From Coco Chanel in the 1920's to yves Saint laurent and Valentino Garavani in the 1970's haute couture costume jewelry has been an eye-catching accessory to enhance a designer's vision. The craze for costume jewelery began during the Jazz Age with Chanel when she took costume jewelry, previously only meant to be imitations of actual jewels, and turned the designs inside out, overstating and exaggerating these objects so they would never be mistaken for the real thing. By the late 1920's the jewelry boxes of fashionable ladies held both traditional fine jewelry and Chanel "imitations" that were anything but copies and could be worn in outrageous ways ... as when flappers looped long strands of over-sized pearls around their waif-like bodies.
From this audacious start haute couture costume jewelry became increasingly extroverted and playful in the witty hands of Givenchy, Dior and Schiaparelli. Richness of color and the size of these faux-creations intended to be seen in the pages of Vogue and Elle ... grew into exaggerated sculptural forms of astonishing beauty. Costume jewelry became a hothouse for design ideas that loook as fresh today as when they first appeared. Credits: Costume Jewelry by Haute Couture. Author: Florence Muller.
The following is a brief biography on a few of the most coveted designers who change fashion for women around the world:
ELSA SCHIAPARELLI: Elsa was born September 10, 1890 in Rome, Italy. In 1927, Elsa opened her first salon selling sportswear. In 1931, Schiaparelli gained worlwide attntion with her design of a divided tennis skirt for Lili de Alvarez. Schiaparelli was also the first to use shoulder pads in her designs. From 1936 to 1939, Elsa worked with surrealist artists, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí and Alberto Giacometti. Schiaparelli designed Zsa Zsa Gabors costumes for the film Moulin Rouge (1952). In 1954, her couture house went bankrupt. Elsa moved to the USA. Elsa Schiaparelli died November 13, 1973.
PIERRE CARDIN: Pierre is the most celebrated designer of France. He is regarded among the top fashion designers around the globe today. His designs and his commercial success have made him one of the living legends among French fashion designers. Cardin had a lot of talent which he beautifully refined and made a name for himself in the fashion fraternity. Today the brand is counted among the few top brands in the world. His exquisite designs which have a strong influence of geometrical patterns rather than any female form have created a rage in the fashion fraternity. Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his space age designs.
PIERRE BALMAIN: Pierre was born in 1914 in St. Jean de Maurienne, a small village not far from Aix-les-Bains a fashionable resort in the Savoy Mountains of France. His family owned a wholesale drapery business. His mother Fracoise, worked at a boutique managed by her two sisters. Balmain's father died when he was only 7 years old and his happiest childhood memories were of playing in the shop where his mother and aunts made dresses. He played with the fabrics and set his heart on becoming a couturier
CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA: Spanish-French fashion designer. He studied dressmaking as a child and was inspired to become a couturier by a visit to Paris. By age 20 he had his own firm in San Sebastián. Over the next 15 years Balenciaga became the leading couturier of Spain. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits. Balenciaga helped popularize the trend toward capes and flowing clothes without waistlines in the late 1950s as well as the use of plastic for rainwear in the mid 1960s. He retired in 1968. Died in 1972.
CHANEL: Fashion designer. Born on August 19, 1883, in Saumur, France. With her trademark suits and little black dresses, Coco Chanel created timeless designs that are still popular today. She herself became a much revered style icon known for her simple yet sophisticated outfits paired with great accessories, such as several strands of pearls. As Chanel once said,“luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Chanel died in 1971.
CHRISTIAN DIOR: Granville, France—died Oct. 24, 1957, Montecatini, Italy) French fashion designer. He trained for the French diplomatic service, but in the financial crisis of the 1930s he began illustrating fashions for a weekly periodical. In 1942 he joined the house of the Parisian designer Lucien Lelong. In 1947 he introduced his revolutionary “New Look,” which featured small shoulders, a natural waistline, and a voluminous skirt, a drastic change from the World War II look of padded shoulders and short skirts. In the 1950s the “sack,” or “H” line, became the characteristic silhouette of his designs. He was instrumental in commercializing Parisian fashion on a worldwide scale.
