Timeline of Fashion
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Richard Avedon, American fashion photographer: I think
charm is the ability to be truly interested in other people.
(AP, 11/7/97)
Stephen Jay Gould (d.2002): In the heat of immediate enthusiasm, we
often mistake transient fashion for permanent enlightenment.
(NH, 6/97, p.20)
c500-400BC
Before the rise of Rome, the Etruscans had the most powerful nation in
ancient Italy. The Etruscans (who called themselves the Rasenna)
inhabited central Italy and greatly influenced the Romans in terms of
language, architecture and even fashion (evidence points to the toga as
an Etruscan invention). Unfortunately, no Etruscan literary works
survive, so most documentation comes from Greek and Roman literary
sources as well as archaeological evidence. Their military and
political power was eroded over the course of the 5th century BC with
Rome rising as the dominant power on the peninsula in the 4th century
BC.
(HNQ, 2/8/01)
1310 May 20, Shoes began to be
made for both right and left feet.
(MC, 5/20/02)
1553 Apr 29, A Flemish woman
introduced to England the practice of starching linen.
(MC, 4/29/02)
1687 Feb 19, Johann Adam
Birkenstock, composer and sandal designer, was born.
(MC, 2/19/02)
1715 May 4, A French manufacturer
debuted the first folding umbrella.
(HN, 5/4/98)
1733 Feb 27, Johann Adam
Birkenstock (46), composer and sandal designer, died.
(MC, 2/27/02)
1778 Jun 7, George Byran "Beau"
Brummell, English wit, was born. He influenced men's fashion and
introduced trouser to replace breeches.
(HN, 6/7/99)
1784 Jun 16, Holland forbade
orange clothes.
(MC, 6/16/02)
1790-1792 Sans-culottes (French for without
knee-breeches) was a term created during this period by the French to
describe the poorer members of the Third Estate, according to the
dominant theory because they usually wore pantaloons (full-length
trousers) instead of the chic knee-length culotte. The term came to
refer to the ill-clad and ill-equipped volunteers of the Revolutionary
army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, but,
above all, to the working class radicals of the Revolution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans-culottes)
1809 Mar 4, Madison became 1st
President inaugurated in American-made clothes.
(SC, 3/4/02)
1818 May 27, American reformer
Amelia Jenks Bloomer, who popularized the "bloomers" garment that bears
her name, was born in Homer, N.Y.
(AP, 5/27/99)
1818 Henry Sands Brooks began H.
& D.H. Brooks & Co. in mostly rural Manhattan. It became a key
military supplier during the Civil War. A 2nd store opened in 1928 and
operations grew to the well known chain known as Brooks Brothers.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R40)(SFC, 6/29/01, p.A8)(NW,
9/1/03, p.64)
1819 Jul 9, Elias Howe (d.1867),
inventor of the sewing machine, was born in Spencer, Mass. Howe, a
machinist, developed his sewing machine in 1843-45 and patented it in
1846. Although Howe's machine sewed only short, straight lines, tailors
and seamstresses saw it as a threat to their jobs. Unable to market his
machine in America, Howe took it to Britain where he sold the rights to
an English manufacturer in 1847. Upon his return to the United States,
Howe discovered that his patent had been infringed upon by other sewing
machine manufacturers, such as Isaac Singer. After a lengthy court
battle, Howe's patent was upheld and royalties from sewing machine
sales made him a wealthy man.
(WUD, 1994, p.689)(HN, 7/9/99)(MC, 7/9/02)
1826 May 29, Ebenezer Butterick,
inventor (tissue paper dress pattern), was born.
(SC, 5/29/02)
1846 Lt. Harry Lumsden in the heat
of India’s Punjab dyed his PJs a tawny color. They were made of cotton
and called khaki in Hindi.
(NH, 6/96, p.7)
1848 Britain introduced khaki
uniforms for British colonial troops in India.
(WSJ, 5/28/02, p.B1)
1849 Apr 10, Walter Hunt, a
mechanic, patented the safety pin in NYC. He sold rights for $100.
Hunt’s other inventions included a new stove, paper collar,
ice-breaking boat, fountain pen and nail-making machine.
(SFC, 7/14/99, p.3)(SFC, 4/1/00, p.B4)(MC, 4/10/02)
1851 Fruit of the Loom was founded
in Rhode Island as the B.B and R Knight Corporation and changed its
name in 1856. Robert Knight, a textile mill owner, visited his friend,
Rufus Skeel. Mr. Skeel owned a small shop in Providence, Rhode Island
that sold cloth from Mr. Knight's mill. Mr. Skeel's daughter painted
images of apples and applied them to the bolts of cloth. The ones with
the apple emblems proved most popular. Mr. Knight thought the labels
would be the perfect symbol for his trade name, Fruit of the Loom.
(www.fruitoftheloom.eu/Consumer2009/en/about_our_history.php)
1853 Levi Strauss, Bavarian-born
dry goods merchant, arrived in California. and Co. He got his start
peddling tough canvas pants to California gold miners. When his canvas
ran out he switched to serge de Nimes, which evolved into denim. [See
1873, 1874]
(SFC, 1/23/96, p.C4)(SFC, 1/9/99, p.D3)(CHA, 1/2001)
1857 Apr 21, Alexander Douglas
patented the bustle.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1857 Jun 2, James Gibbs, Va.,
patented a chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine.
(SC, 6/2/02)
1866 Henry Wickham (1846-1928)
ventured from Britain to South America hoping to shoot exotic birds and
ship home feathers for lady’s hats. This venture failed as the birds
exploded from the rifle shots. He returned to the Amazon region and in
1876 gathered seeds of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, which produced
latex. Less than 4% of some 70,000 seeds germinated, but this was
enough to ship seedlings to Ceylon, India, Malaya and Singapore and
begin a global rubber plantation boom.
