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115-408: Ready-to-wear has a rather different place in the spheres of fashion and classic clothing. In the fashion industry , designers produce ready-to-wear clothing, intended to be worn without significant alteration because clothing made to standard sizes fits most people. They use standard patterns, factory equipment, and faster construction techniques to keep costs low, compared to a custom-sewn version of

230-425: A ceremony on 29 June 2013. On the first day of the sale, Henri Matisse 's painting Les coucous, tapis bleu et rose broke the previous world record set in 2007 for a Matisse work and sold for 32 million euros. The record-breaking sale realized 342.5 million euros (£307 million). The subsequent auction, 17–20 November, included 1,185 items from the couple's Normandy villa. While not as impressive as

345-652: A contest for young fashion designers organized by the International Wool Secretariat . Saint Laurent won first place. Subsequently, he was invited to attend the awards ceremony held in Paris in December. During his stay in Paris, Saint Laurent met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine and a connection to his father. Michel De Brunhoff, a considerate person who encouraged new talent,

460-528: A contrasting stripe down the leg, ugg boots , floral print maxi skirts , Y2K inspired platform shoes , chunky red rain boots , shimmery jumpsuits , knitted dresses, leather pilot jackets with faux fur collars, skirts with bold contrasting vertical stripes, trouser suits with bootcut legs, jeans with glittery heart or star-shaped details, chunky white or black sandals, and zebra print tote bags . Big, oversized garments were often made from translucent materials and featured cutouts intended to expose

575-476: A dinner jacket and to accessorize in new ways. Some men's styles blended the sensuality and expressiveness, and the growing gay-rights movement and an emphasis on youth allowed for a new freedom to experiment with style and with fabrics such as wool crepe, which had previously been associated with women's attire. The four major current fashion capitals are acknowledged to be New York City ( Manhattan ), Paris , Milan , and London , which are all headquarters to

690-564: A famous gown or other pattern that is then duplicated and advertised to raise the visibility of the designer. In high-end fashion, ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week . This takes place on a city-by-city basis, and the most prominent of these include London , New York , Milan , and Paris , and are held twice a year—the Fall/Winter (FW) shows take place in February, and

805-531: A few 1940s looks late in the previous year, for a designer of his stature to devote an entire couture collection to the 1940s raised some hackles. Some felt it romanticized the German occupation of France during World War II , which he did not experience, while others felt it brought back the unattractive utilitarianism of the time. The French newspaper France Soir called the spring 1971 collection "Une grande farce!" Criticism notwithstanding, Saint Laurent's influence

920-419: A grass stain, but to others, they display purity, freshness, and summer. Fashion is unique, self-fulfilling and may be a key part of someone's identity. Similarly to art, the aims of a person's choices in fashion are not necessarily to be liked by everyone, but instead to be an expression of personal taste. A person's personal style functions as a "societal formation always combining two opposite principles. It

1035-518: A long period without significant changes. In eighth-century Moorish Spain , the musician Ziryab introduced to Córdoba sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native Baghdad , modified by his inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the Turks , who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and

1150-440: A man a great deal". Fashion scholar Susan B. Kaiser states that everyone is "forced to appear", unmediated before others. Everyone is evaluated by their attire, and evaluation includes the consideration of colors , materials, silhouette, and how garments appear on the body. Garments identical in style and material also appear different depending on the wearer's body shape, or whether the garment has been washed, folded, mended, or

1265-469: A multifaceted term, fashion describes an industry , styles , aesthetics , and trends. The term 'fashion' originates from the Latin word 'Facere,' which means 'to make,' and describes the manufacturing, mixing, and wearing of outfits adorned with specific cultural aesthetics, patterns, motifs , shapes, and cuts, allowing people to showcase their group belonging, values, meanings, beliefs, and ways of life. Given

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1380-626: A number of rich traditions; though these were often drawn upon by Western designers, Asian clothing styles gained considerable influence in the early- to mid-2000s. China Chinese fashion remained constantly changing over the centuries. In China, throughout the Tang Dynasty (618–907), women wore extravagant attire to demonstrate prosperity. Mongol men of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) wore loose robes; horsemen sported shorter robes, trousers, and boots to provide ease when horseback riding. The leaders of

1495-511: A period of convalescence, he and his partner , industrialist Pierre Bergé , started their own fashion house, Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, with funds from American millionaire J. Mack Robinson , cosmetics company Charles of the Ritz, and others. Many Dior staff joined him at his new enterprise. Saint Laurent and Bergé split romantically in 1976 but remained business partners. His debut collection, presented for spring 1962, included early examples of

1610-581: A profit. A fashion trend signifies a specific look or expression that is spread across a population at a specific time and place. A trend is considered a more ephemeral look, not defined by the seasons when collections are released by the fashion industry. A trend can thus emerge from street style , across cultures, and from influencers and other celebrities . Fashion trends are influenced by several factors, including cinema, celebrities, climate, creative explorations, innovations, designs, political, economic, social, and technological. Examining these factors