HUBERT DE GIVENCHY: French fashion designer. After studying art at the École des Beaux-Arts, he designed for the Paris fashion houses of Robert Piguet, Lucien Lelong, and Elsa Schiaparelli. In 1952 he opened his own house and introduced his first collection, featuring separates, high-style coats, and elegant ball gowns. In 1957 he and Cristobal Balenciaga introduced the “sack” silhouette (clothes without waistlines). His designs for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) popularized the high-bosomed dress without sleeves or belt. In the 1960s his ready-to-wear boutiques brought high fashion at low prices to women throughout the world
CHRISTIAN LACROIX: Christian was born in Aries, France and he studied Art History at the University Paul Valery at Montpellier, France. Christian Lacroix moved to Paris in 1973 and in 1978 he became a stylist for Hermes de Paris. in 1981 Christian Lacroix was appointed Artistic Director at Jean Patou, the famous perfumer on the Champs Elysees. Finally in 1987 Christian Lacroix opened his own Couture House, which is located on Avenue Montaigne and it is now a part of LVMH.
KARL LAGERFELD: German fashion designer. After moving to Paris at age 14, he went on to create designs for such established labels as Pierre Balmain, Chloe, Valentino, and Fendi. He is best known as the creative power behind the modern revival of the house of Chanel, which he joined in 1983. Lagerfeld consistently managed to merge the spirit of the times with the chic, timeless identity established by the house's founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, making Chanel one of the most coveted and influential labels in late 20th-century fashion.
LANVIN: Jeanne Lanvin (Paris 1867 - 1946), is the oldest Parisian fashion house.
From Haute couture (1909) to men's fashion (1926), decoration (1920), and perfumes ("My Sin" in 1925, "Arpege" 1927), the young milliner became the Ambassador of French elegance; transforming her hat and clothing workshops into a veritable fashion empire. Jeanne Lanvin drew inspiration from her only child; Marguerite (later known as Marie-Blanche de Polignac, a talented opera singer). Marguerite succeeded her mother in 1946 and remained in charge until her death in 1958.
JEAN PATOU: Jean was born in Normandy, France and he started with two small dressmaking shops in Paris. The Jean Patou created Joy Perfume which was the most expensive perfume and each ounce used more than 150,000 flower petals. The House of Patou continued after his death and it is known worldwide for extraordinary perfumes, Joy, Sublime, 1000 Patou, and others. For Jean Patou special sale items online including Joy Perfume, Sublime and 1000 Jean Patou gift sets and gift baskets at up to 50% off retail prices, see the resource list below
PACO RABANNE: Francisco de Rabanne da Cuervo was born in San Sebastian, Spain in 1934. He was called Paco for short. His mother was Chief Seamstress at the Spanish salon of Balenciaga. During the Spanish civil war, the family moved to France.Rabanne studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris graduating in 1964
NINA RICCI: Maria (Nina) Ricci had much of the start she required in her early days. A renowned designer, Nina endowed almost all her life in the creative field designing for women. Being Italian by birth and French by upbringing Nina was known to create a refined and romantic collection which creates a feminine aspect in all her collections. The brand is synonymous to providing luxury products and is high on mixing the right kind of fabric required to create the desired effect.
YVES SAINT LAURENT: Algerian-born French fashion designer. He left for Paris after secondary school to pursue a fashion career and at 17 was hired as Christian Dior's assistant. When Dior died four years later, he was named head of the House of Dior. In 1962 he opened his own fashion house and quickly emerged as one of the world's most influential designers. He popularized trousers for women for both city and country wear. Metallic and transparent fabrics were prominent in his late '60s collections; in the 1970s, inspired by ethnic costume, he introduced the haute peasant look. During the 1960s and '70s his enterprises expanded to include ready-to-wear licenses, accessories, household linens, fragrances, and men's clothes in addition to his couture business. He retired in 2002 and died in 2008.
EMANUEL UNGARO: Emanuel' s fashion is bold, colorful, and exuberant. For forty years, his innovative designs have graced Paris runways.
Emanuel Ungaro was born in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France, in 1933. His father was an Italian tailor from Brindisi. Ungaro took up sewing at a very young age and, with his five brothers and sisters, learned the family tailoring business. As a youth, he loved the colors and paintings of Provence, particularly those of the impressionist, Cezanne. Ungaro moved to Paris when he was 22 and began designing for The House of Balenciaga. The rigid and silent workroom there left him yearning for a more sensual and expressive outlet for his art. After six years at Balenciaga, he left to join Courreges. In 1965, he opened his own couture fashion house, “Emanuel Ungaro.” He created his first collection with limited means - just forty meters of fabric and four seamstresses. His clothing was full of color, mixed patterns, and elegant drapings. It was a huge, critical success. With this collection, he earned an international reputation for unique color combinations, unexpected motifs, and sleek silhouettes.
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