30-SECOND FASHION The 50 key modes, garments and designers, each explained in half a minute Editor Rebecca Arnold Contributors Emma McClendon Katerina Pantelides Julia Rea Rebecca Straub Alison Toplis Olga Vainshtein Illustrations Nicky Ackland-Snow CONTENTS Introduction Designers GLOSSARY Paul Poiret Madeleine Vionnet Coco Chanel Christian Dior Cristóbal Balenciaga Yves Saint Laurent Profile: Alexander McQueen Vivienne Westwood Marc Jacobs Themes & Inspirations GLOSSARY Textiles Art Profile: Rei Kawakubo Film Sport Androgyny Eroticism Nostalgia Fashion Cities & Centres GLOSSARY London Paris New York Milan Profile: Miuccia Prada Tokyo São Paulo India China The Fashion Calendar GLOSSARY Seasons Shows Models Buyers Profile: Anna Wintour Editors Hair & Make-up Front Row From Couture to High Street GLOSSARY Haute Couture Savile Row Ready-to-Wear Menswear Profile: Paul Smith Fragrances, Beauty Lines & Accessories High Street Collaborations Ethical Issues The Media GLOSSARY The Glossies Editorial Advertising Style Magazines Stylists Profile: Susie Bubble Blogs Street Style GLOSSARY Teddy Boys & Girls Punk Street Photography Profile: Bill Cunningham Hip-hop Sapeurs Lolitas Appendices Resources Notes on Contributors Index Acknowledgements INTRODUCTION Rebecca Arnold What makes ‘fashion’, rather than just ‘clothes’? Is it the way a garment is designed? Or the way it’s sold? Or maybe it’s the way it’s worn? All of these aspects play a part, but the main thing defining fashion is its time-based nature. Built around seasonal shows, the word ‘fashion’ implies a relationship to change and movement. Fashion shapes the type of clothes, accessories, grooming and even the ways we style ourselves. After all, fashion’s second meaning is to shape, to mould, to create something. We fashion ourselves, and in turn, fashion makes us. How this book works We begin by looking at some of the iconic Designers whose work has defined the ‘silhouette’ through the decades, from industry pioneers such as Paul Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet and Coco Chanel to modern-day trendsetters including Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs. We then look at the Themes & Inspirations behind fashion designers’ work, such as the choice of textiles and the influence of film, sport and social trends. But how is fashion created? And where do we find out about it? In Fashion Cities & Centres, we look at fashion as an international industry. Although the main designers’ collections are shown twice a year in the four most established cities – Paris, London, New York and Milan – the past 20 years have seen the growth of new locations and fashion centres for example, Tokyo, São Paulo and Sydney. As countries such as India and China emerge as sites of both fashion design and media, rather than just production, the industry’s global outlook has become ever more important. Fashion cities and countries have also become associated with particular styles; for example, London is often seen as the home of edgy fashions. The Fashion Calendar then looks in detail at how the industry is organized around annual ‘fashion weeks’ at these cities and the roles of the various people who arrange and sell the fashion. From court designers of the 18th century to the present day, the fashion silhouette has evolved to reflect the influences of the times. From Couture to High Street examines how designers and manufacturers, including Alexander Wang and Prada, produce fashion for different levels of the market – from different types of clothing, such as evening wear or sportswear, to different types of wearers, including business women and teenagers. In each case, specific designers and brands create clothes allied to their own outlook, and in connection with their client base. Designers and brands then rely on a whole chain of different professionals to enable them to promote and sell their work. The Media, from magazines such as Vogue to blogs including Susanna Lau’s Style Bubble, plays a key role in disseminating not just images of new collections and reviews of fashion shows, but also creating a mood and emotional resonance that connects fashion to consumers on a deeper level. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as the fashion industry became increasingly professionalized, new subsidiary industries evolved to support its growth – from advertising to public relations. In the century and a half since then, wider changes such as the emergence of international travel and digital media have spread fashions further afield, and given more democratic access to fashionable dress. It is important to remember that it not just the fashion industry that generates new styles – Street Style, the subject of the final chapter, has played a significant role, especially in the way younger people dress. From from punk to Japanese Lolitas, it demonstrates the importance of self-fashioning, as well as keeping up with the latest fashions seen on the runway and the red carpet. Throughout this book you’ll find profiles of some of the key names from the fashion industry, including Miuccia Prada, Anna Wintour, Paul Smith and Bill Cunningham. Each entry is broken down into three parts – the 3-second sketch encapsulates the subject, the 30-second catwalk, delivers the in-depth treatment and the 3-minute detailing provides more information about the topic at a glance. A global industry – the only constant with fashion is that it changes, reinterpreting the past and embracing the future.