Trend Presentation Notes – Madeleine Irvine
Crop Top
1. Early 1940s – everyday crop top was usually collared and short sleeved –
was a conservative approach to showing some skin
2. Became more glamorous – all of the silhouettes were designed to
accentuate a womans hourglass shape (crop top and high-rise skirt
became a popular trend)
3. 1970s – bubble up diffusion - hippie movement popularized the “aunatural” look – women created the crop top look by tying their blouses in
the front.
4. Then in the 80s – lots of pop culture movements such as aerobics (fitness
craze, “Flashdance,” “Dirty Dancing” and Madonna. All these iconic
popular culture movements included crop tops.
5. 1990s – 90s popular actresses and music artists made crop tops a huge
trend - Kelly Kepowski from “saved by the bell”, Cher Horowitz in
“Clueless”, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
6. In 2011 and 2012 when designers like Salvatore Ferragamo, Phillip Lim,
Dolce and Gabbana and Prada featured a sophisticated twist on cropped
tops on their runways.
7. The driving influence of the crop top is pop culture - High fashion and
runways had less of an impact on the trend than the movies, fashion icons
and artists of the time.
Harem Pants
1. Harem pants originated in Persia around the 16th century – worn by
women to represent innocence (the style of the pants are loose around
the hips and legs which diminishes any feminine body shape).
2. In the mid 1800’s – in western culture they became popular with the help
of a woman’s rights activist named Amelia Bloomer - The pants were used
as a uniform for women. They pants illustrated the gender boundaries
they intended to break: pants had not been worn by women in public
before this time period.
3. 1900s - French designer Paul Poiret included oriental and Persian
influences in his 1909 collection. Women began dressing in the pants as
they were expanding their traditional apparel boundaries and were
intentionally dressing like men, and therefore associating themselves
with male power and privilege.
4. The harem pants made a revival with the appearance in MC Hammers “U
Can’t Touch This” music video in the 1980’s.
5. 2009 –seen in spring fashion shows by Ralph Lauren. In these cases,
American pop culture stimulated the popularity in the pants.
6. There’s been a increase in clothing made in Asia – a lot of ethnic prints
been featured on catwalks
Faux Fur
1. Started with cavemen who used it to survive the winter/ ice age – used
fur for its purpose to keep warm and for comfort
2. Fur became a symbol of wealth due to its limited accessibility – was worn
by the elites of society and it represented rank and class.
3. 10th century – in northern Europe fur was first worn as fashion inside
garments
4. 11th – 12th century – hats made from beaver skins became popular
5. 14th century – trend developed to caps, gloves, collars, linings
6. late 19th century – victorian innovation – fur then became fashionable to
wear on the outside of garments (fur coat was created)
7. In the early 1900s, French fashion designers such as Madame Isidore
Paquin (1869-1956), and Paul Poiret (1897-1944) introduced elegant fur
garments in their regular fashion collections.
8. 1950s – dior and Balenciaga started to make less formal fur garments
such as capes/ waistcoats (times of rock and roll/ rockabilly influences). –
They experimented with techniques and style of fur items. (trickle down
diffusion)
9. 1950s – during World War 2 there were restrictions and people had less
money and materials but after the war fur became especially popular
again.
10. 1953 – Hollywood films (the lady wants mink) contributed to the desire
for fur – wearing mink was a status symbol.
11. 1960s and 1970s – animal rights movement which changed peoples
opinion of fur (ethical rights/ animal cruelty) suddenly began
unacceptable to wear real fur – sales dropped. (1961 – 101 Dalmatians –
cruella de vil reflected how wearing fur was becoming controversial)
12. Real fur has always been a symbol of social class/wealth but after
campaigns people became more aware of animal cruelty so traders began
selling faux fur instead. (Some faux fur designed to look like real fur –
others more glamorous)
13. Since 1960s – machinery has been improved to create faux fur that is of
a high quality – usually made of fine acrylic fibers and can be dyed to
represent the colours and patterns of real animals.
14. Now see faux fur jackets and linings in high street stores and on the
catwalks.