Fashion

Fashion, a general term for the style and custom prevalent at a given time, in its most common usage refers to costume or clothing style. The more technical term, costume, has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the more general term "costume" has in popular use mostly been relegated to special senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. This linguistic switch is due to the fashion plates which were produced during the Industrial Revolution, showing the latest designs.[citation needed] For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to the entries for clothing, costume and fabrics. The remainder of this article deals with clothing fashions in the Western world.

The continually changing fashions of the West have been generally unparalleled either in antiquity or in the other great civilizations of the world until recent decades. Early Western travellers, whether to Persia, Turkey or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there, and observers from these other cultures comment on the unseemly pace of Western fashion, which many felt suggested an instability and lack of order in Western culture. The Japanese Shogun's secretary boasted (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.[2] However in Ming China, for example, there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing.[3]

Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change (such as in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate), but then a long period without major changes followed. This occurred in Moorish Spain from the 8th century, when the famous musician Ziryab introduced sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration to Córdoba, Spain.[4][5] Similar changes in fashion occurred in the Middle East from the 11th century, following the arrival of the Turks who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.[6]

The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated to the middle of the 14th century, to which historians including James Laver and Fernand Braudel date the start of Western fashion in clothing.[7][8] The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment, from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. This created the distinctive Western male outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers.

Fashion photography

Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Allure. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by the presence of exotic locations or accessories.

Photography was developed in the 1830s, but the earliest popular technique, the daguerreotype, was unsuitable for mass printing.[1] In 1856, Adolphe Braun published a book containing 288 photographs of Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione, a Tuscan noblewoman at the court of Napoleon III. The photos depict her in her official court garb, making her the first fashion model.

In the first decade of the 20th century, advances in halftone printing allowed fashion photographs to be featured in magazines. Fashion photography made its first appearance in French magazines such as La mode practique. In 1909, Condé Nast took over Vogue magazine and also contributed to the beginnings of fashion photography. In 1911, photographer Edward Steichen was "dared" by Lucien Vogel, the publisher of Jardin des Modes and La Gazette du Bon Ton, to promote fashion as a fine art by the use of photography.[3] Steichen then took photos of gowns designed by couturier Paul Poiret.[3] These photographs were published in the April 1911 issue of the magazine Art et Décoration.[3] According to Jesse Alexander, This is "...now considered to be the first ever modern fashion photography shoot. That is, photographing the garments in such a way as to convey a sense of their physical quality as well as their formal appearance, as opposed to simply illustrating the object."[4] At this time, special emphasis was placed on staging the shots, a process first developed by Baron Adolf de Meyer, who shot his models in natural environments and poses. Vogue was followed by its rival, Harper's Bazaar, and the two companies were leaders in the field of fashion photography throughout the 1920s and 1930s. House photographers such as Edward Steichen, George Hoyningen-Huene, Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton transformed the genre into an outstanding art form. Europe, and especially Germany, was for a short time the leader in fashion photography.

But now with that change in time every country has taken considerable measures to promote the field of photography.

In the mid 1940s as World War II approached the focus shifted to the United States, where Vogue and Harper's continued their old rivalry. House photographers such as Irving Penn, Martin Munkacsi, Richard Avedon, and Louise Dahl-Wolfe would shape the look of fashion photography for the following decades. Richard Avedon revolutionized fashion photography — and redefined the role of the fashion photographer — in the post-World War II era with his imaginative images of the modern woman. Today, his work is being exhibited in the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach, FL. This exhibition features more than 200 works and spans Avedon’s entire career, including vintage prints, contact sheets, and original magazines from Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and The New Yorker.

The artists abandoned their rigid forms for a much freer style. In 1936 Martin Munkacsi made the first photographs of models in sporty poses at the beach. Under the artistic direction of Alexander Brodovich, the Harper's Bazaar quickly introduced this new style into its magazine.

In postwar London, John French pioneered a new form of fashion photography suited to reproduction in newsprint, involving where possible reflected natural light and low contrast.[5][6]

After the deaths of Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts, some of today's most famous fashion photographers are Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh and Annie Leibovitz[7][8]

Fashion models

Models may be used to display and promote clothing. Fashion modeling may involve catwalk or runway modeling or editorial modeling, covering photography for magazine spreads, ad campaigns, catalogues, print etc. The emphasis of fashion photography is on the clothes or accessories, not the model. Fashion models may be used to display or promote various types of clothing, such as lingerie, swimsuit, and bikini. Models may be used in showroom, fit modeling, fitness or sporty modeling. Some are used for petite modeling or plus-size modeling.

