Valentinto

Picture of Valentino, Image Cite

Valentino Garavani was born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera, Italy. He enjoyed sewing and fashion from a young age and by age 16 he wanted to just sketch dresses and become a fashion designer. He studied at the Academia Dell’Arte in Milan and at 17 he went to Chambre Syndicale de Haute Couture. When he was 19, he worked as a sketcher for five years with the couture house of Jean Desses. He eventually returned to Italy to open his own fashion house in Rome.

Jackie Kennedy's Wedding Dress by Valentino, Image cite

He was given the last slot at the last possible hour at the shows at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence but luckily, the Americans stayed behind and noticed his designs. One of the American wife of an Italian aristocrat, Consuelo Crespi, was a fan of his design and from her, his dress for her sister attracted attention from Jackie Kennedy. Valentino’s career came into the spotlight when she wore his dress for her wedding with Aristotle Onassis.

Valentino and Giammetti, Image cite

He met Giancarlo Giammetti on one fated summer day in 1960 and began a successful partnership. They marked a rise of Italian fashion that would challenge the couturiers of Paris. Giammetti would deal with the business part of the fashion so Valentino could conventrate on designing.

Valentino's Famous Red Collection, Image Cite

Valentino’s successful career spans over four decades before he officially retired after his last haute couture show on January 23,2008. His line extends from haute couture to ready-to-wear, accessories, and perfumes and is currently under the creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Works Cited

Cartner-Morley, Jess. "Goodbye Valentino: Fashion's Last Emperor Bows out." ProQuest Central. ProQuest, 24 Jan. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Donn, Allegra. "Valentino's Day: [Final Edition]." ProQuest Central. ProQuest, 4 Mar. 2006. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Gall, Nancy. "Valentino Sketched Way to a $300 Million Empire: [SA2 Edition]." 20th Century Drama. ProQuest, 5 Mar. 1988. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Stotler, Nina. "Valentino." BlogStylesight. Stylesight Inc, 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

Salvatore Ferragamo

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Salvatore Ferragamo rise to international success is a truly inspirational story with 80 years of heritage behind it. He was born on 1898 in Bonito, Italy and by the age of nine he found his calling for shoemaking after successfully creating a pair of shoes for his sister to wear on her confirmation.

He apprenticed for a shoemaker in Naples and opened his first shop in his parent’s home in 1912 at age 13. A year later he decided to go to America to work for his brothers at Boston and then he eventually moved to Santa Barbara, California and finally Hollywood where he opened his shoe-repair shop in 1923 and became known as the “Shoemaker to the Stars.” He continued to strive to make shoes that were not only pleasing the aesthetics but fit comfortably by studying the human anatomy at the University of Southern California. He was becoming popular among legendary Hollywood celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.

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Finally, he decided that American labor was not making shoes of quality that satisfied his taste, he returned to Florence, Italy for the skilled craftsmanship shoemakers. However, the brand faced financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy in 1933 but he still expanded his operations during 1950 to a workforce of 700 expert artisans cranking out 350 pairs of hand-made shoes a day.

He died in 1960 at age 60 but he did accomplish his dream of producing the most beautiful shoes in the world. His family continues to carry on that great legacy and expanded it from shoes to luxury bags, eyewear, silk accessories, watches, perfumes, and ready to wear clothing line lead by Massimiliano Giornetti.

 

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Works Cited

"The Founder and His Legend." Museo Salvatore Ferragamo. Salvatore Ferragamo Spa, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.

Gonsalves, Rebecca. "Salvatore Ferragamo Built an EMPIRE on Shoes Worn by Stars from AUDREY HEPBURN to MARILYN MONROE. Decades Later, the A-Listers are Still Fans - but Appealing to ANGELINA JOLIE and LADY GAGA Isn't enough for the Brand's New Creative Director.." The Independent on Sunday: 32. Mar 18 2012. ProQuest Central. Web. 4 Mar. 2013 .

