Rubber – soled, minimalistic, sports wear trainers have been a popular trend for as long as we can remember. Even though this particular type of foot wear became substantially popular during the 19th century, it was actually within the 1970s that they became a fashion trend. This was led by US companies such as Converse, Keds and Nike. Although trainers were designed and created for sports and exercise, it is more common today to see people wearing them for the sole purpose of style and comfort. Everyone from royalty, movie stars and models have embraced this particular trend and the well known brands such as Nike, Adidas, Converse and New Balance that started this phenomenon.
· The most famous converse collection, the All Star was created in 1917 and became one of the most famous shoes in the word when sponsored by basketball player Chuck Taylor.
· In 1964 the first shoe Nike ever made was inspired by Waffles. Nike co -founder Bill Bowerman created the shoe using his wife’s waffle iron.
· Adidas was started by two brothers, Rudolf ‘Rudi’ and Adolf ‘Adi’ Dassler. Adidas was Adi’s when the brothers parted ways in 1949, Rudi Dasser went on to create Puma.
Puffa jackets are now a very popular trend within this generation of youth. They are seen everywhere and in many different forms, long, cropped, on the runway and on the high-street, but where did it all start? Eddie Bauer was the man who invented the first ever puffa jacket in 1936 called the sky liner. This garment contained down feathers within a quilted fabric. It was created out of personal necessity after he nearly lost his life to hypothermia. Since then the practical and stylish piece of clothing kept re-emerging within the fashion world. It was given a stylish evening spin by fashion designer Charles James in the last 30s. He created a quilted satin evening jacket which is classed as one of his most important designs. Then in the early 1970s fashion designer Norma Kamali created her practical and warm version of the puffa jacket which she named the ‘sleeping bag coat’. After this the streets of Milan in the 80s were taken over by a group of youngsters in bright puffers called Parinaros. The group were part of a Milanese subcultural movement and triggered an important shift causing brands to create clothes for harsh weather conditions. The 90s was the era for the puffa jacket. New York in the 90s was the scene for big names in music to be seen in big puffa jackets, especially the Tommy Hilfiger 90s puffer. This was the era the jacket made its mark and as we can see it isn’t going anyway anytime soon.
The history of jeans is long and colourful but it is still a piece of clothing that we take for granted. Nearly everyone owns a pair, designer, high -street or second hand, it is a wardrobe must have. Jeans were invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873 and are still worn today but just in a different context. They were first working mans clothes due to their sturdy material that would not fall apart, then symbols of disobedience, only then to become a well known item of clothing within the fashion world. This common item of clothing wasn’t popularised until 1955 by actor James Dean within his movie ‘Rebel without a cause’. He wore a simple T-shirt, leather jacket and jeans, an outfit men are still copying today. Within todays generation jeans are an item of clothing that is influential to many different cultural groups, it is an item seen on models, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin, actresses Emma Stone and Mila Kunis, the blocks down your local pub and even your nan. They are affordable and a classic item of clothing that come in many different colours, sizes and styles.
Stylish, elegant and influential. Trousers have been around for such a long time nobody can actually pinpoint when they first appeared. They were seen for a long time as a common form of clothing for men but in todays society trousers are an important item within the wardrobes of both sexes. It wasn’t until the 1930s when they were considered acceptable women’s attire. This sparked beautiful, powerful and inspiring designs and movements within the female fashion world.
· Actress Marlene Dietrich in 1939 was one of the first women to wear trousers in a film. She then continued to wear them outside of her movie role.
· Vogue featured it’s first spread of women wearing trousers in 1939.
· During World War II, women working in industrial work for war services wore their husband’s trousers. This is where it all started.
· In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent introduced ‘Le Smoking’, a woman’s tuxedo intended for formal occasions.
· In 1969 Barbra Streisand became the first women to attend the Oscars in trousers, they were designed by Arnold Scaasi.
· In the 1970s trousers because more of a norm for women. Jane Fonda, Diana Ross, Katharine Hepburn, Tatum O’Neal and Diane Keaton all helped popularise trousers by wearing them at high profile award ceremonies.
What would we do today without the miniskirt? What would girls wear for a night on the town? Well we have British fashion designer Mary Quant to thank for the well loved and trendy miniskirt. Quant began to raise the hemline on her skirts in 1964 to several inches above the knee. This was how the iconic fashion classic was born, but a question within the fashion world that is still up for debate is, was it invented by Quant or Courreges? In the early 1960s Andree Courreges began experimenting with hemlines as well and releasing ‘Space- age’ dresses that were above the knee in late 1964. Even though we are unsure on who invented this classic we know for sure that supermodel Twiggy became the unofficial poster girl for the miniskirt. From this point on the design concurred the fashion world.
· 1965- Model Jean Shrimpton caused an uproar by wearing a miniskirt with no stockings, hat and gloves to the Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia.
- Yves Saint Laurent released his famous and extremely short ‘Mondrian’ dress.
· 1966’s- Paco Rabanne launched plastic chain – mail miniskirts.
· 1990’s- Actress Julia Roberts set the trend of a mini skirt with thigh high boots in the film ‘Pretty Women’.
· 2009- The Royal Mail recognised Quants impact in the fashion world by creating a stamp to honour her miniskirt design.
· Now – Runways and high streets are flooded with with the timeless miniskirt design. Old fashion is still new.
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