TEXTILE DESIGN
The Mysterious Cycle: Fashion Repeats Itself
The fashion cycle has been happening since people started wearing clothes. A basic fashion continues eto repeat thougou history. Trends and fashions seem unique to customers who buy and wear the fashion during a particular decade. In clothing skirt lengths change over the years. The hem of a dress or skirt cycles from shorter to longer over decades. This essay discusses the theory of fashion cycles and some examples in fashion and fabric. Fabrics of many varieties and compostions are used for fashion and interior design. There are new styles that are affecting fashion, textiles and interior design but each is developed from something in history. A new idea that has made a big impact is combining designs from nature (biomimicry) with fabrics for clothing and interior design; some say that this new and not recurring but this paper will provide historical examples.
Philosophy
Agnes Brook Young was instrumental in demonstrating the fashion cycles when her book Recurring Cycles of Fashion: 1760-1937 was published in 1937. “Fashion is evolution without destination.” (Young, 5) Fashion can be defined as “A style that is popular in the present or a set of trends that hav3e been accepted by a wide audience.” (Brannon, 403) The first cycle is the time that one new style takes to be initiated into the market until the style goes out of fashion. (See fig. 1) Another cycle is how a fashion element recurs over time. (See fig. 2) Colors also cycle especially in locations where there are seasonal changes in the weather. Color has elements that go in and out of style: warm versus cool colors (temperature), lighter versus darker (value), and clear grey to darker grey (intensity) and the colors or the hues.
A fad is a type of fashion trend that does not last very long. Only a few groups pick up the fad but soon it fades away “because it is not supported by corresponding lifestyle changes.” (Brannon, 403) A difference between classic styles and fads is the duration of time consumers continue to buy the style. Fads do not have a connection to history or to culture that makes them last for years and even decades. A ‘classic’ style is easy to trace through history because it is the type of style that remains recognizable. Examples would be the style of the former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy or the actress Audrey Hepburn. Singers like Madonna and Beyonce are trend setters today but so far they set fads it will take time to see if their fashions will become classic.
Figure 1. Difference between fad and classic.
Source: (Brannon, Fashion Forecasting. 3rd ed. 2010, 7)
There are many design detalis that can be tracked through the years such as pockets, collars or plunging necklines, types of sleeves, and wide or slim pants. The changing length of skirts is popular for everyone from fashion historians to economists for tracking the fashion and societies changes. Changes in fashion including skirt lengths are due to many impacts from the social environment. White and Griffiths (2000) have written about an example of how the economy effects fashion. “By the 1990s there was a growing anxiety, exacerbated by the economic recession, about fashion that flaunted their expense so flagrantly. (177) They observed that consumers had been exposed too much to designer labels. The concept of designer labels had become over saturated by advertising, media, entertainment articles, and celebrity gossip during the 1980s. (White and Griffiths, 177) During the age of flappers and jazz, the1920s show fashion silouhettes for women that are femine and skirts become shorter. (See fig. 2) Then during the depresson of the 1930s skirt hems were lowered to midcalf. See fig. 2) The years 1941 to 1945 reflect the seriousness of World War II. Women’s fashions are tailored and women wear slacks; skirts are shorter. (See fig. 2)
Figure 2. Skirt length cycles through the 1900s.Change in skirt lengths.
Source: Fundamentals of Fashion, n.d.
Economists have become interested in hemline lengths because of the question “Does the length of women’s skirts go up and down following the StockMarket?’ (See fig. 3) Dr. George Taylor, a professor at the University of Pennsylvannia, developed the ‘Hem Index’ to try to see if the length of skirts had in similarity to the changes in prices of stocks. The Hem Index turned out to demonstrate that when the economy is good skirts are shorter, but when the economy is bad, the skirts are longer.
Figure 3. Hem Index
Source: Churchyard, 2008, Wikipedia
Another more abstract graph was developed in 2005. It shows the cycles in hem lengths more clearly. (See fig. 4) The bottom of the graph marks when skirt hems are floor length. The nest step higher is for ankle length and the highest is to show knee length hems. An approximation was used to summarize trends in general from 1805 to 2005. The women who were the skirts were the from the upper to middle classes. The graph shows that floor to ankle length skirts were in vogue for over two centuries. And then skirts became shorter during WWI, then longer briefly and then during the 1920s knee length hems. (See fig. 4) During the late 1960s mini skirts became popular. Some women still wore mini skirts during the early 1970s, but “granny style” dresses that were usually ankle length became popular. (Churhyard, 2005, Wikimedia) In fact women felt free to choose their hemlength or even to wear slacks after the early 1970s. In the 1980s minis were back but not as an overwhelming must wear for all women. The grey portion of the graph shows the time women started making choices instead of religiously following a trend.
