Past Influences on Contemporary Fashion

By Emily Hatton Smith

 

Chanel, both brand and designer is famous for iconic pieces and simple designs that helped soften the barriers between masculine and feminine and created a completely new look for the time.  Born in 1883, Coco Chanel had her own ideas about fashion, saying no to the corsets, which were worn by all women at the time, she created the dropped waist, boyish styles with jersey as her fabric of choice. It wasn’t until the 1920s that her designs became influential and fashion became less formal, more comfortable, with androgynous styles; she was certainly ahead of her time.

Coco Chanel

In more recent collections Creative Director for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld has taken influences from the 20s with ropes of pearls, cardigans and evening looks that mirror the ideas of Coco herself.  In the 1998 collection Karl Lagerfeld still stayed in keeping with Coco Chanel’s visions, and took inspiration from the riding skirts that she was so fond of and recreated them as the suits of his Prêt- a- Porter collection.  Also featured in the collection was a jacket that was very similar to the jersey suits designed by Chanel in 1916. The cruise collection included a lot of denim and dungarees relating back to the male/female work clothes during World War One.  The current collections of Chanel convey the beauty and simplicity of the brand once designed by Coco, now made contemporary by Lagerfeld.

 

Another designer whose work is influenced by her inspiration from the past is Vivienne Westwood. Renowned for her central involvement in the punk era mid 1970s, she has gone from a shop owner to a well known and popular British designer.  In the 1980s Westwood’s main theme was historicism. Vivienne recalled from the 1970s that: ‘I didn’t know what to do…Malcolm (McLaren) said “look at history”’.[1] After researching in the Victoria and Albert museum she found patterns for men’s clothing from the 18^th century and this led to her 1981 pirate collection. She continues: 

‘It’s so important to look into the past. Because people did have taste, and they did have ideals of excellence, and those things are not going to come unless people look at the past.’ [2]

From the 1850’s to the 1860s the corset and the crinoline, an iron support worn underneath skirts, created the dominant fashion of the time. Thereafter until the early 1900s, women wore a bustle under skirts. These undergarments gave the skirt a fullness, which portrayed the ultimate idea of femininity. As uncomfortable as the corsets and crinoline were, it fitted the lifestyles of middle and upper class women of the time.  Seen as objects and show pieces women had very little status and dressed to reflect their husband’s wealth and social background.

In Spring/Summer 1985 Vivienne Westwood included in her catwalk show her own take on the crinoline, the ‘Mini Crini’ that was a much shorter version with plastic boning. When shoulder pads were the fashion of the 80s Vivienne instead placed emphasis on the hips exaggerating the female form as they did in the 19^th century, creating a completely individual look for the time.

Vivienne Westwood also became very interested in British heritage and British made materials.  She sourced materials traditionally made in Scotland. She even created a winter version of the Mini Crini using hand woven bright red Harris tweed. The skirt was worn with a matching jacket inspired by traditional children’s double breasted coat.  

Westwood takes her inspiration from all different eras in history, from her fascination with British traditions to the jackets and corsets she created with removable sleeves, inspired by medieval armour.  In the 1990s Vivienne included more tailoring in her designs, and she studied the French couturier Christian Dior (1905-1957). Dior introduced the ‘New look’ in 1947 after the Second World War. He wanted to create a more feminine look for women with round shoulders and a full skirt and his new ideas lead him to be one of the most important couturiers of the 20^th century. Vivienne also took the idea of femininity to the extreme with her own take on the corset with padded busts and metal cage bustles.

Westwood has always mixed the masculine with the feminine, taking inspiration from diverse influences in history; her renewal of the past was created with sexuality mixing tradition with pornographic and modern ideas. She says, “I’m a great believer in copying; there has never been an age in which people have so little respect for the past”[3]; she has created a unique style combining the past and present making her one of the most sought after designer of our time.

Historical fashion influences all current designers, as the world expresses more equality between men and women ideas like the trouser suit, once cutting edge in Hollywood during the ‘Glamour years’ of the 1930s and 40s is now worn by almost every woman and is constantly reinvented by contemporary designers. The ideas of influential designers like Coco Chanel are constantly seen on the catwalk and in the high street; the ‘Little Black Dress’ first created by Chanel is one of the most popular items of clothing with almost every woman owning one. The need for comfortable clothes suited to a modern woman’s lifestyle has brought masculine meets feminine closer than ever before, with the ‘boyish figure’ still used on the catwalk as the new face of beauty. However, there is still a market for glamorous evening wear with structure and femininity that mirrors many ideas of the past. Fitted, corset style busts and high volume skirts are constantly seen on the catwalks, simplified by designers to create an entirely new look to those of the past.

Designers will constantly look to the past for their inspirations; fashion has helped shape the world and will continue to do so. The glamour and importance of fashion in the past is still conceived as beautiful  which is why ideas of the past like the designs of Coco Chanel, the corset, crinoline and classic tailoring will continue to be channelled through influential designers such as Vivienne Westwood and eventually meet the mass market on the high street     

---