This is that ultimate throw it on and be instantly fabulous. There is a quote somewhere that goes along the lines of "its impossible to not have a good time while wearing an Ossie Clark". It's easy to see why a girl would say that - how could you possible sit in a corner and pout in this dress?
It's cut scandalously low and wide on the front. Be prepared to wear double sided tape. Ironically though when worn it is cut so it actually hugs the chest pretty tight down the front -resulting in a lot less exposure then one would think.
In the back it is dramatically draped and slit to the waist. Its hard to see in this photo and again when worn it is cut so that this is almost hidden, but when you move just so you get this unexpected flash of bare skin. Crazy sexy!Birtwell's fabrics were romantic and printed on a variety of textiles, including chiffon, velvet, and rayon crepe. Clark took the textiles, often combining several in a single garment, and created beautiful dresses. They often had a scooped or deeply V-ed neckline, long flowing sleeves and ingeniously cut panels that gave the appearance of layering. He also did a line of snakeskin clothing that was wildly popular.
In 1969, Alfred Radley became a partner in Quorum, and Clark started designing not only for Qourum, but also for Radley. These Radley garments were not always designed entirely by Clark, as designers at Radley took his sketches and patterns and then designed other dresses using the design concepts. These clothes were much more affordable than Quorum designs, and so Clark's influence continued to grow.
By the end of the 1970s, Ossie Clark's career was pretty much over except for the occasional dress for a private client. He died in 1996.
In 1871, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was born in Granada, Spain. His early childhood was divided between Rome, where his father had a studio and Capricio near Naples. After his father's death in 1874, his family left for Paris to join their uncle. His father and grandfather were both celebrated artists. Mariano inherited artistic skills and also worked in printing, drawing and chemistry. His mother was a Spanish beauty whose wealth had endowed the famous Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.
Mariano studied painting until the age of 18, and was then introduced to Parisian society. After a while, his mother moved the family to Venice. He bought a palazzo and turned it into an enormous studio. Mariano produced both easel paintings and frescoes, was a print-maker and sculptor. In 1897, he was awarded the gold medal at the Munich International Festival of Art for his painting The Flower Girls. He exhibited his paintings every year at the Venice Biennale until his death.
He was also a set designer, an inventor of reflected-lighting systems, a furniture make and a photographer. More than 10,000 negatives are stored in the Fortuny Museum in Venice. In 1906 Fortuny designed a theatre for Comtesse Bearn the Parisian music patron.
Fortuny fell in love with Henriette Negin, a model whom he met in 1895. His mother did not approve of her, but she lived with him for 47 happy years, eventually marrying him and was a widow for 15 years more.
Only at the age of 40, did Fortuny decide to throw himself into fashion design. He was never really a couturier, he did not present annual or even seasonal collections. He set out to find his own version of a timeless ideal form. The simplicity of his designs was astonishing for the period, they were cut out flat in one piece rather like a Japanese kimono.
1906 was also the year he introduced his first garment, a long sheer silk rectangle which he called the Knossos scarf based on the ancient Cretan civilisation. These scarves opened a new avenue for him.
In 1907 Fortuny produced the first DELPHOS gown. It was a column of pleated silk based on chitons worn by ancient Greek maidens in statues. Early Delphos gowns had bat-wing sleeves, later versions had a scarf attached to the shoulders, falling to the hips. The pleating of the material for these dresses was achieved by a process of evaporation, the wet and folded silk being laid on heated porcelain tubes, permanently fixing such tight pleats in the material that the dresses looked carved or pressed. The effect made a women look elongated when she wore them.
In 1909 Fortuny opened his own salon on rue Marignan selling not only his pleated silk and velvet gowns, but also cushion covers, wall hangings, lampshades, etc. In 1912, he showed his textiles in the Spanish pavilion at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris.
FORTUNY'S CONTRIBUTION
Fortuny's important contribution to fashion was his method of pleating. Pleats were formed by hand and experts say the pleats were held in place with tacking stitches and then set with heat while the fabric was damp.
