simple yet detailed designs on essential clothing, Lang's fashion brand has grown in popularity since his first collection. The Men's and Women's collections, both of which were shown on the same runway, were the label's staple. Furthermore, between 1990 and 2000, the Helmut Lang brand expanded to include underwear, jeans, footwear/accessories, and fragrances.

Lang elevated street wear to high fashion through his namesake line. He was the first to create "designer denim," as well as garments made from bulletproof vests and military bomber jackets made out of high technical fabrics. Lang was also known for utilising parachutes and bondage gear-inspired straps and harnesses to achieve an edgy image that was sensual enough without exposing skin. In his garments, he uses a variety of fabrics, including silk, nylon, metallic textiles, coloured leathers, holographic fabrics, thermal fabrics, latex-bounded lace, and much more.

After relocating to New York in 1998, the brand gained even more international recognition in the fashion world. Helmut Lang is known for numerous things, including being the first in the fashion industry to place advertisements on NYC taxicabs, hosting the first online fashion show, opening a concept store, and even moving New York Fashion Week ahead of the other European shows.

Partnership with Prada

Prada, a Milan-based fashion house, bought 51 percent of Lang's company in 1999, and the remaining 49 percent in 2004, just before Helmut Lang stood down from his namesake label.

However, Lang's aesthetic vision and the Prada Group's economic ambitions clashed as a result of this multi-brand approach. Prada was supposed to give the label financial security while sustaining the company's and designer's aesthetic progress, according to Lang's understanding. Prada Group, on the other hand, believes that Lang's independence for the brand will delay business decisions.

Prada later chose to close the license company that produced the best-selling Helmut Lang Jeans, which were sold in over 700 stores across the world. Helmut Lang was tasked with creating a "it" bag, that clearly did not come through. Sales of the brand dropped from over $100 million in 1999 to $37 million in 2003. Lang retired from the fashion scene in 2005.

What's Next?

Helmut Lang has been designed by a number of other designers since Lang's retirement from the business. Michael and Nicole Colovos were named the brand's creative directors in May 2006. They re-launched the Helmut Lang website with a contemporary sportswear collection for S/S 2007. In 2017, Helmut Lang launched 'The Helmut Lang Re-Edition,' with Isabella Burley, editor of Dazed & Confused magazine, as editor-in-residence.

On the other side, Helmut Lang has been concentrating on his work as a fine artist. Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois are among the artists with whom Lang has collaborated. Lang's most recent paintings focus on abstract sculptural human body forms.On the other side, Helmut Lang has been concentrating on his work as a fine artist. Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois are among the artists with whom Lang has collaborated. Lang's most recent paintings focus on abstract sculptural human body forms.

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Comme des Garçons S/S 97 "Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body - and Became One"

Rei Kawakubo emphasizes the relationship between body and dress in Comme des Garçons' spring/summer 1997 "Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body - and Became One" collection. Critics have dubbed this collection "lumps and bumps," as it comprises dresses in bright colors and gingham patterns turned into frightening silhouettes with swells of padding deliberately inserted beneath the fabric. Padding may be asymmetrically swept over the body, bubble out of the bottom, or protrude from the back. The gowns appear to be about to burst apart due to the pressure of the protrusions in some looks, while padding resembling organs can be seen through diaphanous fabrics in others.

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Little Black Dress

By definition, the Little Black Dress also commonly known as the LBD is a black evening or cocktail dress cut simply and often quite short. The simple yet elegant-looking dress that could elevate your style instantly with an additional touch of accessories has been the most classic and timeless piece ever in the fashion world.

Despite the fact that the LBD has been around before the 20th century it was not until in the late '20s when Vogue declared that Coco Chanel's black, long-sleeved, silk crepe sheath as the LBD of record, claiming that it will become the uniform for all women. However, black dresses were originally worn for mourning dating back to the 15th century, as seen by the Spanish aristocrats and wealthy Dutch merchants. The color black connoted refinement, wealth, and social status due to its expense on producing with natural dyes. By the early 19th century, with the advent of less costly synthetic dyes made from logwood and ferrous sulfate, it became more widely available across classes.

Ever since it rose to popularity, throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, another french fashion designer such as Jean Patou and British fashion designer Edward Molyneux was also credited for bringing the LBD into style. When we hear Little Black Dress's name, we might think of Holly Golightly played by Audrey Hepburn stylishly standing in front of Tiffany's wearing the infamous Little Black Dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy in 1961. Later on, we would also see another groundbreaking LBD from Guy Laroche opting for a bottom-skimming and back exposing alternative in the film The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe.

The LBD evolution doesn't just stop there, throughout the 20th century we the LBD was designed in different ways while maintaining its silhouette. It is indeed a versatile black canvas that could be altered into anything; seductive, casual, sophisticated, conservative, etc.