From the Margins to the Core of Haute Couture: The Entrepreneurial Journey of Coco Chanel

We trace the history of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s entrepreneurial journey as a fashion designer from her early years as an outsider (early 1900s) to her rise to success and consecration as an icon within the French haute couture field (early 1930s)—a field controlled by powerful insiders. Our study sheds light on the social forces and historical circumstances underlying an outsider’s journey from the margins of an established field to its core. Drawing on unique historical material, we develop a novel process view that highlights the shifting influence of forces operating at different levels in the accumulation, deployment, and conversion of various forms of capital (i.e., human, social, economic, and symbolic) that outsiders need to promote their ideas. In particular, our multilevel perspective accounts simultaneously for the individual’s efforts to push forward these ideas (micro-level), as well as the audience dynamics (meso-level) and exogenous forces (macro-level) that shape their recognition. Chanel’s historical case analysis also affords a window into one of the first female entrepreneurs with global impact in business history, with the added challenge of establishing herself in what at the time was a male-dominated and mature field.

The language of lace and embroidery from the court of Louis XIV through to contemporary haute couture

<p>The history of thread work is a story of practicality and functionality, but it is also a tale of power, fashion, virtuosity, decorum, art and culture. Thread work has played a role as a visual language in France for many centuries, continually evolving in its techniques and range of expressive and stylistic possibilities and thus in its significance as a communicative medium. In more recent times, thread work has come to be considered as a form of social and cultural discourse in its own right that is consequently referred to as ‘visual rhetoric’. Following this unique form of visual discourse through the history of fashion allows consideration of the development of identity and gender roles in French society as well as the interrelated narratives of the creative processes involved in the production of lace and embroidery. These reflections lead in turn to consideration of the ways processes of production and consumption were disrupted and transformed by major events, by sumptuary laws and political edicts. The language of thread work has been encoded and decoded by all socio-economic classes, and is underwritten by tensions between power and dependency, rich and poor, light and dark, public show and private domesticity. It has the capacity to express identities and to enhance communities. In more recent times the reconsideration of the value of thread work in the design concepts of haute couture has seen a revitalisation of the appreciation of this medium in an industry associated with luxury, exclusivity and creativity. The language of thread-work remains ambivalent and complex in France today, signifying an innocuous ‘feminine’ pastime on the one hand, and a valued professional skill and cultural heritage on the other.</p>

The language of lace and embroidery from the court of Louis XIV through to contemporary haute couture

<p>The history of thread work is a story of practicality and functionality, but it is also a tale of power, fashion, virtuosity, decorum, art and culture. Thread work has played a role as a visual language in France for many centuries, continually evolving in its techniques and range of expressive and stylistic possibilities and thus in its significance as a communicative medium. In more recent times, thread work has come to be considered as a form of social and cultural discourse in its own right that is consequently referred to as ‘visual rhetoric’. Following this unique form of visual discourse through the history of fashion allows consideration of the development of identity and gender roles in French society as well as the interrelated narratives of the creative processes involved in the production of lace and embroidery. These reflections lead in turn to consideration of the ways processes of production and consumption were disrupted and transformed by major events, by sumptuary laws and political edicts. The language of thread work has been encoded and decoded by all socio-economic classes, and is underwritten by tensions between power and dependency, rich and poor, light and dark, public show and private domesticity. It has the capacity to express identities and to enhance communities. In more recent times the reconsideration of the value of thread work in the design concepts of haute couture has seen a revitalisation of the appreciation of this medium in an industry associated with luxury, exclusivity and creativity. The language of thread-work remains ambivalent and complex in France today, signifying an innocuous ‘feminine’ pastime on the one hand, and a valued professional skill and cultural heritage on the other.</p>

Fashion, Industry and Diplomacy: Reframing Couture–Textile Relations in France, 1950s–1960s

This article investigates the change in relations between Parisian haute couture and the French textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s. This study is grounded in the multiple changes that occurred between the two decades with the end of a state-sponsored and textile-backed aid to couture plan in 1960, the dematerialization of fashion in the 1960s and the advent of brands and licenses, and the waning of couture’s influence throughout the period. It cross-references archives from multi-stakeholder meetings between the state, couture, and textile representatives with the couturiers’ trade association archives and diplomatic archives to show how the changing fashion landscape impacted their interactions. This study shows that while the couture and textile industries drifted apart, the government’s interest in couture grew. This reframes the narrative on couture’s alleged influence as the spearhead of the textile industry while illustrating its wider prestige influence and its relevance to the state.