Figure 4. Skirt lengths based on trends.
Source: Churchyard, H. 2008, Wikipedia.
Fashion forecasters have many details to take into account including to look carefully at the designs of past trends and why the trends changed in the past. Next the changes in the real world at the time being studied needs to comparted to the forecasts of the time. A list needs to made of societal conditions that might make an impact on new trends. Finally there are many mathametical tools are available to forecast. (Brannon, 2008, 8) The diffusion of an innovation can be graphed. (See fig. 5) “The diffusion process maps the response to the innovation over time; the diffusion curve (depicts the) idealization of the process. (Brannon, 2008, 41) The first part of the diffusion curve is very important because it is when the new designs are being introduced because they are being worn by “innovators.” The way the original style is shared through videos and magazines is called the ‘buzz.’ “Opinon leaders” who spread the buzz about new fashion designs push the rise to the peak by convincing more people to adopt the new design. The middle is the peak of the diffusion curve where the curve is at the highest point is the time when the largest numbers of adoptees have accepted the design. And then the last part of the diffusion curve shows the decline and then the end of the trend. A trend becomes obsolete unless it has become a classic.
Figure 5. Stages of the fashion cycle.
Source: Brannon, Fashion Forecasting. 3rd ed. 2010, p. 43.
Forecasting, cool hunting or trendspotting are all names for the same strategy of predicting future trends in order to create designs and styles for consumers before the competitor does. (Brannon, 59) In 1994 Brian Godbold was named number 8 of the “one hundred most powerful people in Fasion” in The Face a British fashion magazine. In 1998 Goldbod was named number 15 of Elle’s hottest names in fashion.” During that period he was working at Marks & Spencers as the Divisional Director of Design. (White and Griffiths, 103) His first job was designing for a newly established line for young people who bought junior sportswear. In 1969 he was working for as designing coats and suits at Wallace in London. The trend for 1969 was mainly for short coat. Instead of manufacturing only short coats like the other manufactures Golbod added some long coats. The long coats sold out so Wallis stopped producing short coats and produced only long coats. The long coats were called ‘The Maxi Coat’ and they all sold out. Goldbod described his experience as using his intuition. “The prediction of future trends is an instinct and the career of a desinger is made or broken on a hunch about the length of a coat” he explained. (White and Griffiths, 108)
The trickle-up and trickle-down theory have been used for many years to describe how trends are started and move through groups of consumers. The trickle-up theory is also known as the bubble-up theory. The idea is that something interesting and popular in a local region can be recognized by innovators or even by the media. The local fad then becomes a fad that other neighborhoods across the country want to copy. Finally what used to be an isolated street fashion ends up in designer collections. The opposite theory proposes that popular fashions are caused by a trickle-down effect. This is an older theory from when the aristocratic and rich elite of countries were the only people with money to spend on fashionable items. The trickle-down efffect is not used as much now as it was in the past. Now the countries of the world are linked together with the Internet. Groups of consumers can be in touch with each other almost instantly. Computer technology has changed how innovations spread and how products are purchased.
Susan Ashdown (1997) is a professor of textiles and apparel. She teaches her student’s how to work together on design products ‘virtually.’ In other words students are miles apart but they can still work together when they are both on their computers at the same time. Ashdown uses new computer technology to make the textile and apparel design sector computer integrated.
The apparel industry has been using computers for years for design, but there hasn’t been much of a move toward a computer technology, in which images and information are shared electronically. . . Most of the industry is made up of small companies that focus on one particular part of the process. These small companies need efficient ways to communicate with one another as they design and produce clothing.” (Ashdown, 13)
Rodemann (1999) obseved that the movement toward environmentally friendly (or green) fabrics and processes that in the design of interiors it does not make sense to take an existing room and destroy only to replace a new design. Instead designers are moving away from fads to classical interior design styles. Rodemann (1999) believes that “a new design ethic has emerged, which will extend to other types of commercial environment.” (222)
Clothes
Charles Dana Gibson The American illustrator, Charles Dana Gibson made the ideal American woman due to his sketches of the Gibson Girl. (See fig. 6) The Gibson Girl silouhette and attitude was popular in the 1890s. This decade was part of the Victorian Era. The fashion silouhette for women was like an hourglass. The style was to use corsets for a tightly cinched waist and the add big bustles on the back. Corsets were usually made of
Figure 6. The Gibson Girl, pen and ink drawing, Charles Dana Gibson (1867-1944)
Source: http://stylethroughhereyes.blogspot.gr
whalebone. (See fig. 7A) Newspapers had advertisements for corsets with the rest of the ads. (See fig. 7B) The hourglass shape decreased and made way for differnent types of silouhettes like the columnar look for flappers in the 1920s. Corsets can back in the 1950s as one piece girdles with bra, hip slenderizing and tabs to hold up silk stockings. (See fig. 7D) The modern corsets are advertised as slimming or slenderizing undergarments that also offer a push-up bra. (See fig. 7D and 7E)
A B C D E
Figure 7. Corsets from 1878 to 2013.
