PARIS HAUTE COUTURE EXHIBITION

When we are not scouring the world looking for clothes  to include in our next DWS Sales, we enjoy looking and appreciating the very best in fashion just for th esheer joy of it.  And so we will be hot footing to Paris  this weekend for a new Show dedicated to Haute Couture that opens this coming Saturday 

Some time in the late 19th century  DANIEL SWAROVSKI founder of the famous crystal empire, got in touch with CHARLES FREDERICK WORTH, the Englishman credited with inventing the art of high fashion, to inquire if he was interested in a collaboration. It was arguably the first of its kind in fashion history.

This marked the beginning of the crystal maker’s love affair with fashion, including high-profile collaborations with CHRISTIAN DIOR and COCO CHANEL — a fact that may surprise you when you go through the PARIS HAUTE COUTURE EXHIBITION at the HOTEL DE VILLE,  supported by the Austrian crystal giant.

The show, has been curated by OLIVER SAILLARD, Director of the Fashion Museum MUSEE GALIARD and it brings together about 100 haute couture dresses alongside original designer sketches, photographs and accessories. Displayed in chronological order from the founding days of couture to the present, the exhibit depicts vintage gowns in relationship with contemporary designers such as AZZEDINE AKAI, BOUCHRA JARRAR, and GIVENCHY, whose creations are injected at strategically important places. 

Particularly striking is the juxtaposition of a 1928 dress by PAQUIN and an YVES SAINT LAURENT model from 1968. “These were two very strong decades for women, and interestingly the dresses are very similar, too — richly embroidered, but very simple in style,” noted Saillard. “I’m now thinking about doing an exhibition dedicated to those two periods.”

To find the best examples, Saillard tapped the Galliera’s archives, counting more than 20,000 pieces. “We chose only those that were screaming: ‘Look at me, I’m haute couture.’ Some of the gowns have not been shown to the public in 40 years.” Alongside the grand couturiers such as BALENCIAGA, MADELINE VIONNET and CHRISTIAN LACROIX,  visitors will also discover less familiar names including MOYNEUX, MARTIAL & ARMAND, JEAN DESSES and GUSTAV BEER, who closed down their 'Houses' decades ago.

Click for Slideshow

The Exhibition runs through to July 6th click HERE for further information.

http://designerwarehousesales.com

SHARP SUITS

A long time ago our MD was a succesful Menswear Designer in his own right, and a kind of a big noise in mens tailoring in this country.  We are delighted to read that one of the ROGER DACK suits he designed is featured in fashion guru ERIC MUSGRAVE'S  seminal tone 'SHARP SUITS'  that has just been published by Pavilion Books.

We may be a tad biased, but we think this is a darn good read (and a great gift too).  Available from Amazon UK now, and in the USA in September.

Click here to order the Book

NEW YORK : HERE WE COME

If you are planing to visit New York this summer, then you will be in for a real fashion treat.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art has two major new Exhibitions that we cannot wait to see.

The first is Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity  which will present a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, will highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness.

If your taste is a little more cutting edge, then check out The Met's spring 2013 Costume Institute exhibition, PUNK: Chaos to Couture,  which will examine punk's impact on high fashion from the movement's birth in the early 1970s through its continuing influence today. Featuring approximately one hundred designs for men and women, the exhibition will include original punk garments and recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear borrow punk's visual symbols.

Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of "do-it-yourself" and the couture concept of "made-to-measure," the seven galleries will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Themes will include New York and London, which will tell punk's origin story as a tale of two cities, followed by Clothes for Heroes and four manifestations of the D.I.Y. aesthetic—Hardware, Bricolage, Graffiti and Agitprop, and Destroy.

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions

7%

We're not that big on making New Years Resolutions here at DWS but we did come across this wonderful list that we are going to try and adopt for 2013 , and would love to share.

Written by Regina Brett from Cleveland Ohio, who at the age of 90 has noted down the 42 lessons that she has learnt in life.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. 

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

11. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...

14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

17. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

22. The most important sex organ is the brain.

23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

25. Always choose life.

26. Forgive but don’t forget. 

27. What other people think of you is none of your business. 

28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..

31. Believe in miracles.

32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

33. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

34. Your children get only one childhood.

35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

38. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.

39. The best is yet to come...

40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

41. Yield.

42. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'.

We are in the 7%. 

GET ON YOUR BIKE

For the past couple of years French Women have been encouraged that the best way to keep their figures is to get on a stationary bike and pedal like mad.  Boring eh?  Not when this is the latest added result  ......

Sexist?  Possibly?  Fun?  Most Definitely!

http://designerwarehousesales.com

SENSIBLE SHOES?

When we were young we were always told to stand up tall ......................

but we were also told to wear 'sensible shoes'  ..... so if you are planning to be in the BIG rush when we open the doors at 10 am this Friday November 30th for the First Day of our WOMENSWEAR DESIGNER SALE, may we suggest that you follow your mother's advice ........and DON'T ape Ms Cu Cu Diamentas.

http://designerwarehousesales.com

LEAH GOTTLIEB WHO MADE SWIMWEAR SEXY

At DWS we spend most of our time trying to predict the (fashion) future but occasionally it's nice to look back, especially when it is to remember the passing of an design icon.  LEAH GOTTLIEB who 'checked out' of her atelier this week at the grand old age of 94 was never a household name BUT we owe her an enormous debt for her remarkable style and talent and her one unforgettable achievement : she made swimwear SEXY!

When she started off with a single sewing machine in a refugee camp in Israel just after WW2 I'm sure she had no idea then that she would end up selling more than a million swimsuits a year within 20 years.  Up till Leah came along swimwear was best described as utlitarian and was so very unflattering, but she came up with the un-heard of idea of actually making them glamourus!

Gottex her label was worn by Sports Ilustrated models, Royalty, movie stars ... she used velvet, metallic gold fabric and psuede-suede as some of her swimsuits got more about lounging than actually getting wet.  But she takes credit too that with her love of spandex she made bathing suits comfortable for women to wear too.

From Elizabeth Taylor to Princess Diane, Mrs Gottlieb was the go-to swimwear queen for decades, but more importantly women everywhere could have exactly the same outfits and (hopefully) look just as good as them.

Leah Gottlieb was a true star that made fashion such wonderful fun, and we honour her for that. We are sure she'll find some great beauties wearing Gottex creations in the great swimming pool in the sky.

http://designerwarehousesales.com