Written Narrative1900-1909As the Victorian era drew toits close in 1901 and the Edwardian era begun, distribution of fashion trendshad been throughout the trickle-down effect theory, where royalty set styleswhich were carried out by dress makers. Dresses in that era had been purchasedin the form of just the fabric of the skirt and bodice to then be made to fit.Dresses had only been worn with a s-bent corset which purpose was to thrust 1910-1919In this decade women startedto tire of the bulky evening dresses resulting in the removal of trains fromdresses and embracing new empire lines and by 1912 silhouettes achieved morenatural lines. As a result of WW1 there was an adaptation of working clothes aswell as a military style and women were not as focused on fashion, however asthe war ended in 1915 women started to develop an unstoppable drive for change.
Callot Soeurs introduced straight un-grinded chemises which hung over astraight foundation as the shape and silhouette constantly evolved and the hemline rose up to the ankle. 1920-1929The 20’s roar with the birthof the flapper look, jazz and economic prosperity in the wake of WW1 as simplesilhouettes, home-sewing and knockoffs made it easier for women to moreactively participate in being ‘fashionable’. The dress fashion emerged as morerelaxed, the waistline dropped to hip level and the dresses were unfitted togive more comfort while dancing.
Simplicity was at its peak with the newfreedom. New appearances on dresses such as decorative seaming, contrastingfabrics as well as overlays had been influenced highly by Coco Chanel anddespite the simple bodices and construction the detail of the dresses hadalways been apparent in its surface ornamentation. 1930-1939As the great depression beganwomen continued to follow fashion and new innovations took place despite theeconomic hardship. The waistlines returned to natural positions while remainingrelaxed in fit.
In 1935 the handy fastener is first employed into fashion: thezipper. During the 30’s women yearned for designs worn by movie stars asHollywood’s entertainment became more affordable. Madeleine Vionnet was a revolutionary designer, creating thebias cut which women embraced as well as low scoping backs.
Surrealisminfiltrates the fashion world throughout Schiaparelli’s designs. The stylewas sophisticated and more conservative. 1940-1949As WW2 continued into the40’s, rationing and shortages lead to simpler designs and military styleinfluences on fashion such as the padded shoulders and sailor-inspired dressesand as women were replacing men in the workplace utility and practicality grewinto fashion. The dress silhouette trends were wide shoulders, slim waisted andnarrow hipped. The major shift in post-warfashion in the late forties was Dior’s ‘New Look’, introducing his first hautecouture collection which featured rounded shoulders, padded hips and long fullskirts, exaggerating the bust line and emphasizing small waists.
1950-1959The 50’s continued onpopularising Dior’s ‘New Look’ and thee hourglass silhouette remained. it was the he height or age of the cocktail dress, inDior’s autobiography “Christian Dior and I,” the designer statedthe cocktail was the “symbol par excellence of the American way oflife.” The New Look symbolised a new hope and as the 50’s went onboth hope and style were embraced. Women began to dress for ‘wifey’ roles andfor their husbands. A new era of womanlinessstarted to develop after years of fashion oppression and fabric rationing. Theform-hugging sheath dressed became popularized in films by the likes of MarilynMonroe, the greatest fashion and beauty icon of all time. 1960-1969As the first wave of ‘BabyBoomers’ came by and young people started to earn more, designers began tospecifically aim their designs at them rather than just adult dress creatingmore youthful silhouettes.
Jackie Kennedy began to be a large influence afterJFK becomes president (1961) and continued for years after.Designers startedexperimenting with new designs like colourful shifts and space-age prints. Themovement towards modernity was conscious and international, dresses began tocome up to above the knee and Italian designers such as Pucci started to createpsychedelic colour palettes. 1970-1979’The Decade of the Decadence’as fashion tries to find itself hemlines go up and down from mini to maxidresses and several outstanding styles take over. Firstly, the hippie flowerchild look continued on from the 60’s with bohemian silhouettes with a heavyfolksy influence.
Furthermore, punk rock trickled up from the streets to thework of designers such as Vivienne Westwood, along with rock and roll, the glamflamboyant styles and the shiny disco night life including sequins and lycra. As the prairie dressphenomenon popularised by Laura Ashley begun, it was clear that the 70’sfashion was all about ease and comfort. 1980-1989Fashion in the 1980s was all about bold and glitzy colours, silhouettes,and experimentation.
Various music, film andtelevision stars influenced fashion trends throughout the 1980s such as Madonnaand Cyndi Lauper who both ushered on entirely new and different styles as wellas the show Dynasty which influenced the comeback of the padding of theshoulders in a super-sized version. Another large influence whose ever-changingclothing got copied by women all over the world was Princess Diana.Punk fashion emerged in the late 70’s, a non-conformist,rebellious style. It was the generation of rebellion againstthe “normal.
” 1990-1999-present dayThe grunge look was born with an emphasis on athrift-store look. Hip-hop is seen to influence not only the streets but alsothe runway as well as so do other music genres. Fast fashion continued andsignificantly rose and is still rising, stores such as Zara and H releasenew dresses and other clothing every 2/3 weeks. Thedecade saw controversy over the size zero models.
With Barack Obama elected in2008 in the US, fashion was shocked to see his wife’s Michelle Obamas fashioncredentials.Furthermore, the fashion fordresses in the 90’s as well as the noughties was fairly similar and a fusion ofprevious styles throughout the century as many designers looked back in timefor inspiration.