Source: (A) Google Images from Le Corset, 1891 (B) The Saint Paul Daily Globe, 19 March 2010
(C) 1950s Ad www.brassbolts.gr/2012/03 (D & E) Modern corsets from Web Ads, Google Images
Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1925) was a great fashion innovator in Paris. He was the most influential designer for fifty years, until the close of the 19th century. He became known as the “father of haute couture” and “the first courturier” through his “aggressive self-promotion.” (Krick, 2000) Napoleon the Third came back into power in France in 1852 and his wife, the Empress Eugénie, was a patron of Worth. France’s economy and stability improved after Napoleon III set up the Second Empire in France. This allowed the aristocratic women to order their “morning, evening and afternoon dresses” as well as their ball gowns made with “dramatic fabric and lavish trimmings.” (Krick, 2000) Corsets were made from expensive, gorgeous fabrics with seemingly endless choices in fabric design. (See fig. 8 A and B) Corsets from the last half of the 1800s were works of art now display at the Metropolitan Museum. Celebrities are wearing corsets demonstrating that corset styles are adaptable to new trends. (See fig. 9 & 10) Designer Karen Millen created to simple dress with corset and skirt. One has a full skirt (See fig. 11A) and the other has a slender silhouette with a double slanted peplum at the waist (See fig. 11B)
A B
Figure 8. Gorgeous corsets for the late 1800s
Source: (A) Luxury hourglass corset, 1878 (B) European silk damask, 3rd quarter of 1800s
www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/
Figure 9. Singer Carrie Underwood in modest corset
Source: 46th Annual Academy of Country Music, 3 April 2011, Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Figure 10. Emma Watson in corset out of a tapestry like fabric
Source: Glastonbury Festival, 25 June 2010, Claire Greenway/Getty Images
A B
Figure 11. Two Karen Millen designs with corset styling
Source: www.runwaybutik.com
The peplum was introduced in the 1950s and now the style is being recycled for Spring 2013. (See fig. 12) Vogue’s Hutchin’s says “with fashion's gaze firmly resting on the waist, there's no better way to dress your midriff than with a peplum - it's spring's big silhouette story. (Vogue, 2012)
A B C D.
Figure 12. Peplums at the waist known as ‘wasp waist’ in the 1950s.
Source: (A) Wasp Waist, 1950, http://corsetreturn.topcities.com B. Alexander McQueen, Vogue, Spring/Summer 2012 (C) Marchsa design, Vogue, Spring/Summer 2012 (D) Jason Wu, Vogue, Spring/Summer 2012 C,D & E photos by GoRunway
A B
Figure 13. Vintage jazz age garden party dress from the 1920s and modern design from 2012
Source: (A) June 19, 2012, www.shawneedispatch.com) (B) Evening gown to celebrate the new Gatsby movie
Jazz Age style dresses are always popular as a style for costumes and they also cycle through comebacks like they di in 2012. The flapper dresses made in the 1920s are made so well and so beautifully that they can still be worn. The Jazz Age was celebrated with a Garden Party in Shawnee last year. The town’s curator of education, Sharron-Uhler reported “The dresses are truly dazzling. The hand-stitched beadwork and fur and velvet trim have held up beautifully over the past 90 years.” (See fig. 13 A) A new movie about the Gatsby years has been made and the costumes in the movie have inspired a comeback on the runway and at award shows. (See fig. 13 B)
A B C D
Figure 14. Sheer fabrics
Source: (A) “Works of Art” 1983, MetMuseum (B) Ye Olde Fashion, http://yeoldefashion.tumblr.com
(C& D) Vogue, 2008, PhotographerMarcio Madeira, VOGUE.COM
"Transparency gives the impression of lightness, elegance and movement. It works in layers and the interplay of light adds another dimension" (Sophia Kokosalaki, 2013, vogue.com) In the 1810s the sheerness of wedding dresses some brides chose to wear was though to be scandaluous. (See fig. 14 A) About a century later the same degree of transparency was used in the flapper dress of the 1920s. (See fig14 B) The Spring/Summer 2013 runway choices demonstrated that sheers are back in a big way. The way sheer and transparent fabrics are used can be surprising. Designer Fendi (2008) showed a study, transparent white fabric over skirt to wear over orange-colored shorts or maybe over golden capris. (See fig. 14 C) “Chic underpinnings are essential: choose sporty bodysuits, tonal camisoles or Fifties-style lingerie,” suggests a Vogue style commentator.