(WSJ, 2/27/08, p.D10)
1871 Robert Knight, Rhode Island
textile mill owner, secured patent number 418 for the brand Fruit of
the Loom.
(SSFC, 11/29/09,
p.N6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_of_the_Loom)
1873 Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis
patented the rivets that adorned their miners' work pants.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A10)
1874 May 20, Levi Strauss began
marketing blue jeans with copper rivets at $13.50 per doz.
(HN, 5/20/98)(SFC, 8/28/98, p.B4)(MC, 5/20/02)
1875 Jul 23, Isaac Merritt Singer
(63), inventor (sewing machine), died.
(MC, 7/23/02)
1876 Samuel T. Cooper purchased
six hand-operated knitting machines and with his sons founds S.T.
Cooper & Sons, a hosiery manufacturer located in Ludington,
Michigan. At the turn of the century the company moved to Kenosha,
Wisconsin.
(SSFC, 11/29/09, p.N6)(http://tinyurl.com/y9d8vq4)
1876 Woman’s underwear began to be
sold in stores.
(SFEC, 8/27/00, Z1 p.2)
1877-1957 Edna Woodman Chase, American fashion
editor: Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess.
(AP, 8/31/97)
1882 Jun 6, An electric iron was
patented by Henry W. Seely in NYC.
(MC, 6/6/02)
1883 Aug 19, Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel (d.1971), French fashion designer, was born: "My friends, there
are no friends."
(HN, 8/19/00)(AP, 7/26/99)
1885 May 19, Jan Matzeliger began
the 1st mass production of shoes in Lynn,
Massachusetts.
(DTnet, 5/19/97)
1887 Mar 13, Chester Greenwood of
Maine patented earmuffs.
(MC, 3/13/02)
1892 Abercrombie & Fitch,
clothing retailers, began operations.
(Econ, 3/6/04, Survey p.11)
1895 May 24, Samuel I. Newhouse,
US millionaire publisher (Parade, Vogue, Glamour), was born.
(MC, 5/24/02)
1896 Mar 31, Whitcomb Judson
patented a hookless fastening (zipper) in Chicago.
(MC, 3/31/02)
1896 Sep 10, Elsa Schiaparelli,
French fashion designer, was born.
(MC, 9/10/01)
1896 Brooks Brothers introduced
button down collars after observing polo players button down their
collar points to keep them from flapping during play.
(WSJ, 6/23/03, p.B1)
1899 Jan 24, The rubber heel was
patented by Humphrey O'Sullivan.
(MC, 1/24/02)
1904 Aug 18, [Francis] Max Factor
(d.1996), cosmetics manufacturer (Max Factor), was born. His father,
Max Factor (d.1938), was born in Lodz, Russia, in 1877 and came to the
US with his family in 1902.
(MC, 8/18/02)(Internet)
1904-1980 Cecil Beaton, English fashion photographer
and costume designer: "The truly fashionable are beyond fashion."
(AP, 7/5/00)
1905 Jan 21, Christian Dior,
fashion designer (long-skirted look), was born in Normandy, France.
(MC, 1/21/02)
1905 Jul 2, Jean-Rene Lacoste,
tennis champ, alligator shirt designer, was born in France.
(SC, 7/2/02)
1905-1914 The great ostrich feather craze for the
adornment of women’s hats, gowns, capes, gloves and shoes took place
over this period. In 2008 Sarah Stein authored “Plumes: Ostrich
Feathers, Jews, and a Lost World of Global Commerce.”
(WSJ, 11/19/08, p.A19)
1907 Oct 28, Edith Head, fashion
designer for MGM, was born.
(MC, 10/28/01)
1907 Oct, By general agreement the
first mention of the word “brassiere” appeared in Vogue magazine.
(SSFC, 10/28/07, p.E1)
1908 Jul 1, Estee Lauder, CEO of
Estee Lauder's cosmetics, was born.
(MC, 7/1/02)
1908 Marquis Mills Converse
founded the Converse shoe company. In 1917 the All-Stars basketball
shoe was introduced. In 1923 it was renamed the Chuck Taylor All-Star.
In 2003 the company was sold to Nike.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.A6)
1908 Gideon Sundback, Swedish-born
engineer working for the Automatic Hook and Eye Co. of Hoboken, New
Jersey, designed a new fastener, the “Plako,” for use in the placket of
a woman’s skirt.
(ON, 7/04, p.5)
1909 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
opened her 1st shop, a millinery, in Paris.
(WSJ, 10/13/03, p.A1)
1910 Coco Chanel (1883-1971),
French fashion designer, moved to Rue Cambon, Paris.
(WSJ, 10/13/03, p.B1)
1914 May 18, Pierre A Balmain,
fashion designer (1940's "New Look"), was born in France.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1914 Nov 20, Emilio Pucci, fashion
designer (Neiman-Marcus Award-1954), was born in Naples.
(MC, 11/20/01)
1917 Jun 16, Irving Penn, fashion
photographer, brother of film director Arthur Penn, was born.
(HN, 6/16/01)
1919 May 25, Madame C.J. Walker
(51), wealthy cosmetics manufacturer, died. In 2003 Beverly Lowry
authored "Her Dream of Dreams: The Rise and Triumph of Madame C.J.
Walker."
(SC, 5/25/02)(WSJ, 4/22/03, D7)
1921 Guccio Gucci (1881-1953) and
his wife, Aida, opened their 1st store in Florence following a number
of years in London. Their son, Aldo, later built the Gucci brand into a
global snob-appeal powerhouse. In 2000 Sara Gay Forden authored "The
House of Gucci."
