Russel's Fashion Guide for Beginners

Jul 26, 2010 13:47

Fashion Guide for Beginners

My bb avalonestel asked me for a starting point so she could get to know the workings of fashion better, so I decided to make this guide.


Ever wondered how Runway Fashion works? This guide can answer your questions and it also provides examples with pictures and videos to ensure understanding. It will show an outline of how this one branch of fashion works. It might not answer everything, but it answers most of them nonetheless. Note: This only concerns the Fashion Seasons/Week aspect, as elaborating would take more time and more finger grease-neither of which I have a lot of right now. So it's basically only an outline, and if you want to go in-depth, comment and I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.

Well, first of all, you need to visit this community:

fashin

I have it bookmarked and it has the latest in fashion goings-on: new models, list of shows, discussion about said shows. But beware, though, because the members are very catty and no different from, say, some of the super-biased K-Pop stans. Basically, it's the omonatheydidnt of the Fashion World. But you can find some gems in there underneath all the bitchiness.

Also, visit Style.com for the latest fashion trends and fashion week stories.

Now, more to the basics. Fashion week is divided into two seasons: a Spring/Summer Season and a Fall/Winter Season. Then, each season is further divided into Fashion Week. Fashion Week consists of shows in four different Fashion Capitals. It comes in this order: New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, and Paris Fashion Week. It shouldn't even be called Fashion "Week" because collectively, the shows last for a little over than a month.

During each season, designers shell out their designs in quick succession with everyone. The designers themselves are constrained to show in different Weeks depending on where they're stationed. For example, Alexander Wang shows in NYFW, Burberry shows in LFW, Dolce & Gabbana shows in MFW, and Chanel shows in PFW. Some designers show multiple times in different cities: Marc Jacobs, who shows in NYFW, also shows as Louis Vuitton in PFW because he's the Creative Director for the house.





Alexander Wang Spring 2010/Burberry Prorsum Fall 2008/Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010/Chanel Fall 2009

With that, 20-30 designers set off the season with a quick succession of shows in NYFW, and some of the shows overlap with each other so it's difficult for one fashion journalist to see all of the shows. Same goes for the models. The models cannot be in the shows that coincide with each other. Therefore, their companies must pick and choose what shows they will walk in. Although if your name is bigger like, say, Natasha Poly (one of the most coveted walkers), you have more of a say in what shows you want to appear in.


Ralph Lauren Fall 2010
Newcomers have to do whatever they're told, and they have to work their way to the top (which is very difficult to do these days) if they want to get to the same level as her. So the models walk their shows and almost immediately, they are shipped off to London. Then after the shows there, they are shipped off to Milan. Then after the shows there, they are shipped off to Paris. After that, they have to have a couple of months of hiatus before the next season starts. Then the cycle starts over again.

Now, to the models. The most successful models are everywhere. Take for example Karlie Kloss.



Calvin Klein Spring 2008/Jean-Paul Gaultier Fall 2010 Couture
A newcomer in 2008, she exploded into the scene as a Calvin Klein Exclusive and she instantly became one of the most coveted models of the moment. She is, literally, everywhere in fashion: she's always in numerous shows, she's constantly in Editorials, in Campaigns, and opened for very big names whom favorite her. She is one of the most consistent walkers in fashion today: During Fall 2009, she walked at 66 shows, and the following season, walked 56. She is one of the more fortunate models, because usually, new models don't see as much as 30 at a season. To be fair, the hype around her has dissipated a bit, and she doesn't walk as much as she used to, but they're still firmly in the 50s range.

Most models aim for the #1 spot in the Top Walkers in the season. Some are very consistent-Kasia Struss and Liu Wen, while some kicked off completely-Tanya Dziahileva (she walked 55 shows in Fall 2009, placing 8th, but was completely eradicated from the list in Spring 2010).




Gucci Fall 2010/Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2009/John Galliano Fall 2009
Along with walking the most shows, they almost always want to open the shows. Opening just means they are the first model to walk. Versace and Dior/Galliano have the habit of doing this with their favorite models: Versace almost always opens with Daria Werbowy and Dior/Galliano opened with Karlie Kloss for two straight seasons in a row for both shows. Being a favorite has its perks. Karlie was the face of the Dior/Galliano Campaign, which had her noticed even more than before. So it helps to have a presence, and a beautiful face.




Versace Fall 2008/Christian Dior Spring 2010/John Galliano Spring 2010

Also, you might wonder why some big designers choose girls who have horrible walks to walk their shows. This is because the girls fit their brand. Take Sasha Pivovarova. She has a horse-stomp walk that most of fashin frowns upon, but she manages to walk tremendously big names and hold her own against some of the favorite newcomers when it comes to walking in shows. And she is only 5'7" (most of the girls are 5'10" and up, with the occasional 5'9"), and is the only one I know to have as much success as her at her height.