A B C D
Figure 15: (A) Design by Monique Lhuillier (B) Design by Zuhair Murad (C & D) Corsets with crinoline skirts 1939 (black) and (2011) white
Source: (A)TheFashionCourt.com, Gucci (B) Vogue gallery, Spring/Summer 2013, vogue.com) (C) “Works-of-Art” 1973, Metropolitan Museum (D) Wedding dresses, 2013, http://sell.pakuya.com
Beyonce wears a traditional knee length ‘little black evening dress’ but with lots of sequins for sparkle. (See fig. 15A) Monique Lhuillier, a Gucci designer, presented a gourgeous floor length evening gown but the skirt is sheer and the high necked dress is backless. (See fig. 15B) the late 1930s the Great Depression was finally coming to an end so people were going out in the evening again. Elegant and simple corset and crinoline evening gowns is one design which was worn. The black color is serious and the waistline has a lengthened black peplum. (See fig. 15C) In 2011 a popular white corset and crinoline wedding dress is almost twin to the black dress for 1939. (See fig. 15D)
Figure 16. Timeline for women's pant suit styles
Source: Fundamentals of Fashion, n.d.
Textiles
Fabrics also have cycles. Flax is made into hemp cloth and used for clothing items that are very durable eco-friendly. Bamboo and jute are popular for making eco-friendly clothing Today natural fibers are popular for clothing, furntiure upholstry and interior decorating. Gail Baugh, the author of The Fashion Designer’s Textile Directory includes a section on the future of fabric production. She warns “Clothing consumption in the future can only be sustained when resources are conserved and workers in the clothing industry are respected.” The textile has a new awareness of the damage bad practices can do to the environment. Now the cycle of textile composition is cycling back to the use of natural fibers. The use of natural fabrics like all products has both benefits and negative impacts. Natural fibers are attractive because they are renewable and they are comfortable to wear. In the past natural fibers were used out of necessity but in contemporary times is made from natural fibers are considered luxury items. There are many negatives that must be addressed to ensure that the usee of natural fibers will be sustainable. Baugh (2011) lists the main negative impacts as “excessive use of chemicals and water; chemicals and wastewater drained from cropland; too much land devoted to fiber production that is needed to grow food; large quantities of fiber and fabric discarded before garment production.” (p. 15) A recurring theme about cycles is that there are similarities to history as well as differences when a cycle returns. The contemporary popularity of natural fibers has many more consumers purchasing products which increases the negative environmental impacts. On the other hand the modern world has many new technologies to solve the problems. Many manufacturers are including sustainability as a goal in their mission statements.
A B
Figure 17. Bamboo T-shirt and Hemp hats
Source: Trevz, www.trevz.com
“Walk with Soul” T-shirts are made from bamboo. (See fig. 17A) Jute is used to make hats and other sturdy canvas items. (See fig. 17B) Jute is the secon most used vegetable fiber for making fabric after cotton. In India high quality canvas is used as rainwear. Flax is grown and to make linen.
Fabric quilts cycle in and out of popularity as a hobby and as decorative items. In the mid-nineteenth century Hasrouk fabrics were popular for making quilts. (See fig.18) Adeline Harris Sears of Rhode Island made a unique quilt in the mid-1950s. The quilt blocks are made from silk. Sears sent each block to a famous and asked for an autograph. The finished quilt including all the inked signatures is considered a work-of-art and is on display at the Metropolitan Art Museum. Jan Dicinto is a modern day quilter who teaches quilting on her web blog. She uses technology and contemporary items as inspiration for her quilt designs. She was inspired by shelving designed to hold CDs. The resulting cube quilt in chartreuse and aqua is part of her Shades of Grey series. (See fig. 19) Now inspiration is not the only way technology is involved in quilt making. Artists use digital technolgy to make printed fabric with photographs and computer graphics. The digital quilt titled “The Nature of Things” (measuring 52.5 by 108 inches)was made by Michael James. The quilt is made with digitally developed and printed cotton and reactive dyes.” (See fig. 20) The artist machine pieced and quilted the piece. In the past quilts were hand sewn. Today thousands of quilts are still hand sewn but many use the latest technologyfor sewing machines to make quilts. Before the Industrial Revolution quilts were sewn by hand at home and woodblock printing was used to decorate the fabrics used. The textile industry used machines to print fabrics but the the embellished patchwork designs made at hoome “took firm hold of the imaginations of American and British quiltmakers, to the extent that simulated patchwork by the yard became commonplace in dry-goods shops.”