(WSJ, 9/1/00, p.W1)(WSJ, 11/5/03, p.A1)
1922 Jun 22, Bill Blass (d.2002),
fashion designer, was born in Fort Wayne, Ind.
(SFC, 6/13/02, p.A23)
1922 Jul 7, Pierre Cardin, fashion
designer (Unisex), was born in Paris, France.
(AP, 7/7/02)(MC, 7/7/02)
1922 Aug 8, Rudi Gernreich,
designer (1st women's topless swimsuit, miniskirt), was born in Vienna,
Austria.
(MC, 8/8/02)(Internet)
1923 May 25, John Weitz, spy,
author, fashion designer (Friends in High Places), was born.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1923 May 28, US Attorney General
said it is legal for women to wear trousers anywhere.
(MC, 5/28/02)
1923 Aug 3, Anne Klein, fashion
designer (Anne Klein II), was born.
(SC, 8/3/02)
1923 Coco Chanel launched Chanel
No. 5 perfume in Paris.
(WSJ, 10/13/03, p.B1)
1923 Barney Pressman pawned his
wife's wedding ring in NYC to lease a Seventh Ave. store selling
discounted men's suits. In 1993 Barney's opened a $270 million Madison
Ave. showcase store.
(WSJ, 2/11/04, p.B1)
1923 The Converse shoe company,
founded in 1908, renamed its All-Stars basketball shoe to Chuck Taylor
All-Star. In 2003 the company was sold to Nike.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.A6)(SFC, 12/10/04, p.D1)
1924 Feb 20, Gloria Vanderbilt,
fashion designer, was born. In 2004 she published her memoir “It Seemed
Important At the Time.”
(HN, 2/20/98)(WSJ, 10/1/04, p.W7)
1927 Feb 21, Hubert de Givenchy,
fashion designer, was born in Beauvais, France.
(MC, 2/21/02)
1927 Aug 30, Geoffrey Beene, dress
designer (8 Coty Awards), was born in Louisiana.
(MC, 8/30/01)
1928 Jan 17, Vidal Sassoon, hair
stylist/CEO (Vidal Sassoon), was born in London.
(MC, 1/17/02)
1928 Dec 13, The clip-on tie was
designed.
(MC, 12/13/01)
1928 The John H. Daniel Co. was
founded in Knoxville, Tennessee, for producing men’s suits. By 2004
global competition led the company to import tailors from Turkey.
(WSJ, 4/12/05, p.A1)
1928 "Levi's" became a trademark.
Walter Haas Sr. succeeded Sigmund Stern, the nephew of Levi Strauss, as
president.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)
1929 Jan 26, San Francisco police
took Frances Orlando (19) to the Bush Police Station because she was
dressed in men's clothing.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.E3)
1931 Ellery J. Chun (d.2000 at 91)
designed the 1st Hawaiian aloha shirt for mass-production and sale at
his family’s store in Honolulu. He put a trademark to the aloha shirt
name in 1936.
(SFC, 6/8/00, p.C7)(SFEC, 6/25/00, p.B13)(SSFC,
8/25/02, p.C8)
1931 Willis & Geiger
Outfitters were awarded a US Army & Air Force contract for A-2
flight jackets.
(NH, 9/96, p.17)
1931 A rubber called Lastex came
on the market and changed the bra industry.
(SSFC, 10/28/07, p.E3)
1932 Apr 23, Halston, [R Halston
Frowick], fashion designer (1972 Hall of Fame), was born.
(MC, 4/23/02)
1932 Sep 11, Valentino, fashion
designer for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was born in Milan, Italy.
(MC, 9/11/01)
1933 Rene Lacoste (b.1905), French
tennis player, founded the Lacoste apparel company. He applied a
crocodile insignia to polo shirts after his nickname, “Le Crocodile.”
His son Bernard Lacoste (1931-2006) succeeded as president in 1963.
(SFC, 3/23/06, p.B7)
1934 Feb 11, Mary Quant, fashion
designer (Chelsea Look, Mod Look), was born in Kent, England.
(MC, 2/11/02)
1934 May 23, Wallace Carothers
manufactured the 1st nylon, polymer 66.
(MC, 5/23/02)
1934 A postcard of a man in bikini
shorts inspired a Wisconsin-based Cooper’s Inc. designer to invent
Jockey Shorts, the first pair of briefs.
(SSFC, 11/29/09, p.N6)
1935 Jan 19, The first pair of
Jockey briefs showed up in a Marshall Field’s window in Chicago.
(SSFC, 11/29/09, p.N6)
1937 Feb 16, Wallace H. Carothers,
a research chemist for Du Pont who invented nylon, received a patent
for the synthetic fiber. It would replace silk in a number of products
and reduce costs. [see 1930] In 2000 Susannah Handley authored "Nylon:
The Story of a Fashion Revolution."
(HN, 2/16/98)(AP, 2/16/98)(WSJ, 1/21/00, p.W8)
1938 Levi Strauss & Co.
registered its cloth pocket tab as its trademark.
(SFC, 11/1/02, p.E7)
1939 Oct 14, Ralph Lauren, fashion
designer (Chaps), was born.
(MC, 10/14/01)
1939 Bra makers first started
using cup sizes.
(SFC, 9/1/96, Z1 p.2)
1940 May 15, Nylon stockings went
on general sale for the first time in the United States. [see Oct 24,
1939]
(AP, 5/15/97)
1942 Nov 19, Calvin Klein, fashion
designer (Calvin Klein Jeans, CK), was born in Bronx, NYC.
