The History of Fashion Trends Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The History of Fashion Trends - Research Paper Example The essay "The History of Fashion Trends" analyzes the trends in the fashion history. Although, fashion has its roots since time immemorial, the history of fashion design is no older than the mid 19th century when Charles Fredrick Worth launched his first fashion house in Paris. Ever since, the concept of fashion designers has dominated the fashion world. Throughout 20th century, almost all of the high end fashion spread from Paris and London. The boundary between haute-couture and daily wear garments was not strictly defined. At the onset of this century, the concept of fashion photography emerged as did fashion magazines (Jones). Every century and perhaps decade is marked with changes in fashion trends. A major breakthrough in women’s fashion came in 1920’s with the introduction of flapper styles with emphasis on slack clothes and shorter skirts with temporary revivals of long skirts. By the start of 1930’s a large part of western world faced the effects of the Great Depression and haute couture became less popular. The focus shifted from the more romantic haute couture line (marked by a revival of waist lines along with a bust outline, longer hems, and skin-tight evening gowns) to everyday, utility wear . The 1940’s, being years of war, were marked by the production of uniforms, whereas the 1950’s saw the return of fashion with changes in haute-couture. The end of the 20th century was characterized by globalization of the fashion industry with fashion centers emerging all over the world.... The history of fashion has witnessed two popular fashion movements and trends namely The New Romantic and the Punks. It is worth contrasting the two movements in order to gain a deeper insight into these two highly popular trends. The late 1970’s and early 1980’s were marked by the onset of the New Romantic movement characterized by new trends in fashion and music in U.K (Riello and McNeil). The movement is originally marked by the new wave music and has survived to date with few alterations. Friday and Saturday nights were no longer the most celebrated with music; rather, Tuesdays also received special attention when the club â€Å"Gossips† introduced Bowie nights on this day (Riello and McNeil). The trendsetters in Punk fashion include Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier wardrobe worn by bands such as The Exploited (Jones). Flannel shirts printed with political slogans and band names became a popular practice during the 1980’s (Jones). Leather jackets and denim vests were studded painted and tailor made and replaced the earlier practice of tailor made blazers (Jones). Female punks typically entailed shaving the entire head except for a strand in the front (Jones). Perhaps the most prominent recognition of this era was given by the onset of spiked or apparently electrified hair with flamboyant colors and streaks. The main distinction between the New Romantics and its predecessor (the Punk) then became focus on glamour and looking good in the latter, a reflection of softer, more fragile, self-conscious attitudes contrary to the violent, anarchic and crude culture portrayed by Punks. The New Romantics came to be known for their anti-Punk attitudes as they replaced sloppiness with