Last week I shared one of my favorite Fashion Friday’s ever. It only made it to Instagram (I blame the full moon and Daylight Savings Time), so today I wanted to share it here.
I created a version of Fashion Jeopardy to discuss five key moments in The History of Fashion.
Are you ready?
1. Who won the fashion Battle of Versailles? The French or the Americans?
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, the fashion Battle of Versailles took place in 1973 as a fundraiser to restore the palace. Royalty and celebrities alike flocked to the scene to watch 5 French designers and 5 American designers duke it out on the runway.
Actually, it wasn’t meant as a competition.
But the Americans (Bill Blass, Halston, Stephen Burrows, Anne Klein and Oscar de la Renta) served it so hard the news headlines declared them the “winner” of the night.
Why was this event so significant?
Besides beating the crème de la crème of French fashion – Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Givenchy, Ungaro and Pierre Cardin – runway shows prior to this were conducted in complete silence. No music. No theatrics. You were supposed to focus strictly on the clothes.
The Americans brought both music and theatricality to Versailles and it dazzled the audience. This forever shaped the way runway shows would be presented in the future.
Also of note was that the Americans brought 11 African American models (out of 36 total) with them to walk the runway. At the time, this was groundbreaking (and awesome).
The level of innovation the Americans brought to the fashion Battle of Versailles was a turning point in how consumers experienced fashion.
2. Which designer is responsible for setting the fashion calendar as we know it?
Answer: Helmut Lang
The current fashion calendar is New York, London, Milan, then Paris. The old fashion calendar used to have the Americans showing last.
Part of this was due to the fact the Americans copied European designers. At the time, this was actually accepted by virtue of licensing agreements. The USA wanted to see what their European counterparts were doing so they could make tweaks to their own collections.
But when Helmut Lang said goodbye to Europe and moved shop to New York, he decided to show first. This created a trickle-down effect and all the Americans followed suit. Americans became savvier and were willing to branch out on their own and take more creatives risks. Helmut Lang instituted Fashion Week as we know it.
Also of note about Helmut Lang is that he is the first designer to stage an online runway show. He did it in 1998!
It was actually an accident – he wasn’t trying to be innovative. He canceled his venue 4 weeks before the show and had nowhere to host his runway. Guests received a CD-ROM of the show in the mail and a link was also posted in their website.
1998 you guys!
3. Which designer had a 17-year career as a Vogue editor before starting her line?
Answer: Vera Wang
What I love about this fact is the message that it’s never too late to pursue something you love. Vera Wang had a robust career before becoming a designer at the age of 40. She also had no formal training in the beginning. Her line started because she was getting married and couldn’t find a dress she liked. When she decided to just design it herself, a seamstress quoted her $10,000 to make the dress. She said “forget it” and took matters into her own hands.
So many designers started because they identified a void in the marketplace. Vera Wang was a key component for shaping the bridal fashion world today.
4. Which designer served as the Creative Director for the most labels simultaneously?
Answer: Karl Lagerfeld
I’ve talked about this before, but the fact that Karl designed for Chanel, Fendi and his own label for decades until his mid-eighties is downright incredible. He was the ultimate multi-tasker.
Designing for that many brands means he was creating 16+ collections per year. Most designers can’t even handle 4.
A noteworthy second is Tom Ford. He designed for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent simultaneously. When he took the lead at Gucci, they were in such a bad spot, their own Creative Director said “no one would dream of wearing Gucci.”
By 1995 Ford had taken the company to a $4 billion valuation. He also inherited the lead role at YSL and faced immense scrutiny. YSL would send him nasty letters and disparage his work to the press. It was a very unfortunate situation, both for the young designer and an ailing, unstable genius.
5. Which designer was fired from Christian Dior, sued them for wrongful termination, and won?
Most think the answer is John Galliano, but it was actually Yves Saint Laurent.
The craziest part is the reason he was fired. He created a leather jacket for their couture collection.
At the time, that was so radical, the executives immediately ousted him. He subsequently sued them and won.
It’s crazy to me to think that a leather jacket – something I absolutely consider a wardrobe staple – could be deemed termination-worthy.
The fashion world has certainly evolved.