Milan the Italian Fashion Capital

Milan is the second largest city in Italy with a dense population that is growing quickly. Milan is known as the major world fashion and design capital but it is also the main industrial, commercial, and financial center of Italy.  Its business district is home to Bosa Italiana Italy's main stock exchange. 


Italy's Fashion Designers  are well known for men's wear, shoes, leather goods, handbags, hats, scarfs, and gloves.  Italian designers have a reputation for using only the best textiles like leather fur, and silks. 

Milans fashion week is located in the heart of downtown Milan, Italy

Via Gerolamo Morone, 6, Milan, 20121 Italy






Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana works with young up coming designers to further grow and support the excellence of made in Italy.  Some of the organizations they partner with are N-U-DE, Next Generation (young designers 30 years or less), Fashion Incubator (fashion initiative to help young start ups), Bando Start Up Moda, and the Milan Chamber of Commerce


-Market weeks/ trade shows


Milan Fashion Week is the main market week/ tradeshow in Italy. This trade show is held semi-annually in Milan, Italy. One in February- March for the spring/summer and another in September- October for the fall/winter. Milan fashion week was established in 1958 as part of the Big 4 fashion weeks internationally, along with Paris, London, and New York fashion week. Milan fashion week is owned by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, which is a non-profit association that promotes the evolvement of Italian Fashion.


-Important Designers

Dolce and Gabbana : Alfonso Dolce 
& Stefano Gabbana
























PRADA: Miuccia Prada




Prada FALL/ WINTER 2013




Miuccia Prada




 
Mario Group is an fashion supplier based in Milan and Paris, distributes worldwide Italian clothes wholesale, handbags supplier, the most Italian luxury brands and key French brands collections.

-Each season a fashion company needs to re-invent itself by renewing around 60-80% of its range
-The manufacturing process cannot be planned in advance in detail
- Risky to plan large lots of new items in advance when sales of lines, colours and finishing can be very different from those originally planned.

Hides The know-how developed by Mario Prada, regarding the choice of different quality hides, as well as tanneries most suitable for treating a particular type of leather, are an intrinsic part of the company’s heritage that Mario Prada passed on, and that subsequent generations have been able to preserve.
The high quality of the hides has traditionally allowed Prada – and still does - to highlight the natural appearance of the leather Prada Suppliers Gucci Complimentors One of the major complimentors to the clothing sector is the leather working industry in Italy
Two major districts are famous for leather industry in Italy:Santa Croce sull’Arno in Tuscany
35 % of Italian leather production
98 % of leather soles

Around 900 companiesVigevano in LombardyShoe-market for top end of the market
17.1 % growth well above the national average in the sector Value-Chain of the Industry Yarn is used for the production of fabrics as well as knitwear
Approximately 30,000 textiles industry
16, 336 fabric manufacturers
13,296 knitwear manufacturers
47,350 companies belonging to the clothing sector Weaving and Clothing This includes producers of fabric

White Fashion Milano – Marts and Trade shows

Two showings for women in February and September
Over three hundred booths Women’s collections S/S 2014 plus beauty// Exhibitors’  per month 
Over one hundred and sixty for men’s/women’s for January 2013


 Italian Fashion of the 50's

 Italian fashion started in the 15th and 16th centuries it was mainly influenced by art of time, especially by the master piece of Michelangelo and leonardo da vinci. Italian design were well known for their extravagance and expensive accessories, such as velvets, lace, ribbons and jewels. Italian fashion for ladies changed dramatically since 1460, where skirts were gathered or pleated and would often split up to see a sleeveless under dress.

Sources: 


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Converse Chuck Taylor's Evolution of a Trend

The Converse Shoe Company was started in 1908 by Marquis Mills Converse in Malden, Massachussetts who had previously managed a footwear manufacturing firm.




The Converse company focused on providing winterized rubber soled footwear to men, women, and children.

In 1921 a shoe salesman that worked for the company by the name of Charles "Chuck" Taylor also joined a basketball team sponsored by the Converse Company called The Converse All Stars.  This led to "Chuck" redesigning the shoe, and selling the shoes while holding basketball clinics all over the country which led to popularizing the brand.



Taylor went on to make imporvements ot the shoes that he loved.  His ideas were to provide enhanced flexibility and support.  The added patch was incorporated to protect the ankle.  The shoes were soon worn by many professional basketball players and became the desired shoe for the up and coming basketball players.

It wasnt long before the All Stars were being worn by athletes in the Olympics and also American Soldiers during WWII training.





Emelie Sande in her Chucks

In the 60's thebrand took off and could be seen worn by 90 percent of professional and college basketball players.  Since the 60's the shoe has gained even more popularity with subcultures.


