Welcome back to the My Vintage blog and I really hope you have had a great week. I can hardy believe I'm saying this, but England really are in the Euro finals tonight! Whether you are normally a football fan or not, Euro mania has certainly swept the country and the excitement and anticipation are palpable! It has been another busy week for us at the shop but I'm back one again with another installment of my Iconic Vintage Fashion Designers fact file blog post, part four in fact! This week I have hand picked another group of the most influential fashion designers in history and my Top Five favourite facts about them! Let's not waste any time and jump straight in...
KARL LAGERFELD
Top Five Facts about Karl Lagerfeld...
Nobody knew his actual age. Lagerfeld has often shrouded his age in mystery. Between the internet and interviews with him and his associates, there are mixed reports as to whether he was born in 1933. 1935 or 1938.
When it comes to drinks, he was obsessed with Diet Coke! As he once told Harper's Bazaar - "I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed. I can even drink it in the middle of the night, and I can sleep. I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea, I drink nothing else" It is reported he drank up to 10 cans a day.
He wasn't just successful in the fashion field, he also released a book in 2004 named The Karl Lagerfeld Diet which revealed his weight loss secrets. He shed over 40kg in just 13 months back in 2001, after becoming unhappy with his physical appearance.
His real name was actually Karl Otto Largerfeldt, but he made the decision to remove the letter T from the end of the name as he felt it would be more commercially appealing.
Lagerfeld had one of the most impressive CV's of all the fashion greats. He worked as an assistant for Pierre Balmain in his first job back in 1955 before going on to work for Fendi and of course for Chanel in the 1980s.
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
Top Five Facts about Jean Paul Gaultier...
Gaultier spent most of his childhood with his grandmother and spent hours exploring and playing in her wardrobe. He was always particularly fascinated by her corsets, which would be reflected in his future designs.
He has always challenged gender roles in fashion, and was much ahead of his time in this respect. His highly stylised work has often seen female models adopting masculine outfits and males wearing corsets. skirts and dresses.
Arguably, his most famous design was the iconic and unforgettable cone bra outfit worn, of course, by Madonna on her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990.
Gaultier also had a career as a television host in the nineties, when he co-hosted Eurotrash in the UK. Just like him, this was a provocative and boundary pushing series which reviewed the weird and wonderful in music, art, film and unusual topics from around the world.
In 2012, Jean Paul Gaultier took another change of direction when he was appointed Creative Director for Diet Coke. In this role he would be responsible for retail launches, advertising campaigns, social media presence and the design of new bottles.
TOMMY HILFIGER
Top Five Facts about Tommy Hilfiger...
Tommy Hilfiger is one of the most popular brands around at the moment, and vintage Hilfiger can command a huge price and interest. But following on from the success of the brand in the 90s, the early 2000s were terrible, with sales dwindling by 75%. It's hard to believe now, but Hilfiger clothing was found in bargain bins for years as nobody wanted it.
As a child, Hilfiger suffered with dyslexia but didn't receive an official diagnosis. As he puts it, he cured himself by learning how to read differently and teaching himself alternative methods to reach the same level as his peers.
He started his career at the tender age of 18, when he would rework jeans into flares and bell bottoms and sell them onto local retro and boho boutiques.
His daughter, Ally Hilfiger, starred in the 2003 MTV series Rich Girls, alongside Jaime Gleicher. The program followed the girls through their final weeks of high school, graduation and a whole summer together.
Hilfiger has always been very popular with the Japanese. By 1995 he had 36 shops within department stores in the country.
BETSEY JOHNSON
Top Five Facts about Betsey Johnson...
If she could be a shoes, she would be a slipper! "I would be a big, comfy, cozy sherpa-lined leopard faux-fur slipper" she proclaimed in one interview.
As a child, Betsey was intrigued by the world of dance and began to take classes. Later in life she became a dance teacher. This would later become an inspiration in many of the lines and fabrics of her fashion designs.
She actually first began her fashion career in journalism and publishing, bursting onto the scene in 1964 when she won Mademoiselle magazine's Guest Editor Contest.
Johnson really puts the fum and pizazz into her catwalk shows, famously doing a cartwheel at the finale of her spring and fall shows each year!
There is no doubt that Betsey Johnson's signature look is her platinum blonde hair. In a 2013 interview she joked that it costs a small fortune to "look this cheap and trashy", revealing that each year she spends around $20,000 at the salon.
GIORGIO ARMANI
Top Five Facts about Giorgio Armani...
Armani has often said that he owes a lot of his success to the world of cinema, he has created costume for over 250 films. The first of which was dressing Richard Gere for American Gigolo in 1980.
The infamous designer owns a total of 9 homes - 5 in Italy and one each in Antigua, France, Switzerland and the USA.
Throughout his whole career, Giorgio Armani has never been in any debt. He did, however, sell his beloved white VW Beetle in 1975 in order to finance the business. Something tells me this was a pretty worthwhile sacrifice!
Armani doesn't feel that fashion should move too quickly, and doesn't think that collections need to be created every single season. This explains why his collections keep that chic and classic charm and are never outrageous or over-engineered.
You can acquire many different Armani products, it doesn't stop at clothing and perfume. Decorate your home with fresh flowers from Armani Fiori or even treat yourself to some confectionery from Armani Dolci!
I hope you enjoyed this week's look at some more of the most iconic vintage fashion designers in history. What was your favourite this time around? And who would you like me to feature next time in the series?
As always, we have lots more amazing stock arriving on the website this week so keep your eye on our socials for pics, links and videos! And if you are local to Darwen then it would be amazing to see you - come and see us soon! Our opening times are shown on the homepage if you ever need to check them.
Until next time
Emma x
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