Imagine the world without fashion designers? We would probably be wearing filthy clothes that are out of style and yet, be wearing the same outfit every other day or so. When you see what kind of apparel people are wearing, you can easily determine the time and era people have been influenced of. We all purchase clothes from multiple retail stores, companies, and of course designers, etc. I mean, everyone is creative in their own ways, putting pieces of clothing together, but fashion designers understand that clothes can make one feel powerful and confident from sketching to sewing, and being responsible for the selling of merchandise. What I’m saying is that designers not only have eyes for style, but heart as well, thinking about how to make clothes with an artistic expression. Because there are several fashion designers, I will be describing a few who are common and who we often hear about. The reason for this post is to have knowledge about whom and what influences us the way we dress, even though everyone has different styles in taste. Each designer has some common elements in their work, but they can diversify and expand their capabilities into different markets in accordance to how they prefer to design, which makes them unique.
A female, modernist designer who remains a legend for her personal style and her dedication to perfection is Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. At the age of 12, Chanel learned how to sew and started in fashion making hats in 1910. In 1914 she opened up her first shop in Paris, where her first dresses she made were of wool jersey, a material that wasn’t considered suitable for fashionable clothes at the time. Because Chanel’s fashion work was done during the postwar, she had her first simple postwar collection. She had a menswear-inspired fashion. During post-WWll Chanel was remembered for her suits made of jersey or Scottish tweeds and jackets were collarless, blouses tied at the neckline, and skirts at or below the knee. Other signatures were quilted handbags with shoulder chains, beige sling-back pumps with black tips, flat black hair bows, and a single gardenia. Coco Chanel has a line of perfumes, a costume jewelry workshop, and a textile house. After her death a line of cosmetics was introduced.
Another designer that is well known as a French footwear designer who launched his line of high-end women’s shoes in France is Christian Louboutin. He fell in love with shoes at an early age and what Christian Louboutin created for women’s shoes were based on visiting a museum. Louboutin noticed at the entrance, a large sign with the silhouette of a high-heeled pump in a red circle sliced through a red line, forbidding women not to damage the museum’s floor wearing sharp stilettos. He started sketching the design and from then on he was dedicated to his work. Louboutin’s development of shoes were slim and pointy-toed, reminiscent of the 1950s, and his signature red soles.
These two designers have different influences and significance with their work in fashion. To summarize and explain the different aspects of one’s style, Coco Chanel was living through the days of postwar during the 20th century and was influenced through the looks of menswear. What also began her influence on fashion was such that she was the only person in the couturier field to be named on Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century. As for Christian Louboutin, his inspiration was for women to feel empowered to break rules, implying his story about the large sign he had seen in a museum he visited. Because of that, his designs have incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Like again, fashion is something that defies you and makes you feel inspired. The way we dress or encounter ideas of clothing is through our lifestyle of living as well.
