High fashion is the driving force behind the entire fashion and garment industry. This book introduces the patternmaking techniques used in the field for draping, details, trousers and skirts.
This practical step-by-step guide to haute couture embroidery covers everything from machine and hand stitching, to tambour beading, goldwork and monogramming. Whether you are interested in adding monogrammed initials to your favourite bathrobe, stitching a flower on your favourite jacket, adding sparkling beads to a new dress or creating a goldwork embellishment, Fashion Embroidery teaches you how to add a unique touch to your clothes. In this beautifully illustrated book, Jessica Pile, the Production Director at Hand & Lock embroidery, explores the intricate techniques used in fashion embroidery. With hand-drawn designs, catwalk photographs and step-by-step guides, this book is perfect for beginners looking to personalise their own clothes, as well as more experienced embroiderers who want to apply new techniques to different fabrics. Beginning with an inspirational overview of the fashion industry, Jessica looks at examples of embroideries and embellishments by a variety of couturiers, including Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hardy Amies and Burberry. The book then demonstrates the basics of three main techniques – goldwork, tambour beading and embroidery stitches including silk shading, satin and stem stitch. In do-it-yourself projects, Jessica first helpfully explains the basics of materials; she teaches you how to pick the right fabric, what tools to use, where to source materials, what types of wire or beads to use and terminology. Taking influences from existing couture designs, she then shows you how to execute these learned techniques onto your own clothes. This book is perfect for fashion students, textile artists, and those who want a more unique look to their clothes.
This comprehensive guide explores the fundamental sewing methods fashion designers need and teaches professional garment construction. Chapter One introduces sewing tools and machinery (including industrial machines). It discusses how to work with patterns and explains cutting-out methods. Chapter Two is devoted to different fabrics and how they work, focusing on the construction of a garment, including fastenings and trimmings, and the use of materials to support structured pieces, such as corsets. Hand-sewing techniques and basic seams are explored in Chapter Three. Techniques are demonstrated with step-by-step photographic guides combined with technical drawings. A guide to making garment details and decorations, such as pockets, waistlines, and necklines, is found in Chapter Four. Chapter Five addresses fabric-specific techniques, for everything from lace to neoprene. The best technical approaches to use for patternmaking and construction are discussed for each fabric. Catwalk images demonstrate how these kinds of techniques are employed by designers.
Carl Franz Bally founded a shoe factory in Switzerland in 1851. Within decades, the Bally name had achieved worldwide recognition for its high-quality footwear. The history of modern footwear can be traced through the lens of Bally's corporate evolution. This book brings together the results of research on such topics as the economic importance of fashion, Bally's fortunes in the US, the career of shoe design, the sourcing and use of materials, and the rise of strategic product display. The research focuses on the 1930s and 1940s: years of economic crisis and war, characterized by a wide diversity of designs and increasing variety in product range. Shortages also led to experiments with materials and technical innovations. Featuring numerous points of contact with adjacent fields of historical study, this publication marks a contribution to the history of fashion as the history of industrially manufactured products.
'Any woman can wear shoes and handbags: it's not a question of how tall you are, how skinny you are, how blonde or blue-eyed or tanned or whatever.' Marc Jacobs Carolyn Asome reveals the fashion accessory that can make any woman feel fabulous - from the myriad surrealist creations of Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel to Prada's democratic nylon backpack, from the exclusive Hermés Birkin bag to individual vintage gems, the handbag is fashion's most inventive accessory. No shock, then, that the handbag market today is worth more than a hundred billion dollars. From each season's must-have to five-figure rarities, the handbag symbolizes the inexplicable power of fashion desire. Vogue Essentials: Handbags explores all the greatest hits in a collection that any fashion devotee will covet. Published simultaneously with Vogue Essentials: Little Black Dress. This irresistible new series from Conran Octopus and British Vogue explores the key pieces in a stylish woman's wardrobe and features photographs from Vogue's peerless archive of more than a million pictures.