(MC, 11/19/01)
1945 Jun 27, Norma Kamali, dress
designer (Costumes for the Wiz), was born in NYC.
(SC, 6/27/02)
1945 Peter Haas Sr. joined Levi.
He later became president.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)
1946 Jul 5, The bikini bathing
suit, created by former civil engineer Louis Reard, made its debut
during a fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris. Model Micheline
Bernardini wore the skimpy two-piece outfit. Its name correlated with
the July 1 American atom bomb test on Bikini Atoll. Réard wanted
his design to have a similar explosive affect. According to New York
Times columnist William Safire, the swimsuit caused more debate,
concern and condemnation than the atomic bomb.
(SFC, 7/5/96, p.D17)(TMC, 1994, p.1946)(AP,
7/5/97)(SFEC, 1/17/99, Z1 p.1)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R14)(WSJ, 1/11/99,
p.R14)(HNQ, 4/6/02)
1946 Dec 2, Gianni Versace,
fashion designer (Versace), was born.
(MC, 12/2/01)
1947 Christian Dior premiered his
1st post was collection. It was dubbed "The New Look" and "Bar" suit
for women.
(WSJ, 1/20/03, p.B1)
1948 Oct 2, Donna Karan, fashion
designer (Coty Award-1977), was born in Forest Hills, NY.
(MC, 10/2/01)
1950 Hazel Bishop (d.1998 at 92)
formed Hazel Bishop Inc. to manufacture and market her kiss proof
lipstick. It was introduced in the summer at $1 a tube.
(SFC, 12/12/98, p.A25)
1950 Martha Matilda Harper
(b.1857), Canadian-born hair-care businesswoman, died. She was probably
the 1st person to perfect the franchise system of business organization.
(WSJ, 4/23/02, p.D7)(WSJ, 4/22/03, D7)
1951 May 8, Dacron men's suits
were introduced.
(MC, 5/8/02)
1951 Armi Ratia, Finnish designer,
expanded her husband's printing business into a fashionable "total work
of art" business (Gesamtkunstwerk) that became "Marimekko."
(WSJ, 1/6/04, p.D10)
1952 Emilie Flöge, Viennese
fashion designer, died. She was a long time companion of Gustav Klimt.
Dr. Wolfgang Fischer later authored "Gustav Klimt and Emilie
Flöge, An Artist and His Muse."
(WSJ, 10/22/99, p.W14)
1953 Jan 17, In SF 40 leading
fashion models formed the Professional Fashion Models of SF and
demanded a $5 fee for fitting time and rehearsals.
(SFC, 1/17/03, p.E8)
1953 Poppit beads, small plastic
ball-and-socket units, were first created in England. They were later
sold under the names Poppit, Snapit or Lockit and sold as beads for
necklaces.
(SFC, 4/16/08, p.G3)
1954 Cecil Beaton authored “The
Glass of Fashion,” a history of style.
(WSJ, 9/15/07, p.W10)
1957 Oct 24, Christian Dior (52),
French fashion magnate and inventor of the postwar "New Look," died in
Italy. He was succeeded by his favorite assistant, Yves Saint Laurent.
(SFC, 1/9/97, p.E7)(SFC, 6/9/98, p.D3)(MC, 10/24/01)
1960 Marc Bohan took over Dior as
a fashion designer for jet setters.
(WSJ, 1/20/03, p.B1)
1960 A Vatican rule that required
women to wear head coverings in Catholic churches was repealed.
(WSJ, 10/8/97, p.A1)
1962 Mar 1, K-Mart opened.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1963 In Spain Amancio Ortega Gaona
began to trade garments. He later founded Inditex, a holding company of
retail brands, which included Zara. By 2005 Inditex had emerged as one
of the world’s fastest-expanding makers of affordable fashion clothing.
(Econ, 6/18/05, p.57)
1964 Rudi Gernreich designed his
notorious topless bathing suit, dubbed the "monokini". The bold design
catapulted both Gernreich and Peggy Moffitt to stardom, as Moffitt was
one of the few models bold enough at the time to model it, but never in
public. Photographer William Claxton, Moffit’s husband, maintained
control of the pictures.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Moffitt)(SFC,
10/14/08, p.B5)
1964 In SF Carol Doda donned a
Rudi Gernreich topless bathing suit at the Condor Club. She soon had
her size-34 breast injected with silicon, and her bust came to be known
as Doda's "twin-44s" and "the new Twin Peaks of SF." Her fame prompted
the club to erect a neon sign with blinking nipples that lasted to
1991.
(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.W38)(SFEC, 8/1/99, DB p.32)(SFEC,
8/1/99, DB p.32)
1964 George Barrie, founder of
Caryl Richards hair care products, bought Faberge. He soon introduced
the Brut men’s cologne.
(SFC, 1/24/07, p.G7)
1965 Apr 1, Helena Rubinstein
(89), US cosmetic manufacturer, died. In 2004 Lindy Woodhead authored
“War Paint: Madame Helena Rubinstein & Miss Elizabeth Arden: Their
Lives, Their times, Their Rivalry.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Rubinstein)(SSFC, 3/8/09, p.G1)
1966 Oct 19, Elizabeth Arden, US
cosmetic manufacturer, died. In 2004 Lindy Woodhead authored “War
Paint: Madame Helena Rubinstein & Miss Elizabeth Arden: Their
Lives, Their times, Their Rivalry.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Arden)(SSFC,
3/8/09, p.G1)
1966 In Hawaii Aloha Friday, a
tradition of wearing Hawaiian fashion, became official.
(WSJ, 1/24/08, p.A12)
1968 Calvin Klein founded Calvin
Klein Ltd. in NYC for $10,000.
