Learning from Fashion History

by Francoise Jeanne de Villiers

With trends and ideas being born on a daily basis, the fashion industry has established itself as a system and evolving entity that relies on development and innovation to be able to flourish. Keeping an open mind and being forward-thinking will always have a positive impact, but sometimes one needs to take a step back, take a good look at history, in order to gain a better perspective of how to approach and manage the future. Especially in fashion, where fame, fortune and infamous mistakes are eagerly recorded and made readily available to us as a learning experience.

Maybe that was the long-term goal that the Principal of North West School of Design had in mind when she gave each of her students a famous designer to research and present their findings. Although it wasn’t clearly stated the studentssubconsciously learned valuable truths about the fashion industry while listening to the presentations of fellow classmates. The Principal highlighted these truths, with many students having ‘aha’ moments, when she made her passionate speech on the revelations hidden among the pages of the biography of fashion. Revelations so worthy of recognition that I could not resist sharing it with you:

1.      Fashion would not have been anywhere if it weren’t for the media attention it received and still receives today. Designers thrive to seize the fashion headlines on a daily basis and are therefore dependable on media coverage. In some cases even bad publicity is still considered better than no publicity at all. From shock tactics to giving away their precious couture to celebrities, with the slight chance of them wearing it on the red carpet, designers will do anything to get their name out in the public and media.

2.      Collaborations in fashion have proven to be a success and co-branding is currently a big trend in fashion. In order to expand their brand and reach a wider target market, designers collaborate with various industries, such as department stores, food, interior decoration, motor industry, music, etc.

3.      Certain runway trends can be spotted over time, for example the walking style of the models. Earlier the models vivaciously strutted down the runway, whereas today the models are devoid of emotion. It is also noticeable in the body shape of female models, the curvy shape being replaced with the waif-like figure, eventually evolving into the whole androgynous look.

4.      The crisp stylistic and glamorous photography, which emerged in fashion after WWII, is clearly seen in the images of Christian Dior’s New Look and creations during the 50’s. This style of fashion photography was a clever way to promote the glamour of couture in a world tired of war and set the standard for future fashion photography.

5.      In the earlier years designers realized the value of fashion as a global enterprise and gradually shifted their focus to global suppliers and markets. Some South African designers and citizens are blaming our political history and sanctions for delaying global marketing, and are therefore only now expanding their businesses to global markets.

6.      The ability to communicate and express the concept behind your ideas, designs and ranges became a crucial trait for any designer succeeding in the fashion industry. If a designer could not write or speak about his own ranges, then it would not be possible for us, the consumer and media, to understand it.

7.      Not all designers are born into wealth and many of the big names started off working for somebody else.Most of the times designers were financed by people, rather than institutes, based on the fact that financial institutes didn’t understand the fashion industry and therefor rarely financed a fashion enterprise.

8.      A few decades ago it took up to 10 years to establish a brand. Today we can learn from the mistakes and successes of designers, enabling current designers to speed up this process, which is necessary for the fast evolving modern day market.

9.     Ethics can be a hot topic when it comes to fashion and during one of the presentations we were confronted with the question whether it is right that Givenchy sold his rights to Vuitton, only to continue designing for celebrities after retirement. Many would argue that ethics won’t get you anywhere in the fashion industry while others decide to play by the rule.

10.  Ranges and brands are born from what goes on around us. For example, war, culture, diversity and economy are all factors that have influenced fashion before. The best example is Christian Dior’s New Look, which is born as an indirect reflection of post war circumstances and living conditions.

11.  Not all of the collections from famous designers are successful, but even bad publicity still satisfies a designer’s craving for media attention. It does happen that a debut show can have immediate success, it depends on whether the collection was the right ‘mix’ for buyers and the media at that moment in time.

12.  One of the misconceptions people have of male fashion designers is that all of them are gay. When in fact, the famous Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab married his wife Claudine at the age of 25 and is the father of three beautiful boys.

13.  Not all fashion designers are extroverts or extravagant and these characteristicscannot be considered a fashion entrepreneurial trait.Creativeness is not reflected by a big personality and is certainly not the measurement for design ability.

14.  If a designer doesn’t have entrepreneurial skills and is not going to develop it in the future, he/she can still make it as a designer under an umbrella brand. For example, the designers working for Victoria Beckham. But even the independent designers make use of agents and publicists to fill the gaps in their marketing abilities.

15.  People simply stop buying a brand/product if it stops ‘talking’ to them. It is therefore important for a brand to continue marketing itself and communicating its brand message for clients to remain loyal to a brand. It is also important for a designer to know what his own brand stand for and how to communicate the key messages of his/her personal brand.

The hidden truths of fashion will continue to reveal itself as the chapters of history unfolds and evolve. It depends on us whether we are going to use this knowledge for our own good, learn from the experienced, or completely ignore it only to make the same mistakes again.In fact, it is the duty of fashion students to benefit from these revelations in order to ensure a flourishing future in fashion.