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Chanel: A Woman of her Own by Axel Madsen

(Coco Chanel by Richard Avedon)

I must have read it 4 or 5 times now, Chanel: A Woman of her Own by Axel Madsen and like to recommend it as a very good read.

“I didn’t create fashion, I am fashion.”

Coco Chanel’s genius for fashion may have been distilled in simplicity, but her life was an extravaganza. A brilliant array of luminaries fell under her spell – Picasso, Churchill, Cocteau; lovers included the Grand Duke Dmitri; the English roué, Boy Capel; a French poet; a German spy and the Duke of Westminster, who offered to leave his wife for her permanently, if she would only bear him an heir. Paradoxically, though she might have been regarded in some lights as a pioneering feminist – sacrificing marriage to a revolutionary career in couture – Chanel was utterly baffled by the idea of women’s politics. Educated women? ‘A woman’s education consists of two lessons: never leave the house without stockings, never go out without a hat.’ Chanel’s rise from penniless orphan to millionaire designer – ‘inventing’ sportswear, the little black dress and No. 5 – makes compelling reading, not least because she was inclined to design her own life as deftly as she did her fashions. Axel Madsen negotiates Chanel’s smoke screens with skill, bringing this tantalizing woman to life in all her alluring complexity.

PEERS BOOK REVIEWS

Review by Cathleen Myers

It’s not easy to construct a biography of a compulsive liar, especially when your subject is a highly creative liar who told a different set of lies to each biographer and eventually came to believe some of her own fantasies.

According to Axel Madsen’s well-documented biography, most of the “accepted” story about Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s romantic early life is pure fantasy. She didn’t learn dressmaking from sewing samplers for her strict “aunts” or from “taking courses in design;” but from the nuns at the orphanage where she was raised after her mother’s death and from an ordinary apprenticeship at a provincial dressmaker’s. Her first hat shop was started on money from her first protector, Etienne Balsan, not from her first love the polo-playing Englishman “Boy” Capell. Her father was not a respectable horse trader but an itinerant market fair trader who abandoned her; and she was illegitimate, a disgrace she sought to hide all her life.

Madsen’s biography is an eminently readable celebration of Chanel’s genius as both a couturier and as a self-made business woman who refused the easy life of a kept woman to start her own business, rise to the top of a male-dominated profession and help transform women’s fashion from the opulent Edwardian style to the practical, natural, “modern” look most of us wear today (to work, at least). The author’s style is lively and novelistic and he does have a good knowledge of the fashion industry, though he gives Coco credit for innovations that were not her own (The “feminization of masculine fashion” had been going on in England before Coco’s birth). But Madsen dishes so well about the deadly world of Haute Couture that his lavishly illustrated book is a must for anyone interested in the history of fashion and costume.

Historian’s warning: Madsen’s main weakness is a lack of understanding of the class structure of Chanel’s world (as his misuse of British titles makes clear). A true American, Madsen wonders why Coco fought so hard to conceal her “roots.” Since her true rags-to-riches story is so remarkable, why pretend to have risen from the lower middle class? But those of us who understand 19th century social history understand Chanel’s motives. Nor does Madsen seem to understand the social cachet that an English duke carries even today – which explains Chanel’s desire to marry the eccentric Duke of Westminster, her ruthless erasure of her past, and Westminster’s ultimate refusal to marry her. He was desperate for a male heir and, judging from Debrett’s, preferred well-born brides .

Coco Chanel’s life in photographs & quotes

Coco Chanel at the age of 23

. Coco & Etienne Balsan

When Coco Chanel lived with Etienne Balsan at Royallieu, she started wearing men’s clothes

Coco Chanel & Boy Capel, 1912

Coco & Adrienne in 1913, in front of Coco’s first boutique in Deauville

“Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”

Coco & Bendor, the Duke of Westminster, at the Grand National racetrack

Coco & Winston Churchill

Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel and Serge Lifar (The principal dancer of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes during its final years in the late 1920's) -

Coco & Serge Lifar (The principal dancer of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes during its final years in the late 1920’s)

Coco photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1937

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

Coco & Salvador Dalí

Coco Chanel at 50 by George Hoyningen-Huene

“Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”

Coco working on het beloved jewelry

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“Fashion has become a joke. The designers have forgotten that there are women inside the dresses. Most women dress for men and want to be admired. But they must also be able to move, to get into a car without bursting their seams! Clothes must have a natural shape.”

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Categories biography, inspiration

Limi Yamamoto a.k.a. LIMI feu

21 Jul

(photograph by Robert Maxwell)

Feu means fire, and there’s a lot of fight in Limi.

Born in 1974 by the famous fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, it was not surprisingly that Limi Yamamoto chose a creative path and took up fashion studies at Bunka Fashion College and is now one of Japan’s most promising fashion designers.