Cassie in her Chucks


















Click Here for Converse All Star Popularity Chart




 Sources:

 
 Coverse Archives

Chuck Taylor's on Pinterest

Wikipedia-Chuck Taylors

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Couture 101


Couture Has Nothing To Do with Being Juicy

 

 

The first thing most of us think about when we hear the word couture is Juicy.  Juicy couture is not actually couture clothing.  In fact they just named themselves couture without the actual required approval.

To obtain the actual approval and to be included in the very exclusive list of haute couture designers you first need to follow a few rules to be considered.
  • Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings. 
  • Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.
  • Must have twenty full-time technical people in at least one atelier (workshop).
  • Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising of at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear. 

If you were a part of this group you would be considered a grand couturier which means you are  a member of the French Chambre syndicale de la haute couture (list of "real" couture designers) 
and you have been a member for a min of 2 years.

This group was created in 1868 by the "father of haute couture" Charles Frederick Worth.  

Charles is actually the name that should be synonymous with couture.  Charles Worth was the originator of "haute couture" or "high sewing"

 Charles was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England, on October 13, 1825.   

Not much seems to be said about Charles education other than he seemed to have a passion for the arts and you would often find him hanging out at the National Gallery studying historic portraits where he would later find his inspiration for his own designs. 

Charles Frederick Worth
As a young man he gained experience working with two London textile merchants.  Charles found ultimately found himself supplying dressmakers with beautiful textiles and learning all about the business of dressmaking. 

Charles relocated to Paris in 1845-1846 where he started out as a salesman for  Gagelin the well known Parisian Drapers .  While working for this shop he married 
one of the firms models Marie Vernet.  

Marie would model shawls and bonnets for customers.  When Charles started making dresses for his wife many of the customers started asking for copies of the dresses.  He worked his way up and eventually opened a small dressmaking department within the company.  His designs were prize winning and gained much notoriety displayed in the Great Exhibition in London (1851) and the Exposition Universelle in Paris (1855) causing Charles to ultimately partner up and open his own shop (1858). 

After opening the new business soon Charles found himself designing for the French Empress Eugenie and after that came many more rich and titled women.  He was known for dressing royalty as well as red carpet royalty.  Mr. Worth would provide his patrons with luxurious materials and meticulous fit.  Charles Worth and his partner Bobergh shut down their business during the Franco-Prussian War.  

Charles reopened his shop as the House of Worth on his own in 1871 and took in his sons, Gaston (founder of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture) and Jean-Philippe under his wing and into his business.    Charles Worth was so much in demand and sought after that he literally had to turn business away which only made the demand for his designs that much greater.  The couture house continued to grow and flourish after his death in 1895.

 Charles was the first haute couture designer to add labels to his designs.



Charles Frederick Worth the original "haute couture" designer


Worth known for lavish textiles, metallic thread, crystal beads, and fine attention to detail  Photo Source: Met Museum

Made in Paris, France, Europe
c. 1886-87
Designed by Charles Frederick Worth, English (active Paris), 1825 - 1895. Worn by Mrs. Ernest Fenollosa. Photo Source: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Fancy dress costume, ca. 1870
Charles Frederick Worth (French, born England, 1825–1895)
Cream and blue silk taffeta, gold metallic, white silk tulle Photo Source: Met Museum 
Evening dress, ca. 1887
Charles Frederick Worth (French, born England, 1825–1895)
Silk, glass, metallic thread
Evening dress, 1892
House of Worth (French, 1858–1956)
Silk, crystal, metallic threads
From collection of St Edmundsbury Borough Council Moyse's Hall Museum
Dress designed by Charles Frederick Worth for Elisabeth of Austria painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.  Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Courtly Gala Dress with Diamond Stars 1865 oil on canvas

Sources: Wikipedia Forbes Met Museum 
Philadelphia Museum of Art

 


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Rules of Couture

There are some rules to being granted the privilege of using the word couture

 


The word couture is misused and thrown around on a daily basis.  It has become popular to call something couture or to even name it couture but true couture is not something you can pick up at your local mall.  

True couture consists of one of a kind pieces tailor made (hand sewn) for a specific person.  Only the very rich can usually afford haute coture (high stitching) with pieces starting at $25,000 often averaging $60,000 to $90,000 and even as high as into the millions.

 

The use of the term couture is governed by Chambre syndicale de la haute couture

Click the link above for the most current list of couture designers

 

See list of grands couturiers for haute couture houses.

 

The chambre syndicale de la haute couture is defined as the regulating commission that determines which fashion houses are eligible to be true haute couture houses

 
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