His pleated dresses were unique, he never made two the same. Almost all the museums of costume throughout the world have a Fortuny pleated gown as a precious exhibit.
In the twenties, Fortuny made sleeveless Delphos and Peplos gowns. He used ribbed gauze dyed in muted shades for long vests, jackets with side slits and long bat-wing tunics. He also used a thin supple velvet to make medieval tabard gowns, Persian style jackets, Moorish capes and Empire-waisted Directoire gowns.
In 1923 His garments were exhibited in galleries in London, and sold at the brick shop, London. In 1929 Elsie McNeill Lee (later Contessa Gozzi) opened a Fortuny store. Till recently, she sold his fabrics and dresses, and she alone mixed dyes and treats fabrics.
In 1933 after financial problems, Gozzi bought Fortuny's business and turned it around, making it an international success. His sales continued intermittently until 1938 when he was nearing 70. He tried to use mediocre Italian fabrics, but had to fall back on his stock of Japanese silks to maintain the quality he desired.
His salon had fewer and fewer clients, although he was still very much appreciated by those who knew his work. In 1949, Orson Welles used 3 of Fortuny's coats in his film "Othello".
In 1949 Mariano Fortuny died. One boutique remained open until the death of Henriette Fortuny in 1965.
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This dress is begging for a dramatic girl!
I would pair this with Alexander McQueen shoes - just because the soles are hot pink (Betsy Johnson shoes have pink soles too). Can you just imagine walking away from someone flashing pink soles that match the sash of this dress?
I am still in a bit of a funk but could not resist posting this picture from the Decades blog for you- its Kristin Davis in vintage Guy Laroche Haute Couture at the World Premiere of Sex and the City on May 12th, 2008.
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At the moment I am in a totally uninspiring hotel with what is perhaps the ugliest bedspreads I have ever seen and I am editing photos for the website. I am doing a MASSIVE vintage handbag update this week. Just an absolute ton of them will be popping upon the site over the next day or so. Since I am away the photos will go up first and then I will add the measurements once I get back home. If you see one you must have - just email me!
Bet this is vintage
I Love Marni, I love Lou, I love Consuela
These are all Marchesa
But Eva Longoria
Its not the dress
I know I should not love this
Complete with the cuffs!
Am posting this today because A - the boy is wearing vintage and carrying a Birkin and that makes him a fabulously orginial boy that I would probably like to go shopping with and borrow things from his closet and B - the story along with this photo made me think random evil thoughts that you can choose to read at the end or not.
From the Style File blog:
Bryan Boy, the Manila-based blogger whose musings (www.bryanboy.com) are something of a cult read in fashion circles, is in Sydney for his first ever fashion week. Impressed by his evident passion for accessorizing, I asked him how it was all going.
What are you wearing today? Jeans from Eairth, which is designed by Melissa Dizon; a Topshop shirt with an Hermès twillie; a vintage coat; and a brooch by Ciara Marasigan-Serumgard, who's a designer in the Philippines. And my Birkin. I got it at the Hermès shop in Hong Kong.
What do you blog about? Myself, mostly. For some reason, people like to read about my antics. I'm not an insider whatsoever—I mean, I'm doing my blog from my bedroom in the Third World—but I love fashion.
What do you think of Australian fashion week? It's really organized! I've never been to New York or Paris, but I've heard from my friends how you spend a lot of time going from place to place.
Are you planning on attending either of those? Definitely. I really want to see Balenciaga and Lanvin. And Louis Vuitton. I know I could get into that because I've spoken with Marc a few times.
Oh? When Suzy Menkes gave him a bad review, I made a video in support of him, which he saw. So he e-mailed me. And I e-mailed back saying, you're not Marc Jacobs. So he sent me his personal cell phone number and told me to call him. We talked a few times. He named the BB bag after me. That's my best fashion story so far.
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| 1. | imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance. |
