Review fashion

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Tommy Hilfiger

Thomas Jacob Hilfiger (born March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York) is a world famous American fashion designer and creator of the eponymous Tommy Hilfiger and Tommy brands.

Hilfiger was born March 24, 1951 and raised in Elmira, New York. Hilfiger grew up in an Irish family, and claims Scottish direct decent from Scotlands national Bard Robert Burns. He is the second of nine children. His parents originally intended for him to be an engineer. He attended Elmira Free Academy for high school. Rather than furthering his education, he started to work in retail at the age of 18. Hilfiger would trek down to New York City to get his hands on jeans and bell-bottom pants which he customized and resold at a local downtown Elmira, New York store, Brown's.

He later opened his own store, named The People's Place, around the block in downtown Elmira. Although the store was a hot spot for teens with frequent contests and live DJ appearances, there were often more people hanging out than shopping. Over the years, a number of stores closed in downtown Elmira as shopping traffic shifted to the new Arnot Mall in Horseheads, New York. It wasn't long before The People's Place became another casualty. After seven years, The People's Place went bankrupt, when Hilfiger was 25. The site of the original store has since been demolished to make room for First Arena, home of the Elmira Jackals Hockey team.

After turning to the design aspect of clothing by designing for the rest of his stores in upstate New York, Hilfiger moved to New York City with his now estranged wife, Susie. Although he was offered design assistant positions with designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis and was broke he turned them both down with greater plans in mind.

In 1984, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation - which went public in 1992 - introducing his signature menswear collection. By 2004 the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion. Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995.

Labels: Fashion Designer

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Dana Buchman

Dana Buchman is an upscale women's fashion brand, and its founder, Dana Buchman, an American fashion designer and creative designer of the same name. It is owned by the Liz Claiborne fashion company.

Dana Buchman was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Always a top student, and ever so modest, Buchman graduated from Brown University. She was a President's Fellow at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and earned an Advance Degree in Fashion at London's St. Martin's School of Art. After graduating, Dana Buchman became a creative head for Ellen Tracy.

In 1982, Dana Buchman was personally approached by influential American designer and executive Liz Claiborne and joined the corporation with a design job in knitwear. After five years with Liz Claiborne, Buchman started her eponymous bridge collection under the Liz Claiborne corporation. By the mid-nineties, Buchman's brand became one of the leaders catering to the bridge segment of the population and by the late-nineties saw annual profits skyrocket over $250 million.

Dana Buchman has been a member of the Council of Fashion Designers America since 1991. She married her husband Tom Farber, a New York State judge, in 1985. They have two daughters Charlotte and Annie Rose. In 2006, Buchman co-authored "A Special Education: One Family's Journey Through the Maze of Learning Disabilities." Written with her daughter Charlotte, the book reveals Charlotte's struggle with her learning disabilities, as well as Buchman's own path to self-discovery. Buchman donated the profits from the book to the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Fashion education

Most fashion designers today have attended some kind of art school. There are a number of well known fashion design schools worldwide. Possibly the most famous is Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. Alumni of St Martins include John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. Other notable London Fashion Schools include the London College of Fashion,The Royal College of Arts in London and the University of Westminster, whose alumni include Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Bailey, and Stuart Vevers.

Notable American fashion design schools include Pratt Institute, Parsons The New School for Design and Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) in New York City, Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts, Drexel University and Moore College in Philadelphia offer fashion design programs, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (F.I.D.M) and A.I.U. in Los Angeles alumns include Uriel Saenz and Ashley Paige, and more specialized in French Haute Couture techniques, Academy of Couture Art in West Hollywood. According to the annual survey from US News, Parsons has recently lost its position as the top school in the U.S. for graduate art programs; now The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (S.A.I.C) has shifted up in the list and taken its place.

This is being attributed to Parsons' loss of Tim Gunn as a faculty member of their fashion program, who resigned to become the Creative Director for Liz Claiborne. SAIC: Founded as the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866 by a collective of studio artists, the institution went through many changes before the turn of the century, some necessitated by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The collecting arm of the School was founded in 1872, and The Art Institute of Chicago was born in 1882 to accommodate a distinct museum and school. The Art Institute moved to its current iconic location on Michigan Avenue after the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and it remains the largest museum-school partnership in the country. Notable fashion alumi include Halston, Gemma Kahng, and Cynthia Rowley.