Figure 18. American Quilt designs changes through time
Source: www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1996
A B
Figure 19. (A) CD Shelves. (B) Shades of Grey by quilter Jan Dicinto
Source: Daisy Jane.typepad.com
Figure 20. “The Nature of Things” Top front of quilt by Michael James
Source: http://www.fiberarts.com
Fashion designing is changing back to the old. In other words fashion designers are taking discarded clothes and farbric pieces and making them new again. Patchwork quilts always did this. Now haute corte is recycling an old idea in order to create clothes and costumes. Designer Jimmy Ku chose clothes from a Friends of the Earth recycling bin to win a prize for clothing design (See fig. 21)
Figure 21: Fashion designer choosing materials
Source: EcoChic Design Awards 2012, Hong Kong (http://hk.ecochicdesignaward.com/)
A B C D. E F G H
Figure 22:Mading something old new again reusing historically popular designs
Source: EcoChic Design Awards 2012, Hong Kong (http://hk.ecochicdesignaward.com/)
Designs created for the EcoChic Design Awards 2012 contest demonstrate not only recylcing clothes but recycling tradtional clothing designs with new looks and new materials. Designer Yuri Man used an old dress and fourrecylced lace bras to make a green mini-skirt dress. Over the top is a corset made with two bras that had been tossed out by some and one old lace top. (See fig. 22A ) Another up-dated corset was created by Aman Chung, worn over a grey dress made from recycled cotton. (See fig. 22B) Factory waste fabric and recycled cotton was used by Aman Cheung to create a “zero-waste sheer skirt and up-cycled top and belt from left over fabric.” (See fig. 22C) (2012, hk.ecochicdesignaward.com) Reclaimed nylong ropes were used by Eric Wong to up-date a black-knotted dress. The style recycles the free and feathery look of old styles. (see fig. 22C) A super-mini dress designed byKelvin Wan makes a mini-skirt from the 1970s seem long. (See fig. 22D) The historical design of kimono was updated at the EcoChic Design Awards 2012 “eco-ready-to-wear-kimono-jumpsuit-made-from-pre-consumer-waste-by-junky-styling.” (See fig. 22E) (2012, hk.ecochicdesignaward.com) Oliver Tolentino made the world’s most unusual kimono in blues and greens from plastic straws and water bottles and cloth farbric scraps. (See fig. 22F) A 1950s coat and dress set was updated to a cleaner chic look. (See fig. 22G) The dress is floral and the coat a gold brocade. The sheer look goes in and out of style. Sometimes sleeves and the neckline are sheered but many of the new fashion styles show a sheer skirt over short-shorts. (See fig. 22H)
The raw materials used to make clothing and interior decorating items have stayed the same but how they are used is much different in 2013. Resins, wood, flax, limestone, natural dyes and jute are now used to create interior floors, furniture and room accessories in eco-friendly processes. (See fig. 23) Design is still using nature as an inspiration but now there is a different twist. Instead of how nature looks on the outside, the microscopic shapes and colors of nature are being mimicked. (See fig. 24) Jute has been used for centuries but now the look for the home is comfortable and innovative; jute is not used to only make canvas. (See fig. 25) Nature in its natural setting is being used as the inspiration to make flooring and tiles in order to bring the colors and atmosphere of nature into the home. (See fig. 26)
Figure23. Raw materials from nature (Forbo Flooring)
Figure24. A. Aesthetic Inspiration from Blue Green Algae (Pininterest and Google images)
Figure 20. B. Jute (Google images)
Figure 26. C. Water and rocks (Marmoleum, Forbo Flooring)
Times are changing and it is hard to keep up with new fashion trends. Even though new designs and fabrics owe a lot to history and tradition they always have a new look and feel when fashion begins a new cycle. A look at the new fashions displayed on runways for Spring/Summer 2012 and 2013 shows new colors and shapes based on classic designs that show up again and again.
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