She started work as a pattern maker for the Y’s line of Yohji Yamamoto Inc. in 1996. After working 2 years as a pattern maker for Y’s, she started her very own label named Y’s bis LIMI in year of 1999 and presented her first 2000 autumn/winter collection in Tokyo. In 2002, the brand was renamed as LIMI feu and with a huge success, Limi further expanded her fashion territory to Paris and debuted her 2008 spring/summer collection there obtaining praises immediately.. In 2009, she was awarded the Designer of the Year award by the 51st Fashion Editor’s Club of Japan.

LIMI feu spring 2013

In one interview, when asked how Limi’s style differs from the style of her famous dad), the designer replied simply: “by the fact that I’m a woman”. If the question was what they have in common, it would be that they are both Japanese. Where the designs of Yohji are considered to be more romantic, the clothes of Limi are femininely sensual. Her signature is, first of all, in the volume: the garments are oversized, as if migrated from the men’s wardrobe to women’s as well as the combination of military style and delicate floral prints on the same coat, or those funny high bowlers. At one show several men came out on the runway which had the audience wondering if Limi has launched a men’s collection. “Ah non,” exclaimed one of her French staff. “It’s just that in Japan men often borrow LIMI feu from their girlfriends closets so she wanted to play with that”.

LIMI feu catwalk pictures

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A tribute to that infinitely complex and perfected very “Japanese” cut is in order: that black-white-grey palette, only occasionally broken by the bright colour splashes of blue, red or their mosaic combination, and that seemingly simple maximally elongated male snow-white shirt, and the curiosity of the trousers with strap,; and short leather jackets with inevitable motorcycle boots.
Sensuous rock and roll on the verge of anguish, or simply on the verge of.. male and female.

“She made it” declared a beaming Yohji after his daughter’s Paris debut. And papa had every reason to be proud: The collection was a walking advertisement for fashion DNA.

Boutique in Paris

Situé dans le deuxième arrondissement, au 13 rue de Turbigo.

LIMI feu Prankster

LIMI feu also produces a kid collection called LIMI feu Pranster, which is very popular in Japan.

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Categories inspiration

Suzy Menkes collection at Christie’s

14 Jul

My friend Eddy send me an email this week, with a link to the Christie’s Online Auctions : The Suzy Menkes Collection. Some spectaculair garments are for sale, specially the very sought after Ossie Clark/Celia Birtwell pieces are rare to be found.

Suzy Menkes is an iconic fashion journalist who is held in the highest esteem by designers, models, fellow journalists and fashion followers around the globe. Comprising just over 90 lots, the collection features an inspiring array of dresses, coats, skirts, jackets and accessories by a cross spectrum of the most revered names in fashion from Ossie Clark and Emilio Pucci, to Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. All the pieces highlight Suzy’s beliefs that colour and pattern make every day joyous and that clothes are like friends: they have to complement your personality, your hopes and desires.

http://www.christies.com/

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Categories Uncategorized

Amazing Pattern Books

14 Jul

A couple of years ago, my sister Mary showed me a great online shop specialized in books on crafts like sawing, knitting, beading, embroidery etc. She had bought a Japanese book with patterns for children’s clothes which was really great, so I started searching the shop for other pattern books and found the best ever. They were written in Japanese, but because I am a very advanced sewer this didn’t withhold me from buying some of the books. A little while ago I noticed one of these books in a bookstore in Amsterdam, but this one was translated in English. So for my fellow craftsmen who haven’t been introduced to these fantastic books, read this post.

Pattern Magic

Pattern Magic is the cult pattern-cutting book from Japan. Taking inspiration from nature, from geometric shapes and from the street, this book harnesses the sheer joy of making and sculpting clothes. The book takes a creative approach to pattern cutting, with step-by-step projects for fashion designers and dressmakers to enjoy.
All the basic information you need to start pattern cutting is included, from the basic block to measurements and scaling. Each project is beautifully illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs showing the stages of construction, the toiles and the finished garments. These easy-to-follow illustrations and detailed instructions make it easy to create stunning, sculptural clothes with a couture look.

Pattern Magic vol. 2

About the Author

After serving many years as a professor at Bunka Fashion College, Tomoko Nakamichi currently delivers lectures and holds courses on design making, both in Japan and overseas.

Pattern Magic even has its own Facebook page on which people show their own Magic Pattern-garments and their own designs !

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pattern-Magic/367180714172

Pattern Magic Stretch Fabrics

All three books (English version) can be ordered by Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Magic-Tomoko-Nakamichi/dp/1856697053

Men’s coats by Ryuichiro Shimazaki

Japanese Sewing Pattern book for Men’s Coats with Full-Sized Pattern Sheet Basic & Cool!!! These cool coats are all designed by Ryuichiro Shimazaki. Ryuichiro Shimazaki is very famous Sewing Designer for men in Japan!! This book is absolutely FANTASTIC! It’s written in Japanese though… Don’t worry 🙂 You can get step-by-step instructions in illustrations ! 01 – Trench Coat 02 – Trench Coat (Spring Coat) 03 – Casual Trench 04 – Short Trench 05 – Pea Coat 06 – Pea Coat (Vintage Style) 07 – Pea Coat (Marine Style) 08 – Pea Coat (Military Style) 09 – Duffel Coat (Traditional) 10 – Duffel Coat (Off-White) 11 – Duffel Coat (Canvas) 12 – Balmacaan Coat (Traditional) 13 – Balmacaan Coat (Used Style)

http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Coat-By-Ryuichiro-Shimazaki/dp/4579112202

