Fashion Journalism Homework

Here's a list of designers and important references that I pulled from some articles, this was actually homework and started my idea for this blog.

Article: "One flew over the Couture's Nest" - Simon Doonan

Vocab to know:

Erna Bombeck- best selling author during the 70's and 80's and writer for Good Housekeeping Magazine, Reader's Digest, Family Circle, Redbook, McCall's, and even Teen magazine. She was known for her humor and wit. She's quoted - "Insanity is hereditary. You can catch it from your kids."

Comme Des Garçons- French for "like the boys" Japenese fashion label ran by Rei Kawakubo known for sexy, colorful and beautiful clothing. Stores located in Aoyama, Tokyo's high fashion district, and Place Vendôme in Paris

Simon Doonan- started out as a window dresser and is now creative director of the New York City-based clothing store, Barneys. He is known to be eccentric and outspoken.

Chanteuse-a female singer, esp. one who sings in nightclubs and cabarets.

Edie Bouvier Beale-Cousin of Jackie O she was a cult star known for Grey Gardens

Louise Brooks-dancer, model, showgirl, and silent film actress, famous for her fashionable bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W. Pabst films: in Pandora's Box (1929), Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Prix de Beauté (Miss Europe) (1930)

Marchesa Casati- eccentric Italian heiress, muse, and patroness of the arts in early 20th century Europe. She was muse to F. T. Marinetti, Fortunato Depero, and Umberto Boccioni. John Galliano based the 1998 Spring/Summer Christian Dior collection on her. Gowns from this collection have been displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Fashion Institute. And Casati served as inspiration for one of Galliano's ensembles created for his autumn/winter 2007/2008 Bal des Artistes haute couture collection for Dior.

Blighty- English slang term for Britain

Grey Gardens- 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two women who lived at Grey Gardens, a decrepit 28-room mansion at 3 West End Avenue in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood of East Hampton, New York.

snood-headgear or headdress

John Waters/Cry Baby- He directed this teen-musical film directed by John Waters. It stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel "Cry-Baby" Wade Walker, and also features an expansive ensemble cast that includes Iggy Pop, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, David Nelson, Susan Tyrrell and Patty Hearst.

Society for Ethical Culture- Ethical Culture is premised on the idea that honoring and living in accordance with ethical principles is central to what it takes to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, and to creating a world that is good for all. Practitioners of Ethical Culture focus on supporting one another in becoming better people, and on doing good in the world

squalid-marked by filthiness and degradation from neglect or poverty

Note: "became a yardstick for cool"

Article: "He Put a Swagger In Women's steps"
Yves Saint Laurent Threaded his Designs With an Empowering Aesthetic -Robin Givhan

Vocab to know:

Yves Saint Laurent-Algerian-born French fashion designer Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent who was considered one of the greatest figures in French fashion in the 20th century. In 1985, Caroline Rennolds 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 sixties ashes and with finally renderingready-to-wear reputable".

Robin Givhan-(born 1965) is the fashion editor for The Washington Post. She won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for criticism, the first such time for a fashion writer. The Pulitzer Committee explained its rationale by noting Givhan's "witty, closely observed essays that transform fashion criticism into cultural criticism."

Hyperbole-figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally.

Swagger- arrogant pompous attitude

"armor for the boardroom"- my understanding is "clothing for the office" but it's meant to portray group of executives rigid in fashion.

"sartorial equivalent of chutzpah"- sartorial means "relating to clothes" and chutzpah roughly translates to "gutsy" and "in form of audacity"
Edgy clothing for working women (working women need style, too, don't they?)

bawdiness-Humorously coarse; risqué. Vulgar; lewd

atelier-artist's studio

stultifying-to dull; render useless; to make something appear ridiculous

"Le smoking"-YSL-tuxedo suit for women was the first of its kind to earn attention in the fashion world and in popular culture. It pioneered long, minimalist, androgynous styles for women, as well as the use of power suits and the pantsuit in modern-day society.

Rei Kawakubo-Japanese fashion designer, founder of Comme des Garçon

Yohji Yamamoto-known for an avant-garde spirit in his clothing, frequently creating designs far removed from current trends. His signature oversized silhouettes in black often feature drapery in varying textures.

Halston-Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990) was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques. First designer to licence himself.

"mind's eye"-human ability for visual perception

note-"he was instrumental in writing the vast majority of it"

Mondrian dress of 1965-YSL created a dress made of blocks of jersey, pieced together following the Mondrian order and hid all the shaping in the grid of seams.

Marc Jacobs-Creative Director of Louis Vuitton and head designer for Marc Jacobs

Takashi Murakami- Very popular Japanese artist who designed limited-edition Louis Vuitton handbags

Stephen Sprouse- Fashion designer that became popular in the 80's. Known for graffiti art and his ups and downs in the industry (this guy knew how to dust himself off again) among his achievements, he worked as an assistant to Halston and designed a few bags for Marc Jacobs, which were a hit.

Richard Prince- American painter and photographer known for controversial copyright issues by photographing other photographs popularized by one of Brooke Shields as a child alluding to sexual precursors.

Valerie Steele- is a fashion historian, curator, and director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology

enfant terrible-an unusually successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, and/or avant-garde. (or terrible child in French)

fashion house of Christian Dior- Located in Paris and owns LV

John Galliano- British designer for Givenchy then Christian Dior, inspired by theatre and feminine seduction. *His J'adore and Miss Dior perfume's are my favorite to show and sell at work(one of the notes in Miss Dior is CARAMEL POPCORN)*

Alexander McQueen-head designer at Givenchy in 1996, succeeding John Galliano. He was a riot while working there. He is very much an artist and fashion his medium.

Pierre Bergé-co-founder of Yves Saint Laurent Couture House and lifelong partner of Yves Saint Lauren

"as fragile as a hothouse flower"- brittle, snaps easily, refers to something that should be handled with care

Tom Ford- through smart networking he put himself in the right position and re-vamped Gucci, then YSL and branded himself Tom Ford. What an inspiration.

Calvin Klein-1968 launched Calvin Klein brand and Calvin Klein Jeans. He is very well known for his brand and his signature colognes and perfumes.

note "trickle-down effect"

Rive Gauche Label- YSL created this RTW label inspired by a river in Paris that is often conotated with a look of bringing low brow looks into high fashion.

Fellini, Kurosawa and Scorsese-directors of movies

stodgy- Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. Prim or pompous; stuffy

ostentatious-intended to attract notice and impress others;

Alber Elbaz- Israeli fashion designer who started off working for Geoffrey Beane, Guy Laroche, and YSL through Gucci until Gucci purchased the Rive Gauche label and was dismissed by Tom Ford. He eventually went on to work for Krizia and now Lanvin, which he became very popular for.

Stefano Pilati-an Italian fashion designer and creative director at Yves Saint-Laurent since 2004

note "see-through frocks"

Introduction

This blog is dedicated to becoming fashion savvy, in my own personal quest, to better understand the short-term history of fashion and designers of whom many fashion articles allude.