Coco Chanel & Vivien Westwood - Essay Example

Coco Chanel & Vivien Westwood Modernist & Postmodernist fashion designers Table of Content Topic Page Introduction 02 Modernism and Post-Modernism 04 Modernism Vs Post-Modernism 04 Analysis 06 Gabrielle Coco Chanel 07 Vivienne Westwood 08 Conclusion 09 Bibliography 10 1.0 Introduction Fashion has seen many a change over the centuries. Right from the time Prince Regent took over the reign from his ailing father, King George III, to stamp his authority (1820-1830), fashion has come a long way to the present. The twenty-first century relationship to Modernism is complex. Our environment was largely shaped by Modernism. The buildings we inhabit, the chairs we sit on, the graphic design that surrounds us were all created by the aesthetics and the ideology of Modernist design. We boast of living in an era that still identifies itself in terms of Modernism, as post-Modernist. Modernism was not conceived as a style but a loose collection of ideas. Where and when it was born is anybody's guess, but it flourished in Germany and Holland, as well as in Moscow, Paris, Prague and New York. Modernists wanted to build a better world, a world that could achieve social improvement through technology. The modernist's principles were frequently combined with social and political beliefs which held that design and art could, and should, transform society. Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel belonged to this school of thought. (V&A, Modernism-Designing a New World 1914-1939, www.vam.ac.uk)1. Modernism which presume the existence of clear-cut distinctions between different types of aesthetic endeavors, are perceived as elitist in comparison with postmodernism, in which high culture is no longer viewed as aesthetically superior to popular culture and dominant cultures are no longer more significant than minority cultures. The shift from modernist to postmodernist styles is viewed as a consequence of social, political, and cultural changes that have altered the relationships between different social groups and the dominant culture, as well as the ways in which these social groups can be plausibly represented by cultural categories (An Excerpt from Diana Crane's 1933- "Postmodernism and the Avant-Garde: Stylistic Change in Fashion Design", Modernism/modernity - Volume 4, Number 3, September 1997, pp. 123, muse.jhu.edu).2 The Beginning The reign of Prince Regent (1820-1830) came to be known as the Regency era.Empress Josephine, during Emperor Napoleon's (1804) time was a great fashion leader for the slender fashions of the day designed by Leroy. From fake pearls and strass paste gems to parures and Cameos, these fascinating jewellery made under the influence of Greek and Roman architecture, came to be symbolic of the 18th and 19th century fashion world. The high waist styles of early 19th century known as the Empire style, evolved in the late 1700s. It began as a chemise shift gathered under the breasts and at the neck.It had a very dcollet low square neckline, a short narrow backed bodice and separate skirt. The small neat puff sleeves barely capped the shoulder. They were pulled back by the narrow cut of the bodice and this restricted arm movement. The fabric for Empire dresses was usually made of fine white lawn, muslin or batiste. The predominant styles followed during the regency fashion period were those of Spencer, Pelisse, and Redingote (Pauline Weston Thomas, Regency Fashion History, 1800s Costume History, for Fashion-era.com, www.fashion-era.com). 2.0 Definition of Modernism and Post-Modernism Between World Wars I and II, there was the rise of a puritanical style of design popularly called Modernism or the International Style. Many designs during this period represented a form known for its overall severity and geometry, combined with symmetry, order and simplicity. What was conspicuous was the absence of colour and applied decoration. When colour was applied, it was rarely spontaneous, and seen in geometrical formats and clear-cut, hard-edged boundaries, as seen in the Art Deco dcor and furnishings of the 1920s. Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel belonged to this school of thought. (Roy Osborne, Modern Classicism (Modernism), www.coloracademy.co.uk).3 Postmodernism on the other hand is a term used to describe a movement of intellectual thought which had a major impact on philosophy, art, critical theory, literature, architecture, history, and culture, since the mid 20th century. Though the definition is vague and inconsistent, the term has been stretched to be applied in many different situations. Vivien Westwood belongs to this era (Postmodernism, Summary, en.wikipedia.org).4 3.0 Modernism Vs Post-Modernism Short hair, tubular dresses, hanging loosely from the shoulder to below the knee, flattened at the chest and straightening at the waist is synonymous of the modernism period. Elsa Schiaparelli made a name for herself by creating closely fitting sweaters, and the 'garonne'look, also pioneered by Coco Chanel. Tightly fitting cloche hats were popular with the masses in late-1920s. Decorative waist-belts, unusually low, and a relatively high (calf-length) hem reflected confidence in styles of underwear. The masculine look to women's fashions of the 1930s continued into the 40s, with a collar and tie, lapels and side pockets, and square, padded shoulders. All these indicated a militaristic austerity styles, introduced during Napoleon and Regent's term at the helm. The appearance of red lipstick and nylon stockings also became increasingly popular. Christian Dior's post-war 'New Look' of 1947, emphasised on the curve of the bust and hips, a change from the traditional (the contours of female fashions were largely concealed), yet it remained sine dine; classical, formal and colourless. Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975), Jean Patou (1880-1936), Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971), Elsa Schiaparelli (1896-1973), Christian Dior (1905-57), and Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) are a few prominent fashion designers of the modernism period (Roy Osborne, Modern Classicism (Modernism) 1998, www.coloracademy.co.uk)5. Postmodernism has become a battleground for conflicting ideas. An era in the history of fashion design, it shows no fixed ideology or utopia. Opposing and disconnected, at times leaning back to borrow from the past and mostly rebellious, contemporary culture is a mixture of serenity and ultra-modernism. "One of the most distinctive features of visual culture during postmodern times is the disaggregating and heterogeneous code of dressing and styling. The wide range and quality of fabrics, trims, colors, silhouettes, style, and the broad array of accessories, from footwear and head-dressing to jewelry, display an unprecedented openness and fragmentation in the history of today's clothing conventions. This is not to deny the existence of a fashion system complete with highly articulated rules and codes against which innovation, convention-breaking, contradiction, and multiplication take place (Excerpt from Vincent B. Leitch, 1944, "Costly compensations: postmodern fashion, politics, identity" MFS Modern Fiction Studies, Volume 42, Number 1, 996, pp. 111, muse.jhu.edu)6. 4.0 Analysis Despite their differences, modernists and post-modernists had a lot in common. Coco was considered to be way ahead of her time, an antagonist personified. We find a lot more of contemporary designers still imitating her style and vision. Karl Lagerfeld, who designs Chanel today and has turned the company into an even bigger one, points out that, "By the '50s she had the benefit of distance, and so could truly distill the Chanel look. Time and culture had caught up with her." Such is the craze and demand for her designer wear even today. Christian Dior's post-war 'New Look' of 1947, emphasised on the curve of the bust and hips, a change from the traditional (more post-modernist in nature), yet it remained classical, formal and colourless, a hallmark of the modernist period. Much of post-modernist designers used modernist pattern and ideas to great effect. Post-Modernists were not inhibited from copying from their predecessors to their advantage. What was it that caught the fancy and imagination of the contemporary world This is a cause to draw comparison between the works of Coco Chanel and Vivien Westwood, a post-modernism fashion designer. 5.0 Gabrielle Coco Chanel "She was shrewd, chic and on the cutting edge. The clothes she created changed the way women looked and how they looked at themselves", was how Ingrid Sischy, editor in chief of Interview, described Coco Chanel. Coco was ahead of her time. The work of some contemporary fashion designers such as Tom Ford, Helmut Lang, Jill Sander and Versace reflect the strategies what Coco once did. To merge masculine and feminine clothes to create fashion that offered a feeling of hidden luxury rather than ostentation are examples of how her taste and sense of style overlap with today's fashion. Despite this uniqueness of hers', her work is unquestionably a part of the liberation of women. She not only appropriated styles, fabrics and articles of clothing that were worn by men but also appropriated sports clothes as part of the language of fashion. A rebel of her times, her work depicts her fashion revolution against society by aiming at the head, with hats. Her boyish "flapper" creations were in stark contrast to the Belle Epoque millinery that was in vogue at the time. One of her first successes was the loose-fitting sweater, which she belted and teamed with a skirt. Her other works included Gypsy skirts, over-the-top fake jewelry and glittering evening wear (made of crystal and jet beads laid over black and white georgette crepe), and the "little black dresses" that made her famous. The biggest element that ensured Chanel being remembered is not a piece of clothing, but Chanel No. 5, in an Art Deco bottle, which was launched in 1923. It was the first perfume to bear a designer's name (The Time 100, http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/chanel3.html). 6.0 The work of Vivienne Westwood Vivienne was an inspiring designer. Contemporary was her ultimatum. From leather clothing adorned with zips and chains, tee shirts emblazoned with slogans and pornographic images in 72 to rubber S&M clothing, ripped clothes and tee-shirts with pornographic text and images in 74, Vivienne Westwood was the craze of the young generation. Late 70s saw a change in her designer attitude. She began to research into historical dresses and began to adopt and reinterpret the original cutting principles into her patterns to make them modern. Asymmetric tee-shirts, pirate shirts and breeches in rich brocades and ikat fabrics began to dominate her collections in early 80s. Her change of heart became reminiscent when she brought out the Princess line coats and jackets in Harris Tweed and velvet worn with fine knitwear twin-sets and an 18th Century corset teamed with pearls. She introduced fake fur, velvet; tweed and tartan together in order to re-create the richness of old master paintings. Subtle patchwork tweed used for suiting to evoke landscape background and a photographic print of a Boucher painting from the Wallace collection, adorned shawls and the front panel of her signature corset. It is at this point that Vivienne was connecting to the modernist period. For the first time, she took inspiration from 20th Century couture, especially Christian Dior, (in collections such as 'Salon', 'Always on Camera' and 'Grand Hotel'). Nipped waists, long circle skirts and off-the-shoulder necklines Westwood began to re-interprets the look of French Haute Couture of the 1950's. She also designed wedding gowns, a first for her. In her spring/summer 1994 collection, Vivienne brought out her "Cafe Society", an inspiration of the French style of dresses of the period between 1890 and 1910. Westwood placed a lot of emphasis on the bustle and bust, as well as presenting a large section of evening wear reminiscent of Haute Couture (Vivienne Westwood, http://www.viviennewestwood.com/flash.php).7 7.0 Conclusion Despite their differences, there are a lot of similarities as well among the two protagonists in this paper. Modernists and post-modernist designers had a lot in common. Coco Chanel was a rebellious designer who was ahead of her time. She would try out different models of head gear and designs that were contrary to the modernism period. Vivienne Westwood, on the other hand, started by being an ultra-modern designer, representing the hippy and fast-paced cultural attitudes. Porno prints and over-exposure were her hallmark. However, the 80s saw her going the modernist way. Fashion was undergoing a cultural change. A lot of post-modernist designers still attribute a lot of their success to the Regency and modernist design culture. Both Coco and Vivienne are known for their branded perfume as well. 8.0 Bibliography Roy Osborne, Modern Classicism (Modernism) 1998, http://www.coloracademy.co.uk Modernism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism Postmodernism, Summary, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism#Lifestyle V&A, Modernism-Designing a New World 1914-1939, http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1331_modernism/the_exhibition.html Diana Crane, Excerpt, 1933- "Postmodernism and the Avant-Garde: Stylistic Change in Fashion Design", Modernism/modernity - Volume 4, Number 3, September 1997, pp. 123, http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgiuri=/journals/modernism-modernity/v004/4.3crane.html Pauline Weston Thomas, Regency Fashion History, 1800s Costume History, for Fashion-era.com, http://www.fashion-era.com/regency_fashion.htm Excerpt from Leitch, Vincent B. 1944, "Costly compensations: postmodern fashion, politics, identity", MFS Modern Fiction Studies - Volume 42, Number 1, Spring 1996, pp. 111, http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgiuri=/journals/modern_fiction_studies/v042/42.1er_benstock.html Vivienne Westwood, http://www.viviennewestwood.com/flash.php Read More