1725-538: A refinement of the bohemian influences seen in his fall 1960 Dior collection, evoking in many journalists' minds Paris's Left Bank . In the 1960s, Saint Laurent introduced or contributed to fashion trends such as the beatnik look (1962), pea coats (1962), thigh-high boots (1963, via his chosen shoe designer Roger Vivier ), the Le Smoking women's tuxedo suit (1966), and safari jackets for men and women (1967). Many of his designs were inspired by women's lives in

1840-493: A sign of provincial culture and later a badge of the conservative peasant. Although tailors and dressmakers were no doubt responsible for many innovations, and the textile industry indeed led many trends, the history of fashion design is generally understood to date from 1858 when the English-born Charles Frederick Worth opened the first authentic haute couture house in Paris. The Haute house

1955-428: A society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography, and may also vary over time. The terms fashionista and fashion victim refer to someone who slavishly follows current fashions. In the early 2000s, Asian fashion influences became increasingly significant in local and global markets. Countries such as China, Japan, India, and Pakistan have traditionally had large textile industries with

2070-496: A star pupil. Later that same year, he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won, beating his friend Fernando Sánchez and young German student Karl Lagerfeld . Shortly after his win, he brought a number of sketches to de Brunhoff who recognized close similarities to sketches he had been shown that morning by Christian Dior. Knowing that Dior had created the sketches that morning and that

2185-485: A variety of factors including economic disparities, a desire for an independent fashion industry, and an increase in media attention. The demand for affordable and fashionable women's clothing sparked designers and department stores to manufacture clothing in bulk quantities that were accessible to women of all classes and incomes. Through the emergence of the US ready-to-wear market, designers like Chanel with their shift dresses or

2300-479: A villa by the Mediterranean with his two younger sisters, Michèle and Brigitte. Saint Laurent liked to create intricate paper dolls , and by his early teen years, he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters. His talent was recognized when he won first place in a contest by the International Wool Secretariat at the age of 17. This achievement led to his move to Paris at the age of 18. There, he enrolled at

2415-427: Is a socially acceptable and secure way to distinguish oneself from others and, at the same time, it satisfies the individual's need for social adaptation and imitation." While philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that fashion "has nothing to do with genuine judgements of taste", and was instead "a case of unreflected and 'blind' imitation", sociologist Georg Simmel thought of fashion as something that "helped overcome

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2530-454: Is called a PEST analysis . Fashion forecasters can use this information to help determine the growth or decline of a particular trend. People's minds as well as their perceptions and consciousness are constantly changing. Fads are inherently social, are constantly evolving in a contradiction between the old and the new, and are in a sense easily influenced by those around them, and therefore also begin to imitate constantly. Continuing on from

2645-560: Is considerable evidence in Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing . In imperial China, clothing were not only an embodiment of freedom and comfort or used to cover the body or protect against the cold or used for decorative purposes; it was also regulated by strong sumptuary laws which was based on strict social hierarchy system and the ritual system of the Chinese society. It

2760-575: Is fashion themselves. Whereas a trend often connotes a peculiar aesthetic expression, often lasting shorter than a season and being identifiable by visual extremes, fashion is a distinctive and industry-supported expression traditionally tied to the fashion season and collections . Style is an expression that lasts over many seasons and is often connected to cultural movements and social markers , symbols, class, and culture (such as Baroque and Rococo ). According to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu , fashion connotes "the latest difference." Even though

2875-507: Is more aspirational; inspired by art and culture, and in most cases, reserved for the economic elite . However, New York's fashion calendar hosts Couture Fashion Week, which strives for a more equitable and inclusive mission. Fashion is also a source of art, allowing people to display their unique tastes, sensibilities, and styles. Different fashion designers are influenced by outside stimuli and reflect this inspiration in their work. For example, Gucci 's 'stained green' jeans may look like

2990-414: Is new. Fashion is defined in a number of different ways, and its application can be sometimes unclear. Though the term fashion connotes difference, as in "the new fashions of the season", it can also connote sameness, for example in reference to "the fashions of the 1960s", implying a general uniformity. Fashion can signify the latest trends, but may often reference fashions of a previous era, leading to

3105-652: Is recognized as the national dress of India. Japan For Japan, the people during the Meiji period (1868–1912) widely incorporated Western styles into Japanese fashion, which is considered to be a remarkable transformation for the Japanese vogue. They extensively adopted the style and practices of Western cultures.The upper classes wore more extravagant pieces of clothing like luxurious patterned silks and adorned themselves with fancy sashes. Women also started wearing Western dresses in public instead of their traditional Kimono . Most of

3220-408: Is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century. He developed his style to accommodate the changes in fashion during that period. He approached his aesthetic from a different perspective by helping women find confidence by looking both comfortable and elegant at the same time. He is also credited with having introduced the " Le Smoking " tuxedo suit for women and

3335-543: The Genroku period and the later centuries of the Edo period (1603–1867), during which a time clothing trends switched from flashy and expensive displays of wealth to subdued and subverted ones. The myth on the lack of fashion in what was considered the Orient was related to Western Imperialism also often accompanied Orientalism , and European imperialism was especially at its highest in