Manganaro, Joanna. "Salvatore Ferragamo." BlogStylesight. StyleSight Inc, 24 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.

"Salvatore Ferragamo." The FMD. Fashion Model Directory, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2013.

Marc Jacobs

This week I was became very interested in the life of Marc Jacobs since his name has become very popular among women of all ages, especially the fashionable group of young women. Marc Jacob’s collection for S/S 2013 is an example of how he can bring inspiration of a distant decade to the modern fashion world.  He took the Mod scene of the 60s and added a touch of the 21^st century taste to it. He certainly has that ability to create something different from those old decades in a way that is familiar and tasteful. 

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His success however, was a slow climb and he faced some difficulties along the way. He was born on April 9 in 1963 on the Upper West Side of New York City. His father passed away when he was seven and he moved to his grandmother’s on Central Park West after his mother remarried. That was where he found youthful beauty of the crowd in the Manhattan nightlife. He graduated from Parsons School of Design in Greenwich Village and his project of 1984 brought him to the attention of Robert Duffy and the two are still business partners today. They launched the Marc Jacobs label in 1986.

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In 1987, he was the youngest design to receive the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for new talent. But he was stuck when Perry Ellis hired him for womenswear and when he tried to take it into the grunge-music scene; he was criticized by the press and was fired. For the next five years the Marc Jacobs label would have a hard time developing their name.

It finally improved when Jacobs was hired by Bernard Arnault of the LVMH empire to be the artistic director of Louis Vuitton. He was very successful with the brand and increased their sales as well as demands. His own brand is also highly popular and he even started another collection called Marc by Marc Jacobs to make it more affordable.

Works Cited

Agins, Teri. "Wearing Thin: For Marc Jacobs, A Hot Partnership Needs Alterations; Designer Who Helped Revive Louis Vuitton Line Wants More Help with His Own; A Tussle Over the Murakami." Wall Street Journal: A.1. Feb 09 2004. ProQuest Central. Web. 18 Feb. 2013 .

"Marc Jacobs." Voguepedia. Vouge, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2013

 Rushton, Susie. "FASHION SPECIAL: Making His Marc ; the High Street Hijacks His Ideas - and Even Hollywood Stars have been Known to Steal His Clothes. Susie Rushton Talks to Marc Jacobs, the Man Who Knows what Women Want. Fashion Photography by Lacey Styling by Beth Dadswell." The Independent: 10. Feb 12 2005. ProQuest Central. Web. 18 Feb. 2013 . 

Xaykao, Nivara. "Marc Jacobs." BlogStylesight. StyleSight Inc, 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2013.

Vivienne Westwood

Vienne Westwood was born in Glossop, Derbyshire in 1941 as Vivienne Swire and she became a primary school teacher of the suburban life. She was married to her first husband Derek Westwood and had her first child a year later so she did not intend to have such a path to fashion stardom. She eventually met Malcolm McLaren in 1965 and his different lifestyle inspired her to get out of the suburbs and join the fashion business with a punk inspired style.

After her split with McLaren, her designs represent the opposite of the traditional British standards and bourgeois etiquette. She began to explore the punk romanticism with the Pirates collection in 1981. She started studying the techniques used in fashion of the 17^th to 18^th centuries to reinvent it into her style. She used the corset and “mini crinis” to empower women instead of holding them to conservative standards. 

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Now, Westwood has the Red Label for ready-to-wear, Gold label for made-to-measurement garments, and Anglomania for a younger market.

Works Cited

Sherwood, James. "THE IoS PROFILE: Vivienne Westwood - Disgracefully Yours, the Queen Mother of Fashion ; Once She Shocked by Mocking the Queen. Now She's done it with Her Choice of Models." The Independent: 23. Jun 02 2002. ProQuest Central. Web. 11 Feb. 2013

Arnold, Rebecca. "Westwood, Vivienne." The Berg Fashion Library. The Berg Fashion Library, 2005. Web. 11 Feb. 2013. <http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bazf/bazf00639.xml>