(SSFC, 11/29/09,
p.N6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Klein)
1969 Mar 11, Levi-Strauss started
to sell bell-bottomed jeans.
(HN, 3/11/98)
1969 Apr 1, Helena Rubinstein
(89), US cosmetic manufacturer, died.
(MC, 4/1/02)
1969 Aug 31, Andrew Phillip
Cunanan, serial killer, was born. His victims included fashion designer
Gianni Versache.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1969 Katherine Hepburn starred in
"Coco," a Broadway musical based on Coco Chanel's life.
(WSJ, 10/13/03, p.B1)
1969 Donald and Doris Fisher
founded the Gap in San Francisco. In 2004 Fisher authored "Falling Into
the Gap: The Story of Donald Fisher and the Apparel Icon He Created."
(SSFC, 2/15/04, p.I1)
1970 Aug 25, Claudia Schiffer,
German fashion model, was born.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Schiffer)
1970 Madge Short (d.1998 at 80)
and Jane Saunders (50) co-founded The Body Shop in Berkeley. The name
was sold to Britain’s Anita Roddick in 1987 for $3.5 million.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.A20)(SSFC, 5/16/04, p.F6)
1971 Jan 10, Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel (b.1883), French fashion designer, died in Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel)
1971 Mar 3, Levi Strauss &
Co., SF-based jeans maker, went public.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)(http://tinyurl.com/5wnfjx)
1971 Bebe, the SF-based women’s
fashion retailer, was founded as a boutique.
(SFEM,11/23/97, p.27)
1971 The first Ralph Lauren Polo
store opened on Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive.
(SFC, 4/14/96, EM,
p.10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polo_Ralph_Lauren)
1972 Elizabeth Ewing authored
“Underwear: A History.”
(SSFC, 12/31/06, p.E3)
1972 A Stetson Hat Factory moved
to St. Joseph, Mo. The handmade hats took 43 steps to produce.
(SFC, 7/31/98, p.A14)
1972 Nike Shoes began production.
(SFEC, 9/8/96, Z1 p.6)
1974 Rudi Gernreich, Austrian
engineer, introduced the first "thong bikini."
(WSJ, 6/7/99,
p.A8)(www.bikiniscience.com/chronology/1970-1975_SS/1970-1975.html)
1974 Nov 1, Yuko Shimizu, Sanrio
designer and creator Hello Kitty set Nov 1 as her birthdate and her
parents as George and Mary White of London.
(SSFC, 12/26/04, p.M2)
1975 Aug 24, Charles H. Revson
(b.1906), US cosmetic magnate, died.
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/500688/Charles-H-Revson)
1975 Foot Locker, a division of
Woolworth Stores, opened its 1st outlet.
(WSJ, 5/13/03, p.A1)
1977 Yves St. Laurent launched the
perfume Opium.
(Econ, 3/6/04, Survey p.11)
1978 Apr 2, Velcro was 1st put on
the market.
(MC, 4/2/02)
1983 Karl Lagerfeld became a
designer for Chanel.
(WSJ, 10/13/03, p.A1)
1984 Levi introduced its "501
Blues" ad to jump-start jeans sales under CEO Robert Haas, the
great-great-grandnephew of founded Levi Strauss.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)
1984 Nike signed a 5-year contract
with Michael Jordan. The Air Jordan basketball shoe was released in
1985 for $65.
(WSJ, 11/11/03, p.B1)
1984 France-based Hermes
introduced its Birkin handbag, named after British actress Jane Birkin,
at a starting price of around $7,000. In 2008 Michael Tonello authored
“Bringing Home the Birkin.”
(WSJ, 4/25/08,
p.W5)(www.alphadictionary.com/business-tree/bags/bag%20birkin.html)
1985 Apr 21, Rudi Gernreich (62),
US designer (miniskirt), died.
(MC, 4/21/02)
1985 Bernard Arnault bought Dior
and took the company out of bankruptcy court.
(WSJ, 1/20/03, p.B1)
1986 Naomi Sims (1948-2009)
authored “All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman.” Her 1968
cover shot on the Ladies’ Home Journal was a breakthrough for black
fashion models.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Sims)(SFC,
8/7/09, p.D5)
1986 Levi Strauss & Co.
introduced Dockers, a line of roomy khakis aimed at baby boomers.
(WSJ, 5/28/02, p.B1)
1987 LVMH, a fashion and luxury
goods group, was created. Its initials stood for Louis Vuitton (leather
luggage), Moet (champagne) and Hennessy (cognac).
(Econ, 3/6/04, Survey p.6)
1990 Mar 26, Designer Halston died
in San Francisco at age 57.
(AP, 3/26/00)
1990 Jun 2, Frederick Mellinger
(76), founder of Fredericks of Hollywood, died.
(www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/mnames-nf/Mellinger+Frederick)
1990 Jun 22, Florida passed a law
that prohibited wearing a thong bathing suit.
(MC, 6/22/02)
1992 Nov 29, Emilio Pucci (78),
Italian fashion designer (Jackie Kennedy), died. In 2000 his firm was
acquired by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
(MC, 11/29/01)(WSJ, 8/22/03, p.B1)
1993 Maurizio Gucci sold his
remaining stake in Gucci to Investcorp, a Bahraini firm.
(WSJ, 11/5/03, p.A1)
1994 The Gap opened its Old Navy
discount clothing store in Colma, Ca.