Shirts by Ryuichiro Shimazaki

This book is can be bought in the French or Japanese language

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ryuichiro%20Shimazaki/e/B00BBO279Q/ref=lp_B00BBO279Q_B00BBO279Q_sr/277-8062809-1072826?rh=i%3Abooks&field-author=Ryuichiro+Shimazaki&sort=relevance&ie=UTF8&qid=1373355247

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Categories inspiration

Salvatore Ferragamo, searching for ‘shoes which fit perfectly’

7 Jul

Salvatore Ferragamo was one of the most influential footwear designers of the 20th century, providing Hollywood’s glitterati with unique hand-made designs

Salvatore Ferragamo was born, the eleventh of fourteen children, in 1898 in Bonito, a village about 100 kilometres from Naples. After making his first pair of shoes when he was only 9, for her sister to wear on her confirmation, young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling. He studied shoemaking in Naples for a year, and opened a small store based in his parent’s home. In 1914, Salvatore emigrated to Boston, where one of his brothers worked in a cowboy boot factory. Salvatore was fascinated by the modern machinery and working procedures but at the same time saw its quality limitations After a brief stint at the factory, Salvatore convinced his brother to move to California, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. In the early Twenties he moved to Santa Barbara, California, to join another brother. It was here that Salvatore found success, initially opening a shop for repair and made-to-measure shoes, which soon became prized items among celebrities of the day, leading to a long period of designing footwear for the cinema.

Joan Crawford

Sophia Loren

Audrey Hepburn

Greta Garbo

Marilyn Monroe famous movie scene in Salvatore Ferragamo heels

California was a dreamland in those years . For more than 30 years he shod the whole galaxy, from Lillian Gish in the first silent films to Marilyn Monroe in the Seven Year Itch. Greta Garbo purchased 70 pairs of shoes in one visit to the shop in Florence. One of his most celebrated pieces are Dorothy’s ruby slippers for the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz. Meanwhile Salvatore himself, in his constant search for ‘shoes which fit perfectly’ studied human anatomy, chemical engineering and mathematics at university in Los Angeles. When the movie industry moved to Hollywood, Salvatore followed. In 1923 he opened the ‘Hollywood Boot Shop’, which marked the start of his career as ‘shoemaker to the stars’, as he was defined by the local press. His success was such that he couldn’t keep pace with the orders, but American labour wasn’t capable of making the shoes Salvatore wanted and in 1927 he decided to return to Italy, to Florence, a city traditionally rich in skilled craftsmanship.

From his Florentine workshop – in which he adapted production line techniques to the specialised and strictly manual operations of his own workers – he launched a constant stream of exports to the States. Then came the great crisis of 1929, which brusquely interrupted relations with the American market, and the firm had to close. Salvatore didn’t not lose heart however, turning his energies instead to the national market. By 1936 business was going so well he started renting two workshops and a shop in Palazzo Spini Feroni, in via Tornabuoni. These were years of economic sanctions against Mussolini’s Italy and it was in this period that Salvatore turned out some of his most popular and widely-imitated creations, such as the strong but light cork wedges. Cork, needlepoint, lace, hemp, wood, metal wire, raffia, felt, glass-like synthetic resins cellophane and raffia, – he even tried fishskin- were among the innovative materials that Salvatore used to creatively replace the leather and steel which trade restrictions prevented him from using.

Ferragamo Family

Neiman Marcus Award (Salvatore second from left, Christian Dior standing at the right side)

On the strength of his success, in 1938 Salvatore was in a position to pay the first instalment for the purchase of the entire Palazzo Spini Feroni, which has been Company headquarters ever since. In 1940 he married Wanda Miletti, the young daughter of the local doctor in Bonito, who had followed him to Florence and who was to bear him six children, three sons (Ferruccio, Leonardo and Massimo) and three daughters (Fiamma, Giovanna and Fulvia). In the post-war period, all over the world the shoes of Salvatore Ferragamo became a symbol of Italy’s reconstruction, through design and production. These were years of memorable inventions: the metal-reinforced stiletto heels made famous by Marilyn Monroe, gold sandals, and the invisible sandals with uppers made from nylon thread (which in 1947 were to win Salvatore the prestigious ‘Neiman Marcus Award’, the Oscar of the fashion world, awarded for the first time to a footwear designer).

Cage heel

Stiletto heel

Platform sole

Golden sandal

Raffia

Invisible sandal

Greta Garbo shoe by Ferragamo

When Salvatore Ferragamo died in 1960 he had realised the great dream of his life: to create and produce the most beautiful shoes in the world. His family was left the task of carrying on and fulfilling the plan that Salvatore had nurtured in his final years: transforming Ferragamo into a great fashion house.