The Big 3
France is the home of dozens of cult designers, and if we want to make a fairly accurate fashion story, we have to describe the revolutionary visions at least the first 5, but here we will restrict ourselves to only three who really put the pillars of the concept of fashion as we apologize in advance that we miss such cult names as Eve Saint Laurent, Nina Richie, Jean Paul Gaultier and many more.
Pierre Carden is a French designer of Italian origin, one of the most influential names in the history of fashion. In 1947 he worked with Christian Dior, but three years later he founded his own fashion house.
Carden’s Revolution: For the first time he used the unisex style in 1958, and two years later he broke all rules and made a separate male line.
One of his muses is the Maya Plisetskaya ballerina.
Christian Dior is the founder of the most famous French fashion brand Christian Dior. During the Second World War, he wore the wives of French officers, in 1946 he founded his own fashion house. The name of Christian Dior’s first collection, presented in 1947, is Corolle.
The then chief editor of Harper’s Bazaar Carmel Snow renamed the New Look collection. Compared to the clothes offered during the Second World War, those of the Dior look more sensual and lavish. Dior was a master in creating forms and silhouettes, creating in his own words “women-flowers.”
Dior works mainly with a chase, a bustier type buzzer, a variety of seals that emphasize the thighs, corsets that emphasize the thin waist and the petticoats that make his clothes look dense and lush at the bottom.
The hem of the skirts are decorated around the knees or ankles and form a beautiful silhouette. Initially, women took the Dioor models, because the clothing offered covered the legs, and this was not usual for the period, due to the war imposed by the fabrics.
The quantities of materials used to create Dior’s clothing are the cause of the displeasure of many: during a photo shoot at a Paris shop, the models are attacked by vendors because of the waste of materials. With the end of the war and the severe recession, discontent ended.
Dior’s Revolution: Already with his first “New Look” collection, he has radically changed the women’s clothing and turned Paris into a fashionable capital. In these years, the designer’s assistants are still the unconfirmed Pierre Carden and Yves Saint Laurent, who later headed the company Dior.
Coco Chanel – her name itself is synonymous with a revolution. Modernist, revolutionized female fashion with the inclusion of male elements, one of the most influential figures in the fashion of the 20th century, Coco has been identified as a pioneer in fashion.
Her philosophy, her ambition to clean lines, and the elements borrowed from the male fashion give her a reserved place in fashion development. Thanks to the impact Coco Chanel has on fashion and lifestyle in general, TIME magazine puts her in the ranking for the 100 most influential 20th-century figures, the only representative of the world of fashion in the rankings.
Chanel gives a new life to fabrics like jars, which were previously considered to be clothing for poor people. Her style is often associated with the image of young girls from the Twenty Twenties – the 20s of the 20th century, who were self-confident and often behaved defiantly to established social norms.
Her clients are girls demonstrating their independence with new looks and behavior – with short skirts and hairstyles, using large amounts of makeup and cosmetics, drinking cocktails and smoking cigarettes in a public place. But the “rebellion” of these girls is not limited to their appearance. They boldly participate in various sports, drive their own cars and go out to nightclubs where they listen to jazz and dance charleston.
Chanel’s famous jacket, turned into an icon, is in itself a small world in the designer’s fashion philosophy. The cut of the jacket distinguishes it from the traditional jacket, as the sleeve structure is three parts.
This remains the most distinctive mark and designer’s trademark, along with handmade stitches, heavy metal buttons and the metal chain at the base of the coat. All these elements are not only a part of the decoration but also serve as weights that give it the shape and shape.