Tag Archives: eye on design

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Christian Dior, Columbine Dress

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Christian Dior Columbine Dress Photo By Gail Worley
Photos By Gail

Christian Dior’s “New Look” was central to the postwar revival of the Paris couture system. In addition to selling individual couture  dresses to private clients, Dior also sold licensed copies, like this one of his Columbine dress, which was produced in the US for American department stores. The number of such high-end reproductions was limited, but there were also mass-produced garments that catered to the desire for at least “a copy of a copy of a Dior.”

Christian Dior Columbine Dress Photo By Gail Worley

The Dress Pictured Here is a Licensed Copy of Dior’s Columbine Dress by I. Magnin and Lord & Taylor circa 1947. Photographed as Part of the Exhibit, Paris, Capital of Fashion at the Museum at FIT in Manhattan.

 

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Anna Sui, Cheerleader Ensemble

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Cheerleader Ensemble By Anna Sui Photo by Gail Worley
All Photos By Gail

“When I think about pinafores and jumpers and compromised purity, it’s actually quite punk. Go further back and it’s all about mod and Twiggy and dolly birds and thousands of school girls like me pouring over magazines, reading articles from the front lines of pop culture.”

Throughout her career, Anna Sui has summoned the youthful spirit of the school girl but was an edge, embracing the complexity of teen-hood. For the fall 1994 Schoolgirl collection, Sui focused on Yves Saint Laurent‘s most iconic designs, which she reinterpreted in high-tech sportswear materials.fall 1994 Schoolgirl collection, Sui focused on Yves Saint Laurent‘s most iconic designs, which she reinterpreted in high-tech sportswear materials.
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Design and Innovation

Eye on Design: Lilac Headband by Adolfo

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Lilac Headband by Adolfo Photo By Gail Worley
Photos By Gail

This Lilac Headband (1960s) by Adolfo (Adolfo Sardina) recalls historical styles of the mid-nineteenth century, conjuring Franz Xaver Winterhalter’s portrait The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies-in-Waiting (1855). At the same time, the clouds of lilac blooms and traditionally feminine bow at the center of this headband also speak to contemporaneous ideas and aesthetics, channeling the flower power movement of the late 1960s, and early 1970s, and skillfully striking a balance between moments of meticulous coordination and carefree, romantic hippie styles of dress.

Lilac Headband Installation View By Gail Worley

Photographed as part of the exhibit In Pursuit of Fashion: The Sandy Schreier Collection, on view through May 17th, 2020 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Lipstick Bracelet and Brooch By Karl Lagerfeld

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Lipstick Pin and Bracelet By Karl Lagerfeld Photo By Gail Worley
All Photos By Gail

This matching Bracelet and Brooch are composed of a vibrant rainbow of resin Lipsticks that humorously assert the decorative nature of cosmetic products.  While both by Karl Lagerfeld and the jewelry designer Ugo Correani were known for their postmodern sampling of objects and ideas, the tendency to inflate scale in order to invest drama was a particular strength of Correani. Continue reading Eye On Design: Lipstick Bracelet and Brooch By Karl Lagerfeld →

Design and Innovation

Eye On Design: Anna Sui Grunge Kilt Ensemble

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Anna Sui Grunge Kilt Photo By Gail Worley
All Photos By Gail

“I think that, with hindsight, this may have been a moment in my career where my own past and present truly came together, more so that with other collections, which, however much I cherished them, were a carefully stitched-together tapestry of obsessively researched elements. My Grunge collection was more ‘felt’ than it was thought.”

The 1993 Grunge collection secured Anna Sui’s place in the history of fashion. She saw Seattle’s grunge music scene as the major force in the youth culture of that period, and used the layering and mixing typical of its style to great effect, riffing on the youthful sincerity of the movement to produce some of the most influential looks of the nineties.
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