Just like the papyrus scrolls on which the Egyptians recorded the lives of the first antique sedentary civilizations, the kimono was the medium for the history of Japan, expressing eras, techniques, and the usage of various materials. This key element in Nippon and broader Asian culture has traversed centuries and customs alike. Originally worn by...
The 60s were a revolutionary phase in fashion design. The image of the woman borrowed from the 50s, with very clear forms, was thrown out in favor of a flat and more geometric silhouette. Traditionalists would hesitate to call him a couturier. He was nicknamed “the fashion bomber” or “the metallurgist”. Paco Rabanne was the...
“It wasn’t me or Courrèges who invented the miniskirt anyway – it was the girls in the street who did it.” Mary Quant
The bikini first appeared in Roman times, more than 1,500 years ago. Re-instituted in 1946 by Louis Réart, its path was one fraught with tensions, love, and disaffection. Louis Réart, the creator of this swimsuit, conceived the bikini by finalizing the work of Jacques Heim, the inventor of the smallest swimsuit in the world: the...
Before belonging to Ray-Ban, Aviators were sunglasses that were conceived by American optician Bausch & Lomb. It was in the early 30s that this New York-based optician got a special order from the US Air Force. They were looking for particularly filtered sunglasses for their pilots to protect them during maneuvers in strong light conditions....
“The Chuck Taylor All Star is among the most legendary and emblematic sneakers of all time,” explains Jim Calhoun. The President and CEO of Converse isn’t exaggerating. An icon of subcultures, the Chuck Taylor has been one of the most popular sneakers in the world ever since its launch in 1917. Fans, artists, musicians… they’ve...
Among other styles would appear the little white trapeze dress, like a stick of dynamite in the bourgeois wardrobe. It took the opposite approach to traditional silhouettes of the previous decade. But what made it special? A structured trapeze cut that freed the hips and revealed the legs above the knee. The dress’s flat, geometric...
Peekaboo! While it may be a funny name for a bag, this is in reality the essence of its success. Imagined in 2008 by Silvia Venturini Fendi, creative director for the Italian brand’s accessory line, “the bag marked a turning point in 2008 because, in a period of craziness for ‘it bags’, it was able...
The idea struck Dominique Rondini, a Tuscan shoemaker who’d come to open a shoe workshop in the bailiff of Suffren’s building in Saint-Tropez. This was 1927 and at the beginning of that decade, one man – Monsieur Robert – brought gladiator sandals back into fashion, this “Greek sandal” who’s allure and measures he copied from...
“It’s not a seasonal shoe, but a piece that lasts a lifetime. You can wear it in summer or in winter, made of suede or leather, varnished or matte, but in my opinion, the Pigalles are at their height in black varnished leather that perfectly contrasts with the red heel.” – Christian Louboutin