3450-425: The Le Smoking suit; American-French artist Niki de Saint Phalle , who also inspired the Le Smoking suit; Mounia, a model from Martinique who was the oft-used bride at his fashion shows; Lucie de la Falaise , a Welsh-French model and niece of Loulou, who was the bride in his fashion shows in 1990–1994; jewelry designer Paloma Picasso ; Dutch actress Talitha Getty ; American socialite Nan Kempner , who

3565-516: The Metropolitan Museum of Art with a solo exhibition. In 2001, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Légion d'Honneur by French President Jacques Chirac . Saint Laurent retired in 2002 and became increasingly reclusive. In 2007, he was awarded the rank of Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy . He also created a foundation with Bergé in Paris to trace

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3680-650: The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) maintained Manchu dress, while establishing new garments for officials; while foot binding —originally introduced in the 10th century—was not preserved, women of this era were expected to wear particular heels that pushed them to take on a ladylike walk. Then, in the 1920s, qipao was in vogue and the style consisted of stand collars, trumpet sleeves, straight silhouettes and short side slits. Since then, designers started to move into Western fashion like fur coats and cloaks and body-hugging dresses with long side slits as qipao became more popular. In

3795-520: The maximalist and 1980s influences of the early 2020s , vibrant coloured clothing had made a comeback for women in America, France, China, Korea, and Ukraine by the spring of 2023. This style, sometimes referred to as " dopamine dressing", featured long skirts and belted maxi dresses with thigh splits, lots of gold and pearl jewelry, oversized striped cardigan sweaters , multicoloured silk skirts with seashell or floral print, strappy sandals, pants with

3910-402: The mid to late 1970s , Western shirts with pearl snaps in denim or bright madras plaid made a comeback, and sometimes featured contrasting yokes and cuffs with intricate embroidery. Moccasins , stonewash denim waistcoats with decorative fringes, preppy loafers, navy blue suits and sportcoats , straight leg jeans instead of the skinny jeans fashionable from the late 2000s until

4025-406: The 12th and 13th century Old French the concept of elegance begins to appear in the context of aristocratic preferences to enhance beauty and display refinement, and cointerie , the idea of making oneself more attractive to others by style or artifice in grooming and dress, appears in a 13th-century poem by Guillaume de Lorris advising men that "handsome clothes and handsome accessories improve

4140-404: The 1950s and 60s, ‘Lenin coats’ with double lines of buttons, slanting pockets and a belt came into vogue among Chinese men. India In India, it has been common for followers of different religions to wear corresponding pieces of clothing . During the 15th century, Muslim and Hindu women wore notably different articles of clothing. This is also seen in many other Eastern world countries. In

4255-505: The 1960s, when designers such as Pierre Cardin and Rudi Gernreich created garments, such as stretch jersey tunics or leggings, meant to be worn by both males and females. The impact of unisex wearability expanded more broadly to encompass various themes in fashion, including androgyny, mass-market retail, and conceptual clothing. The fashion trends of the 1970s, such as sheepskin jackets, flight jackets, duffel coats, and unstructured clothing, influenced men to attend social gatherings without

4370-481: The 1970s, Saint Laurent came to be considered the most prominent designer in the world, adapting his designs to modern women's needs. Even in his sometimes lavish Russian peasant collections of the middle of the decade, the clothes themselves remained comfortable and wearable. He is credited with initiating in 1978 the prominently shoulder-padded styles that would characterize the 1980s. Many of his collections were positively received by both his fans and

4485-453: The 19th century. In the 19th century time, Europeans described China in binary opposition to Europe, describing China as "lacking in fashion" among many other things, while Europeans deliberately placed themselves in a superior position when they would compare themselves to the Chinese as well as to other countries in Asia : Latent orientalism is an unconscious, untouchable certainty about what

4600-491: The 21st century. Fashion houses that produce a women's haute couture line, such as Chanel , Dior , Lacroix and Saint Laurent also produce a ready-to-wear line, which returns a greater profit because of the higher volume of garments made and the greater availability of the clothing. The construction of ready-to-wear clothing is also held to a different standard than that of haute couture due to its industrial nature. High-end ready-to-wear lines are sometimes based upon

4715-691: The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture where his designs quickly gained notice. Michel De Brunhoff, the editor of Vogue France , introduced Saint Laurent to designer Christian Dior , a giant in the fashion world. "Dior fascinated me," Saint Laurent later recalled. "I couldn't speak in front of him. He taught me the basis of my art. Whatever was to happen next, I never forgot the years I spent at his side." Under Dior's tutelage, Saint Laurent's style continued to mature and gain even more notice. Dior hired him as an assistant and later named him his successor. In 1953, Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to

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4830-656: The East Asia, in India, and Middle East, where the perceived lack of fashion were associated with offensive remarks on the Asian social and political systems: I confess that the unchanging fashions of the Turks and other Eastern peoples do not attract me. It seems that their fashions tend to preserve their stupid despotism. Additionally, there is a long history of fashion in West Africa . Cloth

