Fashion: The Art Of Fashion In Paris

1282 Words6 Pages

Fashion in Paris is just as rampant as are boulangeries and cafes in the city, as there are entire streets are filled with small boutiques and bustling department stores. The Parisians always sport chic, trendy outfits, whether they are going to work, meeting up with friends, or just shopping at the local grocery store. Fashion is ultimately a powerful industry that encompasses three crucial facets of Parisian life: art, consumerism, and class struggle. For the past 300 years, Paris has served as a global fashion capital and a home to many acclaimed designers and brands. Finally, Parisian fashion is dynamic, modernizing its styles and patterns to the demands of the consumer and social atmosphere of the time. Originally, the art of fashion …show more content…

Coco Chanel grew up in an orphanage where she learned how to sew—a crucial skill that sparked her interest in creating clothes. Her designs were classic and timeless; even today, her pieces have remained relatively the same. However, the idea itself that women’s clothing could be simple was so revolutionary. For special occasions, women’s dresses had to be extravagant and flamboyant; but instead, Chanel invented the concept of the little black dress, also known as the LBD. The color black had been exclusively worn for funerals, but Coco Chanel transcended the norms and embraced the color for its elegance instead. Furthermore, her line composed of suits and trousers for women, minimalist accessories and beautiful purses. Her perfume, Chanel No.5, became wildly popular, as it was the first designer-produced perfume. Overall, Coco Chanel’s ideas for timeless clothing truly expanded the possibilities for women. During the peak of her success in the mid-twentieth century, women in most Western countries experienced new rights—such as the right to vote—for the first …show more content…

Yves Saint-Laurent founded two revolutionary concepts: prêt-a-porter and le smoking. Prêt-a-porter, directly translated into “ready to wear,” is a term that describes mass-produced, factory-made clothing, lowering prices as it did not have to be specifically tailored to the consumer. Therefore, this allowed his high-fashion brand to be much more accessible to the rest of the public. In addition to prêt-a-porter, Saint Laurent’s “le smoking” was a type of tuxedo that women could wear. He also incorporated women of color to model his designs, directly fighting against discrimination in the fashion industry. Created during the height of Second Wave Feminism, Yves Saint-Laurent boldly created strides that challenged the norms of women’s

More about Fashion: The Art Of Fashion In Paris

Open Document