The History of Fashion

This history of fashion has its beginnings in France in the 1800s, although men and women desired to wear fashionable clothing for centuries before then. Fashion designers and high fashion changed the clothing industry forever. Previously, fashion consisted of inspirations from royalty and generations of unnamed clothing makers who simply followed the directions that rich customers gave them.

First Fashion
Charles Worth, an English draper, set up the first fashion house in 1858 after recruiting investors to open a dress shop that targeted rich women. Soon, the high class and royal women from all over Europe were visiting. It became a status symbol to wear clothes with the Worth and Bobergh label. Worth would design dresses for the year and hold fashion shows so ladies could see what he had to offer-thus setting the standard for haute couture where the designer dictates the fashions that customers want to wear.

Paris Is the Fashion Center
The success of several Paris fashion houses thrust the French capital into the forefront of European fashion, with London closely following. Magazines devoted to fashion emerged in the early 20^th century and fashion shows became more common in the major metropolitan areas. A key publication was La Gazette du bon ton (1912 to 1925). The first female couturier was Jeanne Paquin, who brought fashion shows to a new level and opened the first foreign branches of a fashion house in Madrid, London and Buenos Aires.

The World Wars
After the end of World War I, French fashion ruled the world and the time period between 1920 and 1940 has been called the height of French fashion. With the rise of photography, movies and a new American "royalty" in Hollywood, high fashion experienced a ready market and plenty of exposure. Some fashion designers became celebrities themselves, such as Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin. Collections increased to twice a year rather than annually. With World War II, many of the French fashion houses were forced to close or relocate, many to New York.

Post WWII to the 21^st Century
Paris fashion after the war continued to set the standard, with names such as Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and the return of Coco Chanel. However, other parts of the world were setting their own standards in fashion. Hollywood costumers also realized the impact their fashion statements had on the world. The 1960s marked the first decade that Paris fashions didn't dominate the high fashion industry, and everything from independent youth fashion to the prominence of London fashions. Throughout the latter part of the 20^th century, fashion designers from New York, Tokyo, Florence and Milan joined Parisians as setting the trends for the world.