Fashion History

1 hrs 27 mins read

The history of fashion is a history of people. During this past century, it was the couturiers and designers that laid the foundations of the modern fashion industry we know today. The liberation of women from corseted confinement, the creation of ready-to-wear clothing, logos, licensing, window displays, lifestyle brands, fashion shows, marketing and even protection of intellectual property rights, are each a direct result of the ingenuity, bravery and creative genius of individuals who were in their lifetimes stylistic and societal visionaries.

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1. Paul Poiret (1879-1944)

8 mins

Paul Poiret was the party boy of Paris who is the unsung hero of 20th century fashion. In the first instalment in BoF’s fashion history series, we learn that Poiret dressed Paris’ finest before World War I, but as the years went on, his inability to adapt to '20s modernity led to the collapse of his company.

2. Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946)

5 mins

In the second instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of Jeanne Lanvin, the milliner turned mogul who outlived the competition. She built the longest-running fashion house in the world on cloche hats, feminine clothes and a fragrance which is still around to this day.

3. Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975)

7 mins

Madeleine Vionnet built an empire by rejecting corsets and buttons in favour of the bias cut. In the third instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we find out that, at its peak, Vionnet had 26 ateliers and employed 1,000 staff, but the couturier preferred the privacy of her study to meeting clients or running a business.

4. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971)

9 mins

In the fourth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we meet the creator of the “little black dress,” who took her cues from a country in mourning. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, the designer doyenne who founded fashion’s most famous house, used her lovers’ money to establish herself and rewrote the rulebook with her mannish collections.

5. Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973)

10 mins

In the fifth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of Chanel’s arch enemy, who flirted with surrealism and brought shock factor into fashion. Elsa Schiaparelli shot to fame by mixing in Parisian society’s right circles which took her all the way to Hollywood where she dressed Greta Garbo and Mae West.

6. Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972)

8 mins

Cristóbal Balenciaga went from seamstress’s son to designer’s designer. In the sixth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we learn that the Basque couturier was self-taught and never sketched a single garment. So how did this recluse who preferred his religion to charming the press end up as such a key influence of 20th century fashion?

7. Christian Dior (1905-1957)

8 mins

In the seventh instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, meet the late bloomer who invented the ‘New Look.’ It took Christian Dior four decades to put on a show but the gallerist turned designer won over Paris from the word go.

8. Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008)

9 mins

In the eighth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study the life of the moderniser who fought to overcome his demons. French designer Yves Saint Laurent shot to fame at 21 at the helm of Dior, before going it alone. But it was only by turning his back on the French house and embracing ready to wear that he made a lasting impact.

9. Pierre Balmain (1914-1982)

8 mins

In the ninth instalment of BoF’s fashion history series, we study Pierre Balmain, the designer who preferred making money to making waves. With the support of Cecil Beaton and Gertrude Stein, the couturier found himself feted on a global stage after just one collection. But a career chasing the custom of foreign royalty and Hollywood's finest at the expense of Parisien society left his legacy in tatters.

10. Nina Ricci (1883-1970)

6 mins

In the 10th instalment of BoF’s fashion history series we study the self-taught seamstress who started her company on the insistence of her entrepreneurial son. She created democratic high fashion for the upper middle classes, and her couture could undercut Lanvin and Chanel by a third. But for this reason she was never mentioned in the same breath by high society.

11. Jean Patou (1880-1936)

9 mins

Chanel’s greatest rival in the battle for the post-World War I customer established the modern ideal of beauty when he hired long-limbed, flat-chested models with short hair from the USA.
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