Why is Paris the Capital of Fashion

Why is Paris the capital of fashion? There are a number of reasons, mostly dating back to the 18th century,

although it can be argued that Paris’ fashion hegemony started well before that. While it lost ground during World

War II, it came back with a vengeance and has remained the mainstay of fashionistas since.

The Champs-Elysees forms one of the sides of Paris' golden triangle - fashion's mecca.

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Why Is Paris the Fashion Capital: History

Haute Couture began in the 18th century, but the French had been looked to with admiration or disdain in their

dress sense well before that. In the 16th century, Anne Boleyn was famous for wearing a French-style hood,

which showed her hair and had a generally provocative style. Even then, the French were famous for their liberal

attitude towards sexuality.

In the 18th century, couturier Rose Bertin was named the Minister for Fashion and the position was still retained

in the Napoleonic era. Initially, it was the rich and powerful telling the designers what they wanted to wear in

clothes, but in the 19th century, this changed. It was, surprisingly, an Englishman working in Paris who became

the father of modern Haute Couture when Charles Worth put his name on his clothing labels. He went a step

further, creating designs based on his own ideas and displaying them on live models so that clients could

approve or disapprove. The novelty was a success and designers then began to dictate what was fashionable.

From then on, it was understood that any designer who wanted to be a success had to be in Paris and become

part of a couture house or form their own. Paris was the home of fashion shows and all the fashion magazines

were either based in or looked to Paris for their information. For women throughout the Western world, Paris was

the be all and end all of clothes.

The Power of Paris

London, New York and Milan can all lay claim to some fashion influence. Especially during World War II, New

York and London made inroads while Paris was occupied by Germany. But when the war was over, designers
returned to Paris and couture reigned again. Chanel was still popular, but Dior became one of the most influential

designers of the mid-century. Joined by Yves Saint Laurent and other prominent designers, Paris cemented its

hold on style.

But why is Paris the capital of fashion today? Simply because little has changed, despite the drop in the number

of couture houses. The most important fashion shows still take place in Paris and more aspiring designers go to

the city to learn and showcase their work than they do London, New York or Milan.

The Golden Triangle

To better understand why Paris is the capital of fashion, you need to consider the golden triangle – a shopping

district in Paris dedicated exclusively to high fashion clothes and accessories. The triangle lives between the

Avenue Marceau, the Champs-Elysees and the Avenue Montaigne. In it, you will find the homes of Vuitton,

Givenchy, Rochas, Dior, Celine, Chanel, Donna Karan and Hermes, just to start you off.

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Paris’ Ongoing Allure

Although there are certainly those who try to claim otherwise, Paris is still the fashion capital of the world. While it

is true that the fashion magazines and designers don’t have the absolute power they once did, the ability to be

flexible and understand changing tastes and trends is what keeps Paris a magnet for the fashion world. The idea

of a “Paris Original” may not thrill women the way it once did, but people certainly still respond to interesting,

inventive and wearable clothes – and item for item, the bulk of those still come from Paris.

Initial Author: SJ Stratford

Recent C
Paris and fashion have become synonymous with each other. The seriously fashion conscious visit
Paris at least once. The designers world over, share one special dream, to be a part of the Paris
fashion world.

Paris, indeed, is known as the mecca of fashion world. The world’s top haute couture designers, from
Chanel to Dior to Yves Saint Laurent showcase their talent in an area called the ‘golden triangle’. The
Champs-Elysées, Avenue Marceau and Avenue Montaigne form the perimeter of this triangle.

But if you are someone, who would want to hunt around for more variety , you should visit Rue du
Faubourg St-Honoré, where most top designers like Louis Féraud, Pierre Cardin, Versace have their
designer boutiques.

There are two yearly haute couture shows, in January and July. All the leading top models gather in
Paris for the lavish shows where they command high fees.

If you are planning to shop in Paris, you must know one fact. There is a vast difference between what
you might be exposed in way of fashion and what is actually wearable. So, those of you who don’t
really have that hourglass figure, or that lean tummy, don’t lose heart. Paris offers the most modern
clothes for people of all sizes and yes, all budgets!

Paris fashion and no "haute couture"? Impossible. Haute couture (a unique creation) could be
designed by any of the fashion houses listed with Fédération Francaise de la Couture. If you are
looking for this haute couture exclusive outfits for yourself, then head towards ‘the golden triangle’ or
Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, which boasts of the fashion houses of the world famous designers,
Cardin, Yves St. Laurent, Guy Laroche, Nina Ricci, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Louis Féraud, Hermes
and Chanel.

If you can afford an exclusive creation from the world’s best, don’t ever give it a miss. Paris offers the
best excuse to indulge in yourself and feel like royalty!

Paris was the original Fashion capital. This was because of all the specialization that came
from the city in terms of fashion. The city was a great source of the finest fabrics in the world
especially silk. The craftsmen were skilled greatly and were experts in making clothing that
was decorative, expensive and also high end. All the fashion trends were set mainly by the
royalty and these were followed by the entire Europe. Paris is still one of the Fashion
Capitals along with New York and London
French fashion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Fashion has been an important industry and cultural export of France since the seventeenth
century, and modern "haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s. Today, Paris, along with
Tokyo, London, Milan, and New York City, is considered one of the world's fashion capitals, and the

city is home or headquarters to many of the premier fashion houses. Historically, many of the
world's top designers and fashion houses have been French, including Coco Chanel, Christian
Dior, Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Chloé, Hermès, Guy Laroche, Yves Saint Laurent and shoe designer Christian

Louboutin. The Paris fashion houses also attract many foreign designers.