4945-530: The Far East. Early Western travellers who visited India , Persia , Turkey , or China , would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion in those countries. In 1609, the secretary of the Japanese shōgun bragged inaccurately to a Spanish visitor that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years. However, these conceptions of non-Western clothing undergoing little, if any, evolution are generally held to be untrue; for instance, there

5060-524: The Orient is, static and unanimous, separate, eccentric, backward, silently different, sensual, and passive. It has a tendency towards despotism and away from progress. [...] Its progress and value are judged in comparison to the West, so it is the Other. Many rigorous scholars [...] saw the Orient as a locale requiring Western attention, reconstruction, even redemption. Similar ideas were also applied to other countries in

5175-588: The Spring/Summer (SS) collections are shown in September. Smaller lines include the Cruise and Pre-Fall collections, which add to the retail value of a brand , and are presented separately at the fashion designer 's discretion. Ready-to-wear fashion weeks occur separately and earlier than those of haute couture . Unlike ready-to-wear products, collections are kept exclusive to designers chosen guests and idols creating

5290-640: The US development of a style independent from Europe. The US fashion market turned away from the Parisian style in favor of an individualized apparel industry promoted through advertisements and articles in magazines like Women's Wear Daily , Harper’s Bazaar , and Ladies Home Journal . Ready-to-wear also sparked new interests in health, beauty, and diet as manufactured clothing set specific, standardized sizes in attire to increase quantities for profit. Women of larger sizes had difficulties finding apparel in department stores, as most manufacturers maintained and sold

5405-506: The US were ready-made, but by 1890, the portion had risen to sixty percent. By 1951, ninety percent of garments sold in the United States were ready-made. During the same time, two-thirds of garments sold in France were ready-made. In the early 19th century, women's fashion was highly ornate and dependent on a precise fit, so ready-to-wear garments for women did not become widely available until

5520-584: The United States during the War of 1812 . High-quality ready-to-wear garments for men became generally available soon thereafter, as the relatively simple, flattering cuts and muted tones of the contemporary fashion made proportionate sizing possible in mass production. The first ready-made garment factory was established in New York City in 1831. During the American Civil War the need for ready-made uniforms helped

5635-462: The Victorian era, most women did not wear blouses under their saris, which did not suit the Victorian society; however, British and Indian fashion would be influenced by each other in following decades. In the 1920s, the nationalists adopted Khadi cloth as a symbol of resistance; here, Gandhi became the face of the resistance which made people spin, weave, and wear their Khadi. Today, the salwaar-kameez

5750-442: The beginning of the 20th century. Before, women would alter their previously styled clothing to stay up to date with fashion trends. Women with larger incomes purchased new, fully tailored clothing in current styles while middle-class and lower-class women adjusted their clothing to fit changes in fashion by adding new neck collars, shortening skirts, or cinching shirt waists. The widespread adoption of ready-to-wear clothing reflected

5865-446: The case of images from the 15th century. Initially, changes in fashion led to a fragmentation across the upper classes of Europe of what had previously been a very similar style of dressing and the subsequent development of distinctive national styles. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Régime France. Though

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5980-451: The chest to make it look bigger. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers. The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women's and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex. Art historians are, therefore, able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years, particularly in

6095-549: The chest, and boxy leather reefer jackets were popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Fashion is inherently a social phenomenon . A person cannot have a fashion by oneself, but for something to be defined as fashion, there needs to be dissemination and followers. This dissemination can take several forms; from the top-down ("trickle-down") to bottom-up ("bubble up/trickle-up"), or transversally across cultures and through viral memes and media ("trickle-across"). Fashion relates to

6210-545: The clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has for a long time been one of the largest employers in the United States, and it remains so in the 21st century. However, U.S. employment in fashion began to decline considerably as production increasingly moved overseas, especially to China. Because data regarding

6325-472: The cut and style of which had little cause to change over a number of centuries. Though there had been distribution of dressed dolls from France since the 16th century and Abraham Bosse had produced engravings of fashion in the 1620s, the pace of change picked up in the 1780s with increased publication of French engravings illustrating the latest Paris styles. By 1800, all Western Europeans were dressing alike (or thought they were); local variation became first

6440-446: The cut of a gentleman's coat and the length of his waistcoat, or the pattern to which a lady's dress was cut, changed more slowly. Men's fashions were primarily derived from military models, and changes in a European male silhouette were galvanized in theaters of European war where gentleman officers had opportunities to make notes of different styles such as the "Steinkirk" cravat or necktie. Both parties wore shirts under their clothing,

6555-405: The cut-outs that would be popular in fashion in a few years,  but it received mixed reviews. His second collection, for fall 1962, was celebrated as his best since his 1958 Trapeze collection for Dior.  Fashion writers ranked the collection with that of Givenchy as among the best in Paris.  It featured India-inspired evening dress, a mostly dark, rich color palette,  and

6670-465: The differences in his actual (or composite) contrast of Nuremberg and Venetian fashions at the close of the 15th century (illustration, right). The "Spanish style" of the late 16th century began the move back to synchronicity among upper-class Europeans, and after a struggle in the mid-17th century, French styles decisively took over leadership, a process completed in the 18th century. Though different textile colors and patterns changed from year to year,

