CONTEXT – EXPLODING FASHION

Comme des Garçons – Cindy Sherman

'Untitled #128' by Cindy Sherman, 1983. © Cindy Sherman — ‘Untitled #128’ by Cindy Sherman, 1983. © Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman’s series Fashion Pictures challenge the industry’s conventions of beauty and grace. Her first such commission, made in 1983, parodies typical fashion photography and features garments from the Comme des Garçons AW1983-84 collection. Continue reading “Comme des Garçons – Cindy Sherman”

Comme des Garçons – AW1983-84 Show

Kyoto Costume Institute mannequins

Halston – Research

'The New York Collections: Easy Winners!', Jacques Malignon for Vogue, September 1976. © The Condé Nast Publications Inc. — ‘The New York Collections: Easy Winners!’, Jacques Malignon for Vogue, September 1976. © The Condé Nast Publications Inc.

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Balenciaga – Editorials

Elise Daniels in Balenciaga, Le Marais, Paris by Richard Avedon, 1948. © The Richard Avedon Foundation

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Research – Fashion drawing at CSM

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Madeleine Vionnet

‘When a woman smiles, her dress must smile also’

Madeleine Vionnet (1876-1975) was part of a group of creative women who transformed fashion in the early 20^th century. That she preferred to identify herself as a dressmaker rather than a designer is a testament to her commitment to the craft. She sought to bring about a cohesion between body and dress, starting her design process on a half-scale mannequin and working with the features of the fabric to value the natural contours of the body. Continue reading “Madeleine Vionnet”