Versace Fall 2010

Now, let's get to the fashion houses themselves. You only really need to know the big designers to start with, and have a firm grasp of what their aesthetic is. I'll give you a rundown of some of my favorites.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

McQueen, who sadly passed away February of this year, was a revolutionary designer. His collections always elicited a large response from the Fashion World-be it awe or disgust. There is never a grey part in the responses. It's either Oh, my God, that is the single most beautiful thing I have ever seen! or What the hell is he thinking with this atrocity? His aesthetic is very over the top-a hyperbole. Whether it be great flowing gowns of every flower known to man or shoes that look like they came from the very depths of Hell itself.




Alexander McQueen Spring 2007/Alexander McQueen Spring 2010
Just like his clothes, his sets are also very elaborate-the only other designer coming close is Galliano. Here are some of the shows I absolutely adored from him because I appreciated all the effort put into making these shows and the unbelievably great responses he got as payoff.

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Alexander McQueen Spring 2005: Chessboard

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Alexander McQueen Fall 2009: Recycled Beauty

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Alexander McQueen Spring 2010: Plato's Atlantis

And last but not least, one of my favorite fashion moments in fashion history.

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Alexander McQueen Spring 1999: Mechanical Majesty

He was absolutely one of the greatest minds of the 21st century Fashion World and his death was a terribly great loss.

JOHN GALLIANO

John's concepts are very poignant and striking. Each show he puts on stays in one's mind long after the show has finished. He himself said that he cannot make garments without a sort of headpiece involved, and it is what he is widely known for. He is on par with McQueen for his concepts, which are his own representations of other cultures-their attire and their customs. Here are some of my favorite shows from House Galliano.

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John Galliano Fall 2007: Paris Flashback

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John Galliano Fall 2009: Russian Folklore (The sound for the second part doesn't work, sadly)

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John Galliano Spring 2010: Futuristic Hollywood Romance

CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURE

Galliano also designs for Dior, so he makes an appearance twice. The Ready-To-Wear collections aren't very remarkable and stroke-inducing, but his Couture collections are what encapsulates couture for me. Very elaborate gowns-some of which look nearly impossible to create much less think up-with long flowing trains and exaggerated, super-volumized dresses are what comes to mind when I hear Dior Couture. That promise, however, is deteriorating as of late, as Galliano refuses to return to Dior's core and only shells out what seem to be half-made garments that are not even elaborate enough in the first place to be called "Couture" in Dior standards.

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Christian Dior Spring 2004 Couture: Egypt

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Christian Dior Spring 2007 Couture: Madame Butterfly/Geishas (IMO the best show I have ever seen) [The last video cannot be embedded so I have provided a link instead]

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Christian Dior Fall 2008: 1950s/Fresh Couture-Restrained and Refined

And the last I'm going to talk about (because my fingers are getting sleepy) is Chanel.

CHANEL

Chanel, Chanel, Chanel. Where do I even start? Whenever most people hear the word "fashion", Chanel pops into their mind. Why? Because Chanel is the single most powerful fashion entitiy to have ever graced the Fashion World. Karl Lagerfeld is the Creative Director for the Chanel Fashion House and manages to stick to Chanel's roots with each show. As of late, however, his visions are becoming more and more repetitive. Stunning, but repetitive, usually because he focuses on one great aspect of the line: Peacoats. In almost every single show he's ever done, there are peacoats in copious amounts. He manages to twist some into a way that makes it not so monotonous, but still manages to retain those qualities that make some people glaze their eyes over and ask What's next? In spite of that, he has produced some stunning shows, and here are some of my favorites.

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Chanel Spring 2009: Rue Cambon

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Chanel Pre-Fall 2009: Paris-Moscou

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Chanel Fall 2009: Belle Brummell/Collars and Cuffs

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Chanel Spring 2010: Barn Beauties

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Chanel Pre-Fall 2010: Paris-Shanghai

Also, here's some designers you should give a try, and a simple explanation for their concepts:

Dolce & Gabbana: Obvious Sexuality
Versace: Cutting-Edge Sexuality
Jean-Paul Gaultier: Eccentric Sexuality
Viktor & Rolf: Twisted Beauty

That's the gist of it. I specifically left out a list of models you should know/love because I think that finding out for yourself is better, because I don't know the types of girls you will love and hate. Now go and explore the wonders of the fashion world, and catch up with Fall 2010 like what I'm doing so we can spazz about it together! If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities.

Sources

Pictures
style.com

Videos
lucianoburgos
ishedonism
michelepierro
ebesp
maroquin
bengtenrique1
maxlinden2630
lamagnifiquemode

Other Information
style.com
runwaym

fashin, fashion, video, guide

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