6785-413: The distance between an individual and his society". American sociologist Diana Crane also mentioned in her book that fashion is closely intertwined with personal and group identity, serving as a means of expressing cultural, social, and political affiliations. Changes in clothing often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate , followed by

6900-515: The division between two production styles. It takes the work of one person to a team of skilled artists rather than machine made garments. Fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing , footwear , accessories , cosmetics , and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into outfits that depict distinctive ways of dressing ( styles and trends ) as signifiers of social status , self-expression , and group belonging. As

7015-448: The doctor mutually decided that it would be better for him not to know of his impending death. Bergé said, "I have the belief that Yves would not have been strong enough to accept that." He was given a Catholic funeral at Église Saint-Roch in Paris. The funeral attendees included the former Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi , Bernadette Chirac , Catherine Deneuve , and President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni . His body

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7130-611: The early 2020s , stetsons , white baseball jerseys with bold red or blue pinstripes , striped blue neckties , baggy white pants , Union Jack motifs, flared jeans , duster coats as worn in the Yellowstone TV series, preppy style college sweaters , retro blue and white striped football shirts , chelsea boots with cowboy boot styling, two-button blazers with red and blue boating stripes, V-neck sweater vests , royal blue baseball jackets with white sleeves, Howler Brothers gilets , shirts and suits worn open to expose

7245-421: The emergence of industrialism , the power of the guilds was undermined. Before the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom-made . It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century, with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine , the rise of global trade, the development of the factory system of production, and

7360-413: The familiarity. He was one of the last designers to give up big shoulder pads at the end of the eighties. After a disastrous 1987 prêt-à-porter show in New York City, which featured US$ 100,000 jeweled casual jackets only days after the "Black Monday" stock market crash , he turned over the responsibility of the prêt-à-porter line to his assistants. Although the line remained popular with his fans, it

7475-405: The fashion industry consist of many separate but interdependent sectors. These sectors include textile design and production, fashion design and manufacturing, fashion retailing, marketing and merchandising , fashion shows , and media and marketing. Each sector is devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at

7590-405: The fashion industry typically are reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry's many separate sectors, aggregate figures for the world production of textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the clothing industry accounts for a significant share of world economic output. The fashion industry consists of four levels: The levels of focus in

7705-562: The first auction, it featured the designer's last Mercedes-Benz car and his Hermès luggage. Forbes rated Saint Laurent the top-earning dead celebrity in 2009. In 2022, the "Yves Saint Laurent Aux Musées" exhibition was held simultaneously at six Parisian cultural institutions, demonstrating the enduring legacy of his work and his lifelong fascination with art. This exhibition highlighted his connections to various art forms and his ability to blend fashion with artistic expression. His house in his hometown of Oran, where he lived until

7820-557: The garment sector grow in the United States. In 1868, Isidore, Benjamin and Modeste Dewachter offered ready-to-wear clothing for men and children to Belgian clientele when they opened the first chain department stores , Dewachter frères (Dewachter Brothers). By 1904, the chain was managed by Isidore's son, Louis, and had grown to 20 cities and towns in Belgium and France, with some cities having multiple stores. Louis Dewachter also became an internationally known landscape artist, painting under

7935-476: The government not to conscript Saint Laurent in 1958 and 1959, but after the disastrous Fall 1958 season, reversed course and asked that the designer be conscripted so that he could be replaced. Saint Laurent was in the military for 20 days before the stress of hazing by fellow soldiers led to him being admitted to a military hospital, where he received news that he had been fired from Dior, to be replaced by Marc Bohan . This exacerbated his condition, and he

8050-621: The head designer of the House of Dior . His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin. The simple, flaring lines of his first collection for Dior, called the Trapeze line, a variation of Dior's 1955 A-Line, catapulted him to international stardom. Dresses in the collection featured a narrow shoulder that flared gently to a hem that just covered the knee. In his second collection for Dior, presented for fall 1958, he iconoclastically lowered hemlines by five inches and

8165-441: The history of the house of YSL, complete with 15,000 objects and 5,000 pieces of clothing. Saint Laurent died on 1 June 2008 of brain cancer at his residence in Paris. According to The New York Times , a few days prior, he and Bergé had been joined in a same-sex civil union known as a Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS) in France. When Saint Laurent was diagnosed as terminal, with only one or two weeks left to live, Bergé and

8280-510: The limited sizes across the nation. Overall ready-to-wear fashion exposed women to the newest styles and fashion trends, leading to a substantial increase in profits by US factories from $ 12,900,583 in 1876 (equivalent to $ 333 million in 2023) to $ 1,604,500,957 in 1929 (equivalent to $ 22.4 billion in 2023). The ready-to-wear fashion revolution led to an expansion of the US fashion industry that made fashionable apparel accessible, cost-effective, and commensurable. Interest in ready-to-wear