(SSFC, 2/29/04, p.I1)
1995 Mar 27, In Italy Maurizio
Gucci (46), businessman, was shot to death in Milan. He was the last
family member to have held shares in the Gucci fashion company, now
part of the Bahrain-based Investcorp. In 1997 police arrested his
former wife, a psychic, a doorman, and two hitmen for their roles in
the murder. In 1998 Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli (50) was convicted and
sentenced to 29 years in prison. The psychic got 25, the doorman got
26, the driver got 29 and the gunman got life.
(SFC, 2/1/97, p.A12)(SFC, 11/4/98, p.A13)
1995 Feb 3, IBM in fashion shed
its dress code in favor of casual wear.
(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.C1)
1995 Oct 10, Paolo Gucci,
entrepreneur and accessories designer, died at 64.
(MC, 10/10/01)
1996 Jun 7, Max Factor,
hairstylist, died at age 91. He started the Max Factor makeup company
that was bought out by Proctor and Gamble in 1991. In March ‘96, the
Max Factor Museum of Beauty in Hollywood shut down.
(SFC, 6/8/96, p.A17)(www.deadoraliveinfo.com)
1996 Aug 28, In Poland Agnieszka
Kotlarska, fashion model, was knifed and killed by a thief outside her
home.
(SFC, 8/29/96, p.A14)
1996 John Galliano, British
designer, became chief designer for Dior. In 1999 he introduced the
saddle bag handbag.
(WSJ, 1/20/03, p.B1)
1996 Levi Strauss & Co. went
private again after the company bought nearly 1/3 of its stock for $4.3
billion.
(SFC, 4/29/03, B1)
1997 Feb, Tattooing was
re-legalized in NYC after a 36-year ban caused by fears of hepatitis.
(Econ, 5/24/08,
p.48)(http://nymag.com/guides/everything/tattoos/37978/)
1997 Jul 15, Gianni Versace,
Italian fashion designer, was shot to death outside his home in Miami
Beach, Fla. Police were searching for Andrew Philip Cunanan, 27, of San
Diego as the primary suspect. Suspected serial killer Andrew Phillip
Cunanan, was found dead eight days later.
(SFC, 7/17/97, p.A1)(AP, 7/15/98)
1997 Jul 22, More than 2,000
people gathered in Milan, Italy, for a memorial Mass for slain fashion
designer Gianni Versace; the mourners included Princess Diana and
singer-songwriter Elton John.
(AP, 7/22/98)
1997 Jul 23, The search for Andrew
Cunanan, the suspected killer of designer Gianni Versace and others,
ended as police found his body on a houseboat in Miami Beach, Fla., an
apparent suicide.
(SFC, 7/24/97, p.A1)(AP, 7/23/98)
1999 Feb 22, Levi Strauss, falling
victim to a fashion generation gap, announced that it would close 11 of
22 US plants and lay off 5,900 factory workers.
(SFC, 2/23/99, p.A1)(AP, 2/22/00)
1999 Jun 8, The WSJ covered the
thong as a fashion statement on page 1.
(WSJ, 6/7/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 9, Four large apparel
corporations settled out of court in a suit to end sweatshop labor in
Saipan. Nordstrom, J. Crew, Cutter & Buck and Gymboree agreed to
pay $1.25 million to reimburse workers for recruitment fees and to set
up a program to monitor island contractors.
(SFC, 8/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Karen Kozlowski and Meg Cohen
Ragas authored "Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick."
(SFEC, 4/18/99, BR p.5)
1999 Gucci under CEO Domenico De
Sole purchased Yves St. Laurent for $1 billion. Gucci invited
Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR), a French retail group, to buy a
substantial stake in the company to prevent a hostile takeover.
(Econ, 11/8/03, p.62)
2000 Aug 17, India opened its
first fashion show in Mumbai, Lakme India Fashion Week.
(http://lifestyle.indianetzone.com/fashion/1/lakme_india_fashion_week_(lifw).htm)
2001 Oct 1, Conde Nast said it
would its Mademoiselle (b.1935) fashion magazine would be published for
the last time in November.
(SFC, 10/2/01, p.C1)
2002 Jun 12, Bill Blass (79),
fashion designer, died in New Preston, Conn.
(SFC, 6/13/02, p.A23)
2003 Mar 5, Sir Hardy Amies
(93), Savile Row designer and self-described snob, died.
(SFC, 3/6/03, p.A19)
2003 Mar 11, Benetton, an
Italian retailer, said it planned to attach salt-grain sized microchip
transmitters to clothing at its 5,000 stores.
(SFC, 3/12/03, p.B1)
2003 Jul 9, It was reported that
processed fish skin was making it in the fashion world. The Scottish
fashion company Skini recently launched a line of salmon-skin bikinis.
(WSJ, 7/9/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep, Carlo Benetton sold his
11,000 acre Buffalo Ranch to the state of Texas for use by the prison
system.
(Econ, 9/27/03, p.30)
2003 Michael J. Silverstein and
Neil Fiske authored "Trading Up: The New American Luxury." It described
a "new kind of emotional engagement" for consumers and business leaders.
(WSJ, 10/15/03, p.D14)
2003 Gladys Perint Palmer authored
"Fashion People."
(SSFC, 5/11/03, p.E7)
2004 Jan 24, Helmut Newton (83),
fashion photographer, died in a car accident in LA.
(SFC, 1/23/04, p.A2)
2004 Feb 22, Giorgio Armani signed
a $1 billion hotel venture with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.
(Econ, 2/28/04, p.61)
2004 Feb 25, Tom Ford presented
his last Gucci collection.
(SSFC, 2/07/04, p.E1)
2004 Apr 24, Estee Lauder
(b.1906), cosmetics pioneer whose pots of potions and tubs of
moisturizers have turned the clock back for millions of faces across
the globe, died in NYC.