The first person described as a fashion model is Parisian shopgirl, Marie Vernet Worth. She was a house model in 1852, to her fashion designer husband, Charles Frederick Worth.[2][3]

[edit]Body types

Because clothing is needed to be modeled for all people, a variety of shapes and sizes is required in models. Many models weigh about 110 pounds (50 kg) to 125 pounds (57 kg).[citation needed]

[edit]Female body type

Main articles: Size zero and Female body shape

The British Association of Model Agents (AMA) says that female models should be around 34-24-34 in (86-61-86 cm) and between 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall.[4] The ideal measurements used to be 35.5-23.5-35.5 in (90-60-90 cm), which were the alleged measurements of Marilyn Monroe.[citation needed] However, today's fashion models tend to have measurements closer to the AMA recommended shape, although by no means do all models have these exact statistics, and fashion houses may require other sizes for their models. Although in some fashion industries, a size 00 is more ideal than a size 0.[5]

The often thin shape of many fashion models has been criticized for allegedly warping girls' body image and encouraging eating disorders.[6] Organizers of a fashion show in Madrid in September 2006 turned away models who were judged to be underweight by medical personnel who were on hand.[7] In February 2007, six months after her sister, Luisel Ramos - also a model - died, Uruguayan model Eliana Ramos became the third international model to die of malnutrition in six months. The second victim was Ana Carolina Reston.[8] Luisel Ramos died of heart failure caused by anorexia nervosa just after stepping off the catwalk.

[edit]Male body type

The preferred average dimensions for a male model are a height of 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), a waist of 26–33 in (66.04–83.82 cm) and a chest measurement of 32–40 in (81.28–101.60 cm).[4] Male runway models have been noted as being skinny and well toned to fit the clothes, whereas editorial models cover all body types from slender to muscular.[9]

[edit]Supermodels

Main article: Supermodel

Supermodels are highly paid, high profile fashion models. These (usually female) celebrities, also known as cover girls, appear on top fashion magazine covers, in catalogues and in fashion shows.

The first model widely considered to have paved the way for what would become the supermodel was Lisa Fonssagrives.[10] The relationship between her image on over 200 Vogue covers and her name recognition led to the importance of Vogue in shaping future supermodels. Her image appeared on the cover of fashion magazine during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s from Town & Country, Life and Vogue to the original Vanity Fair. Models like Dorian Leigh and Jean Shrimpton have also been dubbed the first supermodels.

WOMEN´S FITNESS

WOMEN´S FITNESS

Fitness and figure competition

Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events for women; while bearing a close resemblance to female bodybuilding, it emphasizes muscle tone over muscle size. These competitions are frequently held as part of the same events as bodybuilding contests.

Fitness and Figure are two distinct forms of competition. However, the physique guidelines are similar, and many women cross over from one to the other.

[edit]Fitness competition

A typical Fitness competition consists of a swimsuit round, and a routines round. In the swimsuit round, the competitors wear two-piece swimsuits and high-heeled shoes, presenting their physiques with a series of quarter- or half-turns toward the judges and audience. Physique guidelines for fitness competitions typically suggest a small amount of muscular mass; clear separations between muscle groups (but, no visible striations); and, leanness. The swimsuit must cover at least fifty percent of the gluteus maximus muscle; no thongs or G-strings are allowed. The routine round requires a physically-active stage performance; most competitors attempt aerobic, dance, and/or gymnastic routines.

The two most prestigious professional fitness contests are the Fitness Olympia and the Fitness International.

[edit]Figure competition

Figure competition is a newer sub-category of Fitness contests; Figure shows exclude the routines round common to Fitness shows. The competitors are judged solely on muscular symmetry and tone; as in Fitness shows, muscle size is downplayed. Figure competitions appeal most to women who want to compete in a body competition, but wish to avoid Fitness shows' additional athletic and creative demands (for the routines round), or bodybuilding's demands for heavy muscle mass.

A typical figure competition includes two rounds, though this varies by organization. In the symmetry round, the competitors appear on stage in high-heeled shoes and a one-piece swimsuit in a side-by-side line that faces the judges. They execute a series of quarter-turns to the right, allowing the judges to view and compare them from all sides for symmetry, presentation, and other aesthetic qualities such as skin tone, hair, make-up, and stylishness of clothing. In the next round (the group comparisons), competitors return in high heels and a two-piece bathing suit, executing a series of quarter-turns. At this stage, they are judged more critically against the others for conditioning, leanness, and how "feminine" and "athletic" (as opposed to brawny) their muscularity is. Included in either of these rounds, or perhaps just the evening show, the competitors come out individually on stage for a model walk where they are judged on presentation, gracefulness, confidence, poise, and professionalism.

The two most prestigious professional figure contests are the Figure Olympia and the Figure International in the IFBB arena. There are other organizations for fitness and figures such as FAME and IFSB which hosts the Ms Fitness competitions around the world and have their own rules and requirements. The 2003 Figure International was the first professional (i.e., IFBB-sanctioned) figure contest. The first NPC Figure Nationals was held in 2001.