8395-400: The mail-order catalogs sent to rural farms by Sears allowed women to purchase clothing faster and at a cheaper price. The introduction of the concept of "pret-a-porter" has been attributed to Sonia Delaunay after her geometric styles were exhibited at the seminal 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Another significant factor created by the ready-to-wear industry was

8510-455: The most significant fashion companies and are renowned for their major influence on global fashion. Fashion weeks are held in these cities, where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences. A study demonstrated that general proximity to New York's Garment District was important to participate in the American fashion ecosystem. Haute couture has now largely been subsidized by

8625-412: The music video 'Formation' by Beyoncé , according to Carlos, The annual or seasonal runway show is a reflection of fashion trends and a designer's inspirations. For designers like Vivienne Westwood , runway shows are a platform for her voice on politics and current events. For her AW15 menswear show, according to Water, "where models with severely bruised faces channeled eco-warriors on a mission to save

8740-525: The officials were also required to wear Western suits. In this way, the Japanese slowly adopted into Western fashion. Moreover, like India, different Japanese religions wear different pieces of clothing. In its most common use, the term fashion refers to the current expressions on sale through the fashion industry. The global fashion industry is a product of the modern age. In the Western world, tailoring has since medieval times been controlled by guilds , but with

8855-430: The planet." Another recent example is a staged feminist protest march for Chanel's SS15 show, rioting models chanting words of empowerment using signs like "Feminist but feminine" and "Ladies first." According to Water, "The show tapped into Chanel's long history of championing female independence: founder Coco Chanel was a trailblazer for liberating the female body in the post-WWI era, introducing silhouettes that countered

8970-408: The press, such as the autumn 1966 collection, which introduced Le Smoking tailored tuxedo suit, and his 1965 Mondrian collection . Other collections raised controversy, such as his spring 1971 collection, which was inspired by 1940s fashion. Though 1930s and '40s revival had been a trend among some London designers like Ossie Clark since the late sixties and although Saint Laurent had presented

9085-572: The press. In 1959, he was chosen by Farah Diba , who was a student in Paris, to design her wedding dress for her marriage to the Shah of Iran . In 1960, Saint Laurent found himself conscripted to serve in the French Army during the Algerian War . Neri Karra writes that there was speculation at the time that Marcel Boussac , the owner of the House of Dior and a powerful press baron, had put pressure on

9200-556: The proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores, clothing became increasingly mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, as of 2017 , it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold worldwide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have

9315-412: The pseudonym Louis Dewis . Near the end of the nineteenth century, ready-made garments were no longer seen as only for the lower classes but also for the middle classes because of the view of the social aspect and how it has changed in value. This trend started in the United States. In the beginning, they were more popular with men than women. In the late 1860s, twenty-five percent of garments produced in

9430-403: The public if not with the critics and eventually earned many times more for Saint Laurent and Bergé than the haute couture line. However, Saint Laurent, whose health had been precarious for years, became erratic under the pressure of designing two haute couture and two prêt-à-porter collections every year. He increasingly turned to alcohol and drugs. At some shows, he could barely walk down

9545-483: The qualitative Ancient Greek concept of kairos , meaning "the right, critical, or opportune moment", and clothing to the quantitative concept of chronos , the personification of chronological or sequential time. While some exclusive brands may claim the label haute couture , in France, the term is technically limited to members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris. Haute couture

9660-417: The reappearance of fashions from a different time period. While what is fashionable can be defined by a relatively insular, esteemed and often rich aesthetic elite who make a look exclusive, such as fashion houses and haute couturiers , this 'look' is often designed by pulling references from subcultures and social groups who are not considered elite, and are thus excluded from making the distinction of what

9775-455: The restrictive corsets then in favour." Yves Saint Laurent (designer) Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent (1 August 1936 – 1 June 2008), better known as Yves Saint Laurent ( / ˌ iː v ˌ s æ̃ l ɔː ˈ r ɒ̃ / , also UK : /- l ɒ ˈ -/ , US : /- l oʊ ˈ -/ , French: [iv sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃] ) or YSL , was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label . He

9890-490: The rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance, but still uncomfortably close for the elites – a factor that Fernand Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion. In the 16th century , national differences were at their most pronounced. Ten 16th century portraits of German or Italian gentlemen may show ten entirely different hats. Albrecht Dürer illustrated

10005-529: The rise in mass production of commodities and clothing at lower prices and global reach, reducing fashion's environmental impact and improving sustainability has become an urgent issue among politicians, brands, and consumers. The French word mode , meaning "fashion", dates as far back as 1482, while the English word denoting something "in style" dates only to the 16th century. Other words exist related to concepts of style and appeal that precede mode . In

10120-434: The runway at the end of the show, and he had to be supported by models. Following his 1978 introduction of the big-shoulder-pad looks that would dominate the 1980s, he relied on a restricted set of styles based largely on big-shouldered jackets and narrow skirts and trousers that didn't vary much during the decade, resulting in some fashion writers bemoaning the loss of his former inventiveness and others welcoming