Contents
[hide]

 1 History
o 1.1 Seventeenth century
o 1.2 Belle epoque
o 1.3 World War II
o 1.4 Post-War
 2 Legal status
 3 Fashion weeks
 4 Paris
 5 References and Notes
 6 External links

[edit] History
[edit] Seventeenth century
The association of France with fashion and style (French: la mode) dates largely to the reign of
[1]
Louis XIV when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control
and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. The rise
in prominence of French fashion was linked to the creation of the fashion press in the early
1670s (due in large part to Jean Donneau de Visé) which transformed the fashion industry by
marketing designs to a broad public outside the French court[2] and by popularizing notions
such as the fashion "season" and changing styles.[3]
[edit] Belle epoque
France renewed its dominance of the high fashion (French: couture or haute couture) industry
in the years 1860-1960 through the establishing of the great couturier houses, the fashion press
(Vogue was founded in 1892) and fashion shows. The first modern Parisian couturier house is
generally considered the work of the Englishman Charles Frederick Worth who dominated the
industry from 1858-1895.[4] In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the industry
expanded through such Parisian fashion houses as the house of Jacques Doucet (founded in
1871), Jeanne Paquin (founded in 1891; she was the first woman to open her own fashion
house), the Callot Soeurs (founded 1895 and operated by four sisters), Paul Poiret (founded in
1903), Madeleine Vionnet (founded in 1912), Chanel (founded by Coco Chanel, it first came to
prominence in 1925), Elsa Schiaparelli (founded in 1927) and Balenciaga (founded by the
Spaniard Cristobal Balenciaga in 1937).
[edit] World War II
Many fashion houses closed during occupation of Paris during World War II, including the
Maison Vionnet and the Maison Chanel. In contrast to the stylish, liberated Parisienne, the
Vichy regime promoted the model of the wife and mother, the robust, athletic young woman, a

figure who was much more in line with the new political criteria. Germany, meanwhile, was
taking possession of over half of what France produced, including high fashion, and was also
considering relocating French haute couture to the cities of Berlin and Vienna, neither of which
had any significant tradition of fashion. The archives of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture were
seized, most consequentially the client list. Jews were excluded from the fashion industry.

Due to the difficult times, the number of models in shows was limited to seventy-five,
evening wear was shortened and day wear was much lighter, made using substitute materials
whenever possible. From 1940 onward, no more than thirteen feet (four meters) of cloth was
permitted to be used for a coat and a little over three feet (one meter) was all that allowed for
a blouse. No belt could be over one and a half inches (four centimeters) wide. Among young
men in the War Years the zazou suit became popular.

In spite of the fact that so many fashion houses closed down or moved away during the war,
several new houses remained open, including Jacques Fath, Maggy Rouff, Marcel Rochas, Jeanne
Lafaurie, Nina Ricci, and Madeleine Vramant. During the Occupation, the only true way for a
woman to flaunt her extravagance and add to color to a drab outfit was to wear a hat. In this
period, hats were often made of scraps of material that would have otherwise been thrown
away, sometimes incorporating butter muslin, bits of paper, and wood shavings. Among the
most innovative milliners of the time were Pauline Adam, Simone Naudet, Rose Valois, and
Le Monnier.
[edit] Post-War
Post-war fashion returned to prominence through Christian Dior's famous "New Look" in 1947:
the collection contained dresses with tiny waists, majestic busts, and full skirts swelling out
beneath small bodices, in a manner very similar to the style of the Belle Époque. The
extravagant use of fabric and the feminine elegance of the designs appealed greatly to a post-
war clientèle. Other important houses of the period included Pierre Balmain and Hubert de
Givenchy(opened in 1952). The fashion magazine [[Elle (magazine)|Elle]] was founded in
1945. In 1952, Coco Chanel herself returned to Paris.[5]

In the 1960s, "high fashion" came under criticism from France's youth culture (including the
yéyés) who turning increasing to London and to casual styles.[6] In 1966, the designer Yves
Saint Laurent broke with established high fashion norms by launching a prêt-à-porter ("ready to

wear") line and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing and marketing (member
houses of the Chambre Syndicale were forbidden to use even sewing machines).[7] Further
innovations were carried out by Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin. In post-1968 France, youth
culture would continue to gravitate away from the "sociopolitically suspect" luxury clothing
industry, preferring instead a more "hippy" look (termed baba cool in French).[8] With a
greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established by Sonia Rykiel,
Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix in the 1970s and 80s. The

1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and
multinationals such as LVMH.

Since the 1960s, France's fashion industry has come under increasing competition from
London, New York, Milan and Tokyo. Nevertheless, many foreign designers still seek to
make their careers in France: Karl Lagerfeld (German) at Chanel, John Galliano (British) at Dior,
Paulo Melim Andersson (Swedish) at Chloe, Stefano Pilati (Italian) at Yves Saint Laurent, Marc
Jacobs (American) at Louis Vuitton, Kenzo Takada (Japan), and Alexander McQueen (English) at

Givenchy (until 2001).

[edit] Legal status

The expression Haute couture is, in France, a legally protected name, guaranteeing certain
quality standards.
owen page of trinity catholic college middlesbrough

[edit] Fashion weeks

The Paris Fashion week takes place twice a year after the London Fashion Week and before
Milan Fashion Week. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. Currently, the
Fashion Week is held in the Carrousel du Louvre.

[edit] Paris
Since the seventeenth century, the headquarters for fashion houses have been traditionally
situated in the quarter around the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Since the 1980s, the Avenue
Montaigne has, to some extent, overtaken the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in high fashion as

well as accessories. Other areas, such as Le Marais, a traditional Jewish quarter, have also
included the clothing industry.