Fashion History For Today
Colin McDowell, Fashion Writer, Journalist and Academic MBE
A critical perspective on how twelve exclusively curated moments in fashion history continue to disrupt and affect the industry today.
Colin McDowell
Fashion Writer, Journalist and Academic MBE
Your Tutor - Colin McDowell
Course Overview
For Students:
- Understand the key reference points every fashion student needs to know
- Increase your cultural capital to improve your research skills
- Differentiate your application when applying for jobs
For Fashion Professionals:
- Understand why a deep knowledge of fashion’s past is critical to finding success in its future
- Find creative inspiration and insight from 20th Century fashion
- Enhance your contextual and critical understanding of fashion history
For those making a Career change:
- The essential fashion course for those looking to move into the industry
- Learn to identify designers, their iconic designs and their influence on fashion today
- Recognise how moments in history continue to impact key functions of the industry
Curriculum Summary
Course Overview 30 minutes
Understand the goals of the course and be introduced to your tutor Colin McDowell. Understand the concept of a 'fashion moment' and the definition of zeitgeist. Each module in the course then covers a particular moment in fashion, why this moment happened and why it is still relevant today.
1. Dior and The New Look 30 minutes
How Christian Dior revolutionised fashion not just through his design of the 'New Look' but also through his business strategy and vision.
2. Elvis Presley and Rock 'n' Roll 30 minutes
How Elvis brought the rock ‘n’ roll subculture to the mass market with his seminal performance of Hounddog on TV on the Milton Berle Show.
3. The Swinging Sixties 30 minutes
How the directional music and fashion scenes in London in 1966 - which saw it crowned the “swinging city” by Time magazine - affected fashion.
4. YSL and Le Smoking 30 minutes
How Yves Saint Laurent shifted the perception of women wearing trousers with the presentation of his tuxedo suit for women.
5. The Summer of Love 30 minutes
The emergence of the hippie, bohemian style from San Francisco, popularised by Woodstock festival.
6. David Bowie and Androgyny 30 minutes
The influence of David Bowie’s androgynous style, embodied by the cover of his album, “The Man Who Sold The World,” for which the long-haired singer posed on a chaise longue in a “man dress.”
7. Punk on the Kings Road 30 minutes
How Malcom McClaren and Vivienne Westwood created the punk fashion subculture, both through the retail store Punk which they opened on the King's Road and the pair's styling of the Sex Pistols.
8. Japanese Designers in Paris 30 minutes
How the Japanese designers Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, who moved to Paris Fashion Week to show their ‘avant garde’ collections, created a new, deconstructed aesthetic
9. Versace and the Supermodels 30 minutes
The impact of the elite group of highly paid ‘super’ models — Linda, Cindy, Naomi and Christy — who were booked by Versace to close his 1991 show, smiling and singing to George Michael’s “Freedom.”
10. Marc Jacobs and Grunge 20 minutes
How Marc Jacobs courted controversy with his infamously ill-received “grunge” collection for Perry Ellis, which focused on styling rather than design.
11. Calvin Klein's Minimalism 20 minutes
The fashion minimalism moment, epitomised by the controversial Calvin Klein campaigns starring Kate Moss, whose look was dubbed “heroin chic.”
12. McQueen's Runway Robots 20 minutes
The impact of Alexander McQueen combining technology and performance art for his No. 13 show, which saw model Shalom Harlow’s tulle dress spray painted by two robots arms.
13. Summary 10 minutes
Colin McDowell offers his key insights from his Masterclass and offers invaluable advice to those hoping to succeed in the fashion industry today.
References
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