(AP, 4/26/04)
2004 Jun 11, Egon von Furstenberg
(57), a Swiss-born aristocrat known as the "prince of high fashion,”
died in Rome.
(AP, 6/11/04)
2004 Jun 18, The Hanky Panky thong
model 4811 was described as the top seller in its category. In
2003 thongs accounted for a quarter of the $2.6 billion panty
market. Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck began Hanky Panky in the late
1970s.
(WSJ, 6/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 27, it was reported that
Levi had signed a letter of intent to sell its Dockers brand to Vestar
Capital Partners from $800 million.
(WSJ, 9/27/04, p.AB6)
2004 Sep 28, Geoffrey Beene (77),
the award-winning designer whose simple, classic styles for men and
women put him at the forefront of American fashion, died.
(AP, 9/28/04)
2004 Oct 1, Richard Avedon (81),
fashion photographer, died.
(SFC, 10/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 29, It was reported that
US teen fashions had veered away from grunge and hip-hop looks toward a
more preppy attire and that Axe, a deodorant body spray, was becoming
popular among young boys.
(WSJ, 10/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Hair stylist began providing
crystal extensions dubbed “hair bling.” Bling was a hip-hop term for
flashy dressing and accessories.
(WSJ, 7/16/04, p.W1)
2005 North Korea’s government
urged its women to refrain from wearing trousers, saying Western
clothing dampen the revolutionary spirit and blur national pride.
(AP, 12/5/09)
2007 Jun 17, In Italy Gianfranco
Ferre (b.1944), known as the "architect of fashion," died in Milan. He
was the top designer for Christian Dior from 1989-1996.
(SFC, 6/18/07, p.A2)(AP, 6/17/08)
2007 Oct 11, Campaign for Safe
Cosmetics, a US consumer rights group, said more than half the
lipsticks it had tested were found to contain lead and some popular
brands including Cover Girl, L'Oreal and Christian Dior had more lead
than others.
(Reuters, 10/11/07)
2008 Apr 11, It was reported that
clubbers across Europe were doing a dance called “tecktonik,” a mix of
rave and breakdancing.
(WSJ, 4/11/08, p.W10)
2008 Jun 1, Yves Saint Laurent
(b.1936, one of the most influential and enduring designers of the 20th
century, died in Paris.
(AP, 6/2/08)
2008 Aug 13, Jack Weil (107),
patriarch of western clothing, died. He created the western style shirt
which sold after 1946 through his Denver-based company Rockmount Ranch
Wear.
(Econ, 8/30/08, p.82)
2008 Sep 5, Mila Schoen (b.1916),
an Italian designer of elegant, impeccably tailored clothes, died at
her villa in northern Italy.
(AP, 9/5/08)
2008 Sep 16, Local media reported
that a Florida judge has deemed unconstitutional a law banning baggy
pants that show off the wearer's underwear.
(AP, 9/17/08)
2008 Oct 11, William Claxton
(b.1927), music and fashion photographer, died in Los Angeles. He had
photographed his wife in 1964 in the Rudi Gernreich designed topless
bathing suit and achieved recognition for his photos of jazz stars.
(SFC, 10/14/08, p.B5)
2008 Oct 19, Richard Blackwell
(86), actor turned fashion designer, died in Los Angeles. He claimed to
be the first to make designer jeans for women. In 1960 he issued his
first tongue-in-cheek criticism of Hollywood fashion disasters.
(SFC, 10/21/08, p.B5)
2008 Dec 29, Ted Lapidus (b.1929),
French fashion designer who redefined chic with the 1960s unisex look,
died. Lapidus created his label in 1951, and in 1963 became a member of
the prestigious Paris fashion club that runs haute-couture, La Chambre
Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
(AP, 12/30/08)
2008 Dec 22, Alfred Shaheen
(b.1922), the dean of Hawaiian couture, died. In 1948 he started
manufacturing rayon Hawaiian shirts in a Quonset hut left over from the
war. Within a decade annual revenue grew to $4 million.
(WSJ, 1/24/08, p.A12)
2009 Feb 14, Sir Bernard Ashley
(82), British businessman, died. He teamed up with his wife to build
the Laura Ashley (d.1985) fashion and home furnishing brand into a
global business.
(AP, 2/17/09)
2009 May 8, In London Marks &
Spencer admitted it had "boobed" in a row over larger bras, agreeing to
slash the prices of its DD-plus cup sizes to bring them in line with
smaller models.
(AFP, 5/8/09)
2009 May, In France fashion house
of Christian Lacroix filed for bankruptcy. It had been founded inside
LVMH, a luxury goods group in 1987 and lost money every year since then.
(Econ, 7/11/09, p.66)
2009 Jun 22, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy declared that the Islamic burqa is not welcome in
France, branding the face-covering, body-length gown as a symbol of
subservience that suppresses women's identities.
(AP, 6/22/09)
2009 Jun 23, The French parliament
created a commission to study the wearing of body-covering burqas and
niqabs in France, a day after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the
Islamic garment turns women into prisoners.
(AP, 6/23/09)
2009 Jul 26, Gaza's top judge said
that he has ordered female lawyers to wear Muslim headscarves when they
appear in court, the latest sign that the Islamic militant group is
increasingly imposing its strict interpretation of Islamic law on
residents of the coastal strip.
(AP, 7/26/09)
2009 Jul 30, Japanese astronaut
Koichi Wakata described his test of new underwear, called J-Wear, as
the shuttle Endeavour prepared to come home after over 2 weeks aloft.
Wakata tested the high-tech underwear for a month at a time during his
4½ months aboard the ISS.
(SFC, 7/31/09, p.A9)
2009 Aug 31, In southern
California fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was sentenced to 59
years to life in prison for sexually assaulting aspiring models he
lured to Los Angeles.
