Design with Historical Perspective

I am both a self-professed history nerd and an avid fan of fashion. I get as much enjoyment out of watching Fashion Television as I do from watching Antiques Roadshow. And although I do love Alexander Wang, Rodarte, Nicolas Ghesquière's work for Balenciaga and other "progressive" designers like them, my favourite designers are those that I can tell have their fingers on the pages of history: designers like Alexander McQueen (my ultimate favourite), who despite having began his career by utilizing the "shock and awe" method of promotion, has garnered a reputation for excellence by employing age-old, masterful tailoring techniques.

 

His historical influence, whether it be Renaissance, the Hitchcock era or anywhere in between, can be traced in his collections. My favourites are from collections inspired by pre-20th Century British periods of History  (Especially his Fall/Winter 2008-09 collection).Check out The Luxe Chronicles for more info. His latest menswear collection showcases could-be characters from late 19th Century Gothic novels or Penny Dreadfuls; they're moody, dark, masculine, these are not dandiful flaneurs...they obviously score high in my books!

Pictured Above: Designs from McQueen's Fall/Winter 2005; Fall/Winter 2006 "Highland Rape" collection; Fall/Winter 2008-09 Pret-a-Porter collection; A "mervielleuse" of 1796. Dress and Spence Jacket and "baby" style cap in the fashion of 1796 (Quicerat).

John Galliano, another of my favourites, tends to have a more romantic eye, creating over-the-top, lavish and extravagant clothes...no...works of art. His Haute Couture collections are like being transported back into some hyper-fantastical version of the past. The dress below, to me, seems like it stepped out of a painting by Rococo painter Jean Honore Fragonard. (Fragonard's The Swing, 1767)