French Fashion and Designers

French Fashion

France has always been associated with fashion and couture. This is probably due to Paris being one of the fashion capitals of the world. The "haute couture" as we know it today originated in Paris. The beginning of the fashion craze in France is largely linked to Louis XIV and the royals of that time. France today is home to many fashion houses and events such as Paris fashion week.

Some of the most well-known French fashion designers are: Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton and Coco Chanel.

Christian Dior
Dior was originally interested in art, he sold art when he was young to make money. When the gallery he sold it in closed down he began working for other fashion designers. In 1964 he set up his own fashion house and he completely changed the clothes that women of that time were used to. As of 2010 Dior owns 210 locations worldwide.

Louis Vuitton
At the age of thirteen Vuitton left his home and worked doing odd jobs in Paris for two years until he was taken in as an apprentice. Once he had his name established, nineteen years after he left home, Vuitton set up his label originally making trunks and luggage and even today he is most well-known for his "speedy" bags. (below)

Image From: http://allwomenstalk.com/

 Coco Chanel
Chanel was born in 1883 and had early aspirations of being a performer on stage. It was when she was a performer when she got the name "Coco" because her real name is Gabrielle. In 1910 she opened a boutique for hats mainly and three years later she opened her first clothes boutique. As of 2010 there are 310 Chanel locations worldwide.

Fashion Weeks Around the World

Fashion weeks are fashion events or trade shows. It is a chance for designers to display their latest collection that season to the public and the media. They are usually held twice a year (spring/summer and autumn/winter) in major fashion cities. They are usually held around February and September.
The most well-known would be the four fashion weeks in the fashion capitals of the world: London, New York, Milan and Paris but they are held basically all over the world.Some can be genre specific such as swimwear and bridal fashion weeks.

New York Fashion Week
New York held the first fashion week ever in 1943. It is still the first in the year to be held and the other cities follow. It was originally set up to distract people from the French fashions in WWII. The most recent was held from September 5th - 13th for the Spring 2013 collections. The video below is a summary of the trends.

 

Video From: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNewYorkTimes

London Fashion Week
The first London fashion week was in 1984 and it was organised by the British Fashion Council. It claims that over 5000 press and buyers attend. It has been sponsored by Toni and Guy and Mercedes-Benz. Just recently London Fashion Week began showing menswear for the summer 2012 collections and in spring 2010 it began broadcasting some shows live on the Internet.

Milan Fashion Week
Milan fashion week was established in 1958. It is owned by the National Chamber for Italian Fashion. It shows menswear as well as womenswear like the other "Big Four". The events that are seen as the most important are the women's ready-to-wear and the Milano Moda Donna shows.

Paris Fashion Week 
Paris fashion week is always the last of the four to take place with the latest having been from September 25th to October 3rd. It was set up by and run by The Fédération Française de la Couture, du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. Each year there are around 150 men's and women's ready-to-wear fashion shows in Paris fashion week.