10235-867: The sale commenced, the Chinese government tried to stop the sale of two of twelve bronze statue heads taken from the Old Summer Palace in China during the Second Opium War . A French judge dismissed the claim and the sculptures, heads of a rabbit and a rat, sold for €15,745,000. However, the anonymous buyer revealed himself to be Cai Mingchao, a representative of the PRC 's National Treasures Fund, and claimed that he would not pay for them on "moral and patriotic grounds". The heads remained in Bergé's possession until acquired by François Pinault , owner of many luxury brands including Yves Saint Laurent. He then donated them to China in

10350-512: The sale of ready-to-wear collections and perfume using the same branding. Modern Westerners have a vast number of choices in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect their personality or interests. When people who have high cultural status start to wear new or different styles, they may inspire a new fashion trend. People who like or respect these people are influenced by their style and begin wearing similarly styled clothes. Fashions may vary considerably within

10465-482: The same item. Some fashion houses and fashion designers make mass-produced and industrially manufactured ready-to-wear lines, while others offer garments that are not unique but are produced in limited numbers. Before pre-war times men’s ready-to-wear clothing was determined by these following factors : cloth, trimmings, labor, taxes, amortization, transportation charges, and overhead & profit which lead for ready-to-wear military uniforms to be mass-produced in

10580-431: The same time – the House of Yves Saint Laurent merely announced its line first. The first of the company's Rive Gauche stores, which sold the prêt-à-porter line, opened on the rue de Tournon in the 6th arrondissement of Paris , on 26 September 1966. The first customer was Catherine Deneuve . He ended up doing many costumes for her in films such as Heartbeat , Mississippi Mermaid , and Love to Eternity . During

10695-578: The smock tops and safari jackets in Dior's 1957 "Libre" line. In August 1957, Dior met with Saint Laurent's mother to tell her that he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him as a designer. His mother later said that she had been confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 years old at the time. Both she and her son were surprised when Dior died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack in October 1957. In 1957, Saint Laurent found himself at age 21

10810-503: The social and cultural context of an environment. According to Matika, "Elements of popular culture become fused when a person's trend is associated with a preference for a genre of music […] like music, news, or literature, fashion has been fused into everyday lives." Fashion is not only seen as purely aesthetic; fashion is also a medium for people to create an overall effect and express their opinions and overall art. This mirrors what performers frequently accomplish through music videos. In

10925-463: The sociopolitical climate of the time, particularly the trousers he showed in 1968 after witnessing the epochal French uprisings of that year. Saint Laurent is often said to have been the main designer responsible for making more widely acceptable the wearing of pants by women. Yves Saint Laurent brought in new changes to the fashion industry in the 60s and the 70s. The French designer opened his prêt-à-porter house YSL Rive Gauche in 1967, where he

11040-413: The start of Western fashion in clothing to the middle of the 14th century , though they tend to rely heavily on contemporary imagery, as illuminated manuscripts were not common before the 14th century. The most dramatic early change in fashion was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing in

11155-470: The terms fashion , clothing and costume are often used together, fashion differs from both. Clothing describes the material and the technical garment, devoid of any social meaning or connections; costume has come to mean fancy dress or masquerade wear. Fashion, by contrast, describes the social and temporal system that influences and "activates" dress as a social signifier in a certain time and context. Philosopher Giorgio Agamben connects fashion to

11270-484: The wearer's bare shoulder, thigh, or midriff , such as low-cut waists on the pants or tops with strappy necklines intended to be worn braless . Desirable colours included neon green, watermelon green, coral pink , orange, salmon pink , magenta , gold , electric blue , aquamarine , cyan , turquoise , and royal blue . In 2023, the predominant colours in Britain, France and America were red, white and blue. As in

11385-601: The young man could not have seen them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot. Although Dior recognised his talent immediately, Saint Laurent spent his first year at the House of Dior on mundane tasks, decorating the studio and designing accessories. Eventually he was allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection. With each passing season, more of his sketches were accepted by Dior. Some Dior collections from this period contain themes that would appear in Saint Laurent's independent work years later, such as

11500-635: Was cremated , and his ashes were scattered in Marrakech , Morocco, in the Majorelle Garden , a residence and botanical garden that he owned with Bergé since 1980 and often visited to find inspiration and refuge. Bergé said at the funeral service (in French): "But I also know that I will never forget what I owe you and that one day I will join you under the Moroccan palms." In February 2009, an auction of 733 items

11615-408: Was brought by rapid commercialization. Clothing which experienced fast changing fashion in ancient China was recorded in ancient Chinese texts, where it was sometimes referred as shiyang , "contemporary-styles", and was associated with the concept of fuyao , "outrageous dress", which typically holds a negative connotation. Similar changes in clothing can be seen in Japanese clothing between

11730-426: Was expected for people to be dressed accordingly to their gender, social status and occupation; the Chinese clothing system had cleared evolution and varied in appearance in each period of history. However, ancient Chinese fashion, like in other cultures, was an indicator of the socioeconomic conditions of its population; for Confucian scholars, however, changing fashion was often associated with social disorder which

