Fashion, Revised

Lately when I've rummaged in most things Fashion, I've felt sorely disappointed.  Nothing pretty or interesting or thoughtful.  Just the making of people into consumer objects without a past or a future.  I look at ensambles and I visualize the person wearing it going no where positive.  So sad.  And, then I browsed the Maison Martin Margiela 2014 collection.  The collection reworks famous textiles into new creations.  Scraps from Fortuny and forgotten decor prints by FLW all incorporated into memorable works of art

I wish I knew what textile this pattern originally came from.  I want to see this dress up close--from this view, Iit could be a Showa kimono print.  Or a mural.  The only thing I know is that I want to know more!

I love this dress and would wear I

it--that makes me love it even more!  I can't decide if it is a 60's Marimekko print or some vintage wax fabric.  It is interesting and beautiful.

Showing the selvages--some of the fabrics by high-end designers are BEAUTIFUL (I'm thinking of Nani Iro).  They're the touches of the fabric that we normally don't see, they tell you what colors are in the fabric and who drew the design.  Seeing the pantone dots makes me smile and think of holding the fabric and trying to decide what to make.  Such a wonderful feeling!

i love this collection; the fabrics are so interesting that I wish I knew the minutia about them.  The garments themselves are simple and while not body-con, they do look comfortable and like reasonable garments.  The mini dress is not for everyone but nothing ever is.  I guess I like this collection so much because it takes the beautiful history of fashion and reuses it to make something new.  Interesting textiles plus interesting designs!

photos from style.com

Master of Fabric--the History of Fortuny

There are some things in fashion that are simply mythical.  One of the most notable of these is Fortuny Fabrics.  Every time I see them I immediately think of Lousie Brooks and Greta Garbo and their glamorous dresses!  The production of the fabrics began just after 1900 and their current factory opened in the early 1920s.  Ever since, their secret formula has been used to create some of the most fine fabrics in the world.

Mariano Fortuny was a Spanish designer who studied achlemy, art, science, music, architecture and history all over the world with a particular emphasis on Greek and Egyptian history.  Oddly, he also had an obsession with Wagner's music.  When he started his foray into fashion in 1907 he decided to open his own fabric production so that he could have access to the high-quality fabrics he envisioned his designs to be made of.  It even seems that neither World War managed to completely shut down his factory, either.

The processes that were and still are used to create these fabrics is still a trade secret and the Fortuny company still claims that no one has been able to exactly replicate their fabrics.  The factory is still using the same machinery and processes that were implemented by Mr. Fortuny himself.  Some of the processes that are known to be used are dying the fabric from the back and the use of dye chemicals from achlemy.  Regardless of what secret thing they do to make their fabric as wonderful as it is, what really makes Fortuny fabric really so wonderful is that it truly stands the test of time.  I'm inclined to say that no other designer seems to have as many surviving gowns from the first few decades of the 20th century as Fortuny and I think that is the true testament to the quality of his work.

Picture of Fortuny gown from http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/hispanicdesigners