(AP, 9/1/09)
2009 Sep 7, A Sudanese judge
convicted Lubna Hussein, a woman journalist, for violating the public
indecency law by wearing trousers outdoors and fined her $200, but did
not impose a feared flogging penalty. Hussein said she will not pay a
penny while still in court custody, wearing the same trousers that had
sparked her arrest.
(AP, 9/7/09)
2009 Sep 8, Sudanese journalist
Lubna Ahmed Hussein, who spent a day in jail for refusing to pay a fine
for wearing "indecent trousers," vowed on her release to keep up the
battle against the law. The UN’s human rights office said Sudan's
conviction Hussein for indecency for wearing trousers violates
international law and is emblematic of wider gender discrimination in
the Islamic country.
(AFP, 9/8/09)(Reuters, 9/8/09)
2009 Sep 23, Iranian police warned
shop owners against displaying female mannequins wearing underwear or
showing off their curves as part of a government campaign against
Western influence.
(AP, 9/23/09)
2009 Sep, In Israel Rabbi Yosef
Shalom Elyashiv (99) outlawed the use of elevators. Jewish law, or
halacha, forbids the use of electrical items on the Sabbath. He also
has proclaimed that Jews could not wear Crocs shoes on Yom Kippur, the
Day of Atonement, because they were deemed too comfortable for the
somber fasting holiday.
(AP, 10/27/09)
2009 Oct 6, Syria held its first
ever fashion design competition, meant to encourage young Syrian
talents and local products.
(AP, 10/7/09)
2009 Oct 7, Irving Penn (b.1917),
American fashion photographer, died in NYC. He began contributing to
Vogue magazine in 1943. His younger brother Arthur Penn (b.1922) gained
renown as a film director and producer.
(SFC, 10/8/09, p.A8)
2009 Oct 9, Egypt's top Islamic
cleric said that students and teachers will not be allowed to wear face
veils in classrooms and dormitories of Sunni Islam's premier institute
of learning, al-Azhar, part of a government effort to curb radical
Islamic practices.
(AP, 10/9/09)
2009 Oct 22, A Sudanese court
sentenced two women to 20 lashes for dressing "indecently." Judge
Hassan Mohammed Ali said: "The two women wore trousers and no
headscarf. The court therefore finds them guilty according the public
order laws." Last year nearly 43,000 women were detained for indecent
clothing offences in Khartoum region, where five million people live.
(AFP, 10/22/09)
2009 Oct 28, Kuwait's highest
court ruled that women lawmakers are not obliged by law to wear the
headscarf, a blow to Muslim fundamentalists who want to fully impose
Islamic Sharia law in this small oil-rich state.
(AP, 10/28/09)
2009 Nov 8, Brazil’s private
Bandeirante University in Sao Bernardo do Campo, outside Sao Paulo,
expelled Geisy Arruda (20) for wearing a short, pink dress to class,
publicly accusing her of immorality. Arruda made headlines after an
Oct. 22 incident, in which she had to be escorted away by police after
wearing the mini-dress to class. The dean of the private college in
suburban Sao Paulo released the next day announcing a decision to
reinstate her.
(AP, 11/9/09)(AP, 11/10/09)
2009 Nov 19, In France South
Korean model Daul Kim (20), a fashion week regular in New York, Milan
and Paris, was been found hanged in her Paris apartment.
(AP, 11/20/09)
2009 Nov 21, In Sudan Silva Kashif
(16), a girl from south Sudan, was arrested convicted and lashed 50
times after a Khartoum judge ruled her knee-length skirt was indecent.
Her mother, Jenty Doro, later said she planned to sue the police who
made the arrest and the judge who imposed the sentence, as her daughter
was underage and a Christian.
(Reuters, 11/27/09)(AFP, 11/28/09)
2009 Dec 4, North Korea made an
unlikely foray into designer denim as the "Noko Jeans" label was
launched in Sweden. The brand is Swedish but the black jeans are
manufactured in North Korea, an experiment its creators described as a
way to open doors to the reclusive communist country. The next day
Stockholm’s PUB department store removed the new line of designer jeans
from its shelves, saying it wants to avoid courting controversy through
ties with the isolated communist nation. Noko Jeans founders said they
will continue to sell the jeans on their Web site and that retailer
Aplace will continue to sell them on their Web site.
(AP, 12/4/09)(AP, 12/5/09)
2009 Marnia Lazreg, Algerian-born
professor of sociology at City Univ. of New York, authored “Questioning
the Veil: Open Letter to Muslim Women.”
(Econ, 9/5/09, p.92)
2010 Jan 13, Edgar Vos (78), "the
emperor of Dutch fashion," died of a heart attack while on vacation in
Florida. Vos built a chain of 15 stores across the Netherlands, where
he sold designer clothes cut to bring out the best from all figures and
tailored to most budgets.
(AP, 1/14/10)
2010 Jan 27, It was reported that
Italian fashion house Armani has stopped selling online a T-shirt
bearing a logo similar to Indonesia's national symbol, Garuda
Pancasila, after some bloggers protested and other people called for
the label to be sued.
(Reuters, 1/27/10)
2010 Jan 28, Denmark's government
said that face-covering Muslim veils don't belong in Danish society but
no ban is needed because their use can be limited under existing rules.
(AP, 1/28/10)
2010 Jan 28, In Spain prosecutors
say charges have been filed against Mohamed Benbrahim, a Muslim imam,
for threatening a woman in Cunit, Catalonia, who refused to wear an
Islamic headscarf.
(AP, 1/28/10)
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Subject = Fashion
End of file