11845-493: Was held by Christie's at the Grand Palais , ranging from paintings by Picasso to ancient Egyptian sculptures. Saint Laurent and Bergé began collecting art in the 1950s. Before the sale, Bergé commented that the decision to sell the collection was taken because, without Saint Laurent, "it has lost the greater part of its significance", with the proceeds proposed for the creation of a new foundation for AIDS research . Before

11960-438: Was impressed by the sketches that Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he should become a fashion designer. Saint Laurent eventually considered a course of study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the haute couture industry and provides training to its employees. Saint Laurent followed the advice, left Oran for Paris after graduation, began his studies there and eventually graduated as

12075-575: Was known for his use of non-European cultural references and of diverse models. Historian Caroline Milbank wrote, "The most consistently celebrated and influential designer of the past twenty-five years, Yves Saint Laurent can be credited with both spurring the couture's rise from its 1960s ashes and with finally rendering ready-to-wear reputable." Saint Laurent was born on 1 August 1936, in Oran , Algeria , to French parents ( Pieds-Noirs ), Charles and Lucienne Andrée Mathieu-Saint-Laurent. He grew up in

12190-530: Was named ambassador for the brand; Italian model Marina Schiano , who managed the YSL boutiques in North America; French model Nicole Dorier, who became the director of his runway shows, and later, the "memory" of his house when it became a museum; and French model Laetitia Casta , who was the bride in his fashion shows in 1998–2001. In 1983, Saint Laurent became the first living fashion designer to be honored by

12305-681: Was not actively supervising the preparation of a collection, he spent time at his villa in Marrakech , Morocco. In the late 1970s, he and Bergé bought a neo-gothic villa, Château Gabriel in Benerville-sur-Mer , near Deauville , France. Yves Saint Laurent was a great admirer of Marcel Proust who had been a frequent guest of Gaston Gallimard , one of the previous owners of the villa. When they bought Château Gabriel , Saint Laurent and Bergé commissioned Jacques Grange to decorate it with themes inspired by Proust's Remembrance of Things Past . The prêt-à-porter line became extremely popular with

12420-444: Was not greeted with the same level of approval that his first collection received, with many considering it a major misstep. Soon after, Marc Bohan was hired to assist St. Laurent, and the spring 1959 Dior collection brought lengths back to the knee in a well-received collection inspired by the 1930s. Later collections for the House of Dior featuring hobble skirts (fall 1959) and beatnik fashions (fall 1960) were savaged by

12535-594: Was soon dismissed as "boring" by the press. A favorite among his female clientele, Saint Laurent had numerous muses that inspired his work. Among them were: French model Victoire Doutreleau , who opened his first fashion show in 1962; Loulou de la Falaise , the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish model, who became the jewelry designer for the brand; Betty Catroux , the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat, who Saint Laurent considered his "twin sister"; French actress Catherine Deneuve ; French model Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain, who inspired

12650-423: Was sparked by Yves Saint Laurent , who was the first designer to launch a ready-to-wear collection, and in 1966 he opened Rive Gauche, his first ready-to-wear boutique. Whether he succeeded in democratizing fashion is an open question, since few were able to afford his designs, but he did pave the way for ready-to-wear fashion and the cross-fertilisation between haute-couture and high-street fashion that persists into

12765-501: Was starting to shift his focus from haute couture to ready-to-wear. One of the purposes was to provide a wider range of fashionable styles being available to choose from in the market, as they were affordable and cheaper. He was the first French couturier to come out with a full prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line; although Alicia Drake credits this move with Saint Laurent's wish to democratize fashion; others point out that other couture houses were preparing prêt-à-porter lines at

12880-413: Was such that the collection did lead to some general fashion changes in shoulder and lapel shape and increased the popularity of tailored blazers. During the 1960s and 1970s, Saint Laurent was considered one of Paris's " jet set ". He was often seen at clubs in France and New York City, such as Regine's and Studio 54 , and was known to be both a heavy drinker and a frequent user of cocaine . When he

12995-586: Was the name established by the government for the fashion houses that met the standards of the industry. These fashion houses continue to adhere to standards such as keeping at least twenty employees engaged in making the clothes, showing two collections per year at fashion shows, and presenting a certain number of patterns to costumers. Since then, the idea of the fashion designer as a celebrity in their own right has become increasingly dominant. Although fashion can be feminine or masculine, additional trends are androgynous . The idea of unisex dressing originated in

13110-451: Was transferred to Val-de-Grâce military hospital , where he was given large doses of sedatives and psychoactive drugs and subjected to electroshock therapy . Saint Laurent himself traced the origin of both his mental problems and his drug addictions to this time in hospital. After his release from the hospital in November 1960, Saint Laurent sued Dior for breach of contract and won. After

13225-759: Was used as a form of currency in trade with the Portuguese and Dutch as early as the 16th century, and locally produced cloth and cheaper European imports were assembled into new styles to accommodate the growing elite class of West Africans and resident gold and slave traders. There was an exceptionally strong tradition of weaving in the Oyo Empire , and the areas inhabited by the Igbo people . The beginning in Europe of continual and accelerating change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated to late medieval times . Historians, including James Laver and Fernand Braudel , date

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