The most famous institute on the Indian subcontinent is National Institute of Fashion Technology. NIFT has 8 centers across India and their New Delhi Center is regarded as the best fashion school on the Indian subcontinent. NIFT is planning to come up with at least 2 more centres in the North Indian city of Patna and in Kerala in South India. The School of Fashion Technology in Pune has a three year degree course in fashion apparel design. It has diploma courses as well. The Pearl Academy of Fashion has 5 centres in India and one in the UAE.

Most fashion design courses last for three years. As well as teaching students about the artistic and technical side of the subject, some courses include a year working in the fashion industry, to give students a taste of commercial fashion design. Others offer the chance to visit fashion houses abroad. At the end of their final year most students produce a collection which is then shown to buyers and prospective employers at the college show. To keep cost down, each collection consists of around three to eight outfits. To put across a consistent and memorable look within this limited range of garments, students specialize in one particular area. Many colleges enter students for design competitions, sponsored by clothing or fabric companies.

Most of the time, people who want to become top designers will work with other designers and gain hands-on experience.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Types of fashion

There are three main categories of fashion design, although these may be split up into additional, more specific categories:

Haute couture

The type of fashion design which predominated until the 1950s was "made-to-measure" or haute couture. The term made-to-measure may be used for any garment that is created for a specific client. Haute couture, however, is a protected term which can only be officially used by companies that meet certain well-defined standards set by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Nonetheless, many ready-to-wear, and even mass market labels, claim to produce haute couture, when in fact, according to established standards, they do not. A couture garment is made to order for an individual customer, and is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Look and fit take priority over the cost of materials and the time it takes to make.

Ready-to-wear

Ready-to-wear clothes are a cross between haute couture and mass market. They are not made for individual customers, but great care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric. Clothes are made in small quantities to guarantee exclusivity, so they are rather expensive. Ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week. This takes place on a city-wide basis and occurs twice per year.

Mass market

These days the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales. The mass market caters for a wide range of customers, producing ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes. Cheap materials, creatively used, produce affordable fashion. Mass market designers generally adapt the trends set by the famous names in fashion. They often wait around a season to make sure a style is going to catch on before producing their own versions of the original look. In order to save money and time, they use cheaper fabrics and simpler production techniques which can easily be done by machine. The end product can therefore be sold much more cheaply.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

French fashion design

Most French fashion houses are in Paris, which is the capital of French fashion and of the world. Traditionally, French fashion is attractive and stylish, defined by its sophistication, engrave, and smart accessories. Among the many Parisian couture houses are Channel and Christian Dior, who present exclusive fashion shows in their salons; other designers display their work at the designer collections that are held twice a year.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Australian national dress

While Australia has no single uniform national costume, an Australian national dress style, based on specific local dress styles, has emerged in response to climate, lifestyle and identity. This is reflected in the modern design of dress by emerging and established designers which incorporate particular defining elements.

An Australian style can be seen clearly in the main types of local dress: bush wear and swimwear, along with Australiana and Indigenous designs. These have been formed by a larrikin attitude, the qualities of mateship and the dictates of an outdoors lifestyle. Dress is also characterized by the migrant experience and the process of cultural borrowing, which is part of the unique history of Australia.

Presenting Australian national dress on the international stage depends upon what localized style is being represented. It is a question of authenticity about Australian culture and identity.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Dressing Up for a Date to see a flick!

The most preferred date destinations for men are movies. If you have a habit of dressing up sharply, then take some efforts in choosing your right outfit, but see that you don't go overboard as it is not like you have to compete with those sleekly dressed male characters in the movie. Those guys who tend to go for casual jeans with nice sneakers should avoid sprucing up. After all, if you wear more tailored clothing when your fashion statement is usually more laid-back and loose, you are setting the standard for how your mate will expect you to dress up in future. You can even go for cargos and tee which will looks stunning.