As some of you may or may not know, I am a fashion merchendising and design major at a college here in Iowa. I love my classes and I hope to be a buyer someday. Maybe, in the future, I will be designing my own label and you can I say, "I knew her when.....". *LOL* Anyways, I wanted to give credit to some of my favorite designers. They are the people who have helped modernize and make fashion what it is today. Some of these people you may know, and others you might not, but, if you ever get the chance, check out their designs! They are wonderful and most can be found at one time or another in VOGUE or ELLE. (Which, by the way, are my two favorite fashion publications of the 13 that I subscribe to. They are the most current and up to the moment in trends.)
My two favorite designers of all times are:
Ralph Lauren
and
Calvin Klein
Both of these men are leaders in the fashion industry. Ralph Lauren is known for his timelessness in his designs. They are classic, but up to date. Ralph Lauren is insistent on classic form and function in his designs which makes him an icon in the industry. He has the ability to envision beauty and the persistence to carry it out. Ralph is also an award winner in his work with breast cancer research and his work in aids research and education. I really admire him because he puts up alot of his own personal wealth to try to make life better for others.
A quote or two from Ralph:
"My goal in design is to achieve the ultimate dream--the best reality imaginable."
"Everything I do has a personal reference, a personal sensibility. I feel it, it's who I am."
Whether you wear Ralph's clothes or not, if you looked into him and his acts, you find it very hard not to admire him just as I have!!
Calvin Klein is another of my personal favorites,
and I think that has a lot to do with his attitude. I love his clothes, they are youthful and fun,and very reasonably priced for the quality he gives you, but his attitude is what makes you love or hate this man. He is a very controversial man in the industry because of the ads that he runs. Personally, I feel this is a bunch of censors running around picking on one man because they don't like his techniques with advertising. Yes, Calvin's ads are sexy, but that is what sells clothes. Any designer advertising a piece of clothing will advertise it in a way that will show it off to its best. I have seen ads for Ralph Lauren intimates that are just as sexy as Calvin's for his underwear, but nobody runs around censoring Ralph. (Not that I want them to!) Yes, his models look younger, but as long as they are over 18, I don't think anyone can tell him how to run an ad to sell underwear. This is America and we are supposed to have our freedom of speech! (GO MANCOW!!!) ok, now that I am done with my band wagon (and I am so sure that Calvin apreciated my support! *LOL*), I will continue on with the rest of my page!
Calvin made one point an article that I read. The journalist asked him why the dialogue in his commercials was so loosly related to the product. Calvin answered that there are so many jeans out there, and they have been advertised just about everyway, that the only way to sell them is to not talk about them. Be different, give the people what they want. And I'm sorry, but Gloria Steinam is not a target customer for his jeans, we are. So, that is what he is doing......Giving us what we want. Calvin feels that his ads in 10-20 years will be a sign of the times, it will show people what we were about, what we were thinking, etc. back in the 1990's.
Anyways, here are some of my other fave designers:
Christian Dior
Perry Ellis
Oscar de la Renta
Bill Blass
Yves St Laurent
Donna Karen
Giorgio Armani
Liz Claiborne
Anne Klein (love those socks and hose)
Gucci
Pierre Cardin
Todd Oldham
CoCo Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld (CoCo's succesor. I like his designs, but I'd bet money that she would roll over in her grave if she knew some of the things that he was designing....being the feminist that she was)
Jean Paul Gaultier
John Galliano
Bob Mackie
Anna Sui
Gianni Versace (may he rest in peace) *another one of my VERY FAVORITES*
Adrianne Vittidini
As time goes on, I would like to get a list of links to pages about each one of these, but that will take some time dear ones, so if you are interested, check back and see how it is going!
I do have one link that I think people should be checking if you are interested in fashion at all........Fashion Planet (a quaterly online magazine with weekly updated news network
Remember to check back here and see how my link is moving along!