Our historical view and three periodizations
1. Age of construction [Couturier] 1858-
Couturier's cutting technique and elegance are the main narrative. Various cutting techniques were born in this era.
1858 Englishman Charles Worth establishes first haute couture fashion house in Paris.
1867 Jeanne Lanvin was born.
1876 Madeleine Vionnet was born.
1868 The Chambre syndicale de la haute couture parisienne which was created.
1883 Nina Ricci was born.
1890 Elsa Schiaparelli was born.
1895 Cristóbal Balenciaga was born.
1906 Paul Poiret establishes fashion house, first couturier to launch perfume, “Rosina”.
1913 Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel opens boutique in Deauville, France; revolutionizes and democratizes women's fashion with tailored suits.
1914 Pierre Balmain was born.
1918 World War I prompts women to work in factories, offices; women wear pants; military cut influences clothes.
1930 Hemlines drop; then gradually rise
1935 Azzedine Alaïa was born.
1936 Yves Saint Laurent was born.
1940 1945 World War II forces many Paris couture houses to close.
1942 Rei Kawakubo was born.
1943 Yohji Yamamoto was born.
1947 Christian Dior reestablishes Paris as fashion center; revives haute couture; replaces wartime austerity with the glamour of the “New Look”.
1954 Cristóbal Balenciaga introduces “semi-fit” dresses with soft, round shoulders; is the classic designer of the 1950s.
1957 Martin Margiela was born.
1960 John Galliano was born.
1961 Rick Owens was born.
1962 Yves St. Laurent opens fashion house; often uses ethnic inspirations; remains most classic modern designer, heir to Chanel, Balenciaga.
1968 Raf Simons was born.
1969 Alexander McQueen was born.
2. Deconstruction era [Ready-to-wear] 1980-
The story of an era of deconstructing the foundations built during the Couturier narrative.
1969 Comme des Garçons was started in Tokyo by Rei Kawakubo.
1980 The Antwerp Six refers to a group of fashion designers who graduated from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Azzedine Alaïa produced his first ready-to-wear collection.
Virgil Abloh was born.
The Modeliste was born.
1981 Comme des Garçons had a debut show in Paris.
Demna Gvasalia was born.
1989 Martin Margiela, his own label started. John Galliano His first show was in 1989 as part of Paris Fashion Week.
1992 Alexander McQueen founded his own Alexander McQueen label.
1993 The Council of Fashion Designers of America begins Fashion Week in New York City.
1994 Rick Owens launched his fashion line.
1995 Raf Simons launched his own menswear label.
1996 Alexander McQueen become chief designer at Givenchy.
John Galliano become chief designer at Christian Dior.
3. Database era [Internet] 2010-
A world of uncentered databases. Accumulation of individual elemental stories.
2004 Facebook, the most popular social networking service to-date, launches.
2006 Twitter, one of the most popular social networking sites worldwide, launches.
2007 First iPhone Release Date – June 29
2009 Martin Margiela has left the business. A press release announced in December.
2010 Instagram, a photo/video sharing and social media service, launches. Alexander McQueen committed suicide.
2014 John Galliano had joined Maison Margiela to take the responsibility of the creative direction of the house.
Demna Gvasalia launched the brand Vetements.
2012 Virgil Abloh founded the Milan-based label Off-White.
2014 THE MODELISTE ARCHIVE started.
2015 Demna Gvasalia became the creative director of Balenciaga.
2017 It was announced Alaia had died in Paris. He was 82 years old. The Last Couturier.
2018 Virgil Abloh artistic became director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection.
2020 Community transmission of COVID-19 was first detected in the United States in February.