Anggaru Klawu: Metafora Fauna Endemik Indonesia Owa Jawa Dalam Penciptaan Busana Dengan Art Of Beat Style

Indonesia is a country which has a diversity of flora and fauna. One of the endemic faunas of Indonesia is the Javan Gibbon. The Javan Gibbon (Hylobates Moloch) is a species of small ape without a tail with long arms, gray hair, and a distinctive voice. The Javan gibbon is an animal that is startining become endangered animal and almost extinct so that the IUCN Redlist has categorized as an "endangered" or threatened extinct. Javan Gibbons are the source of ideas for creating ready-to-wear, ready-to-wear deluxe and haute couture clothing which are implemented with metaphorical theory based on selected keywords, namely diurnal, arboreal, monogamous, territorial, sound, long sleeves, attracting attention and art of beat. The foundation of this fashion creation is using the method of. Tjok Istri Ratna Cora Sudharsana, namely Frangipani. “FRANGIPANI, The Secret Steps of Art Fashion” which consists of ten stages in the process of crafty fashion designs. The result of this creation is expected to be able to introduce to many people that Indonesia has the Javan Gibbon as an endemic animal of Indonesia that must be preserved in order that it does not become extinct.

Understanding the Role of “the City” in Developing Complex Regulatory Frameworks

This paper considers the relationship between the legal regulation of haute couture in Europe and the importance of “the city” as the locus of complex cultural, legal, and geographical forces. Haute couture and its legal framework are used as a case study to investigate how local dynamics – in this case, focusing on the role of the city – can shape the national and international legal responses to a cultural phenomenon, as well as provide a more complete understanding of how culturally significant practices acquire such an enduring meaningfulness in society. Connecting the role of ‘the city’ and legal regulation is particularly interesting through the lens of haute couture because while cities are frequent hosts to artistic or cultural movements, haute couture resulted in an elaborate system of strict regulation that extends beyond the ordinary intellectual property toolbox. This framework has a broader function than national intellectual property law because it not only reflects the legal dynamic of a particular industry, but the cultural and artistic practices of a specific, and particularly localised in this case, city. Haute couture is a demonstration of the complex relationship between local, national, and international modalities of law-making. Haute couture emerged as a niche, city-specific, cultural development yet it resulted in a national framework of regulation that reinforced the centralisation of Paris in haute couture, building and further supporting localisation and sub-localisation in the context of the dense network of fashion houses, ateliers, and schools.

Tailored to Shrink

<p><b>Many of the materials currently used within the fashion industry are petroleum-based synthetics. These are not sustainable and do not use environmentally friendly production processes. Interest in sustainably produced fabrics is increasing, but more radical approaches are also being explored, such as “growing” fabric and materials from mycelium. In haute couture fashion, the experimental use of 3D printing is being investigated using synthetic materials. However, there is an opportunity to combine the organic growth of natural materials with the precision of digital control within 3D printing.</b></p> <p>In response to this opportunity, this research investigates the design and creation of haute couture 3D printed garments, using an eco-friendly, semi-liquid bio-composite material developed for syringe printing utilising the precision of a robotic arm. It adopts a cross-disciplinary approach to the field, oscillating between Industrial Design and Fashion Design with some experiments broadly based on science methodologies.</p> <p>Prospective biomaterials were identified and an iterative process of testing combinations of suitable growing mediums, fabric substrates, and fungal cultures were explored to assess growth, material properties, and design opportunities. Mycelium from a native New Zealand fungus was selected and a series of 2D printed patterns were developed based on the Material Driven Design Method (MDD), to understand the relationship between digital placement, fabric substrate, and mycelium growth. Contraction of the flat fabric during the drying process allowed the authorship of undulating 3D fabric. Using a range of parametric software, strategies for 3D form creation to fit the body through controlled shrinkage were developed. A final series of 3D haute couture garments were co-created through the symbiotic relationship of digital control and natural processes.</p> <p>Key words: parametric fashion, 4D printing, natural shrinkage, sustainable fashion, bio-based 3D printing</p>

Tailored to Shrink

<p><b>Many of the materials currently used within the fashion industry are petroleum-based synthetics. These are not sustainable and do not use environmentally friendly production processes. Interest in sustainably produced fabrics is increasing, but more radical approaches are also being explored, such as “growing” fabric and materials from mycelium. In haute couture fashion, the experimental use of 3D printing is being investigated using synthetic materials. However, there is an opportunity to combine the organic growth of natural materials with the precision of digital control within 3D printing.</b></p> <p>In response to this opportunity, this research investigates the design and creation of haute couture 3D printed garments, using an eco-friendly, semi-liquid bio-composite material developed for syringe printing utilising the precision of a robotic arm. It adopts a cross-disciplinary approach to the field, oscillating between Industrial Design and Fashion Design with some experiments broadly based on science methodologies.</p> <p>Prospective biomaterials were identified and an iterative process of testing combinations of suitable growing mediums, fabric substrates, and fungal cultures were explored to assess growth, material properties, and design opportunities. Mycelium from a native New Zealand fungus was selected and a series of 2D printed patterns were developed based on the Material Driven Design Method (MDD), to understand the relationship between digital placement, fabric substrate, and mycelium growth. Contraction of the flat fabric during the drying process allowed the authorship of undulating 3D fabric. Using a range of parametric software, strategies for 3D form creation to fit the body through controlled shrinkage were developed. A final series of 3D haute couture garments were co-created through the symbiotic relationship of digital control and natural processes.</p> <p>Key words: parametric fashion, 4D printing, natural shrinkage, sustainable fashion, bio-based 3D printing</p>