Be Yourself : Liz Claiborne And American Fashion

Liz Claiborne immigrated from Belgium to America. When Liz claiborne saw that many women were entering into business, she saw the need for comfortable women work clothes. When liz claiborne had this idea she could not convince her employers that they needed better women clothes. Since, her company launched her clothes are popular. Liz claiborne was now a co founder of her own firm. Liz claiborne also founded an organization helping different cause around the world. Her company greatly affected working women in America.

In her 2010 TED talk, titled “Lessons from fashion’s free culture”, Johanna Blakely describes how the fashion industry’s lack of copyright and patent protection has allowed it to thrive in the economic market. This is mainly because designers have been able to recycle the same building blocks of fashion to create innovate, utilitarian designs into what we regard as art to adorn ourselves. In this talk, she urges other creative industries to adopt this concept.

The topic that I chose in visual arts is fashion. I have researched the impact of society on fashion. Through this subject I will discuss how the society as a whole contributes to what types of pieces are created and designed. Fashion is something that is literally used in everyone’s day to day lives regardless of cultures and beliefs. It is all around us, therefore it influences people everyday, sometimes in ways unknown. Therefore, this topic is completely relevant to everyone around us, seeing that it is such a diverse cultural norm. The knowledge that can be gained through this topic is the understanding and appreciation of something that sometimes gets overlooked greatly on a daily basis. It shows the importance and

Good Evening my fellow neighbors. Most of you know me and for the ones who do not, I am Mabel Dodge. I am the daughter from a family in Buffalo and had what was considered the best education for girls in the nineteenth- century. Instead of going to college, I got married, became a mother and soon, a widow. Later, I traveled abroad and soon married a Boston architect, Edwin Dodge who I later realized the passion I had was no more- so I divorced him. I became bored and began to crave art, the beauty and inspiration! A “salon” in Florence, Italy that I created for the purpose of attracting the most up- and- coming artists in Europe, had me become well known and even a muse for one of Gertrude Stein’s image poems. I reluctantly joined Edwin my husband at the time, who was eager to come back to the United States. I settled in an apartment on the lower Fifth Avenue which most of you have been in for my “evenings” of controversial debates.

This essay will explore the effects social and political changes had on fashion in the 1980’s. This period was chosen because the new romantic fashions were so different to the punk fashions that had been before, this essay will therefore identify the changes that had taken place to influence this change. Primary evidence used to support findings will include interviews and photographs which will show a firsthand account of the period.

She attended Dunbar High School where she won a scholarship to Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh but was denied because of her race. But Catlett didn’t let that get her down, greater things were coming her way. In 1935 she enrolled in Howard University, where she was first introduced to art. She studied design, printmaking, and drawing which was inspired by the speculations of Alain Locke and James A. Doorman. For a short time she worked as a muralist in the mid-1930s for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration which was made in 1935 by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was to make work for those affected by the Great Depression. Elizabeth got impacted by the social activism of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera during this

“The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a bad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth,” (83 Chopin). Everything contemporaneous told Edna that the undiscovered land was so for a purpose. Edna, Leonce, and those alone the gnaw of freedom figured her flight brief and would before long crash down and entropy back into the society. In these days, women weren’t meant to soar, they were meant to be content and patient. The concept of a woman being independent in thought was foreign to the people of nineteenth century New

She motivated the artists that participated in the Feminist Art Movement (“Georgia O’Keeffe,” n.d.). Judy Chicago and Miriam Shapiro were some innovators who saw Georgia’s opposing meanings (“Georgia O’Keeffe,”

Judy Chicago (artist, author, feminist and educator) has a career that now spans five decades. In the late 1960s, her inquiry into the history of women began a result of her desire to expose the truth of women’s experiences, both past and present. She still continues on a crusade to change the perception of women from our history, “Women’s history and women’s art need to become part of our cultural and intellectual heritage.” (Chicago, 2011) Through our history women - their struggles, accomplishments and contribution to history, have been overlooked, downplayed and even completely written out of a male dominated society and culture. In anthropologist Sherry Ortner’s 1974 essay “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” she supports this view, writing “…woman is being identified with—or, if you will, seems to be a symbol of—something that every culture devalues,” (Ortner, 1974) Where Mendieta's work primarily came from a striving to belong and an understanding of where she came from, I feel that Chicago's aim was to find a place for all women, past and present in this world, starting with herself in the art world. Chicago did explore her peronal heritage in later works entitled 'Birth Project' and 'Holocaust Project'.

Fairchilds argues that debates over women’s political rights were neither the only nor the most significant causes for the emergence of Revolutionary regulations of dress. She suggests that these regulations emerged due to the policy of consumption and consumer goods, which was shaped by two contradictory notions: the notion that consumers had the right to buy what they wanted and the notion that goods had symbolic, formative and didactic traits that reflected and shaped the consumer’s personality. Through the examination of the Old Regime luxury debates, Fairchilds explains the beginnings of these ideas and how they influenced Revolutionary policies towards dress. In addition, she suggests that the concept that fashion reflects an individual’s

Impacting the fashion industry with influences based on her childhood in Belgium, Liz Claiborne forever changed women’s clothing. Claiborne’s career began with her study of art, and, after winning a design contest held by a popular magazine company, Claiborne realized her potential in the field of fashion. At 19 years old, she moved to a place where creativity is embraced: New York. As her skills in designing and producing clothing increased, Claiborne became the head designer of Jonathan Logan’s Youth Guild label. Here, the first pieces of clothing she designed were women’s sportswear, made with the intent of looking more colorful and stylish than the drab suits that women were used to at the time. Claiborne carried her success in women’s

Jane yearns for independence and fights “like a wild frantic bird that is rending its own plumage in its desperation” to obtain it (Bronte 483). However, when she states “I have spoken my mind, and can go anywhere now” (Bronte 483), Jane fulfills her ability to exert her opinions and to make decisions for herself. Bronte illustrates Jane as “a vivid, restless, resolute captive “who desperately tries to gain freedom (Bronte 263). Before realizing her true potential Jane acts like “a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage” (Bronte 263).

According to Clemente, American fashion as a whole tends to be more casual compared to other countries’ fashion styles. The idea of casual American fashion derives from the concept of being able to dress independently and freely. This also correlates with some of America’s values. USA fashion consists of many articles of clothing that consist of everyday, simple pieces which are usually made from simple fabrics like cotton. Other countries, on the other hand, still seem to have a more formal approach to their own fashion styles. Even though other countries try to emulate the casual styles found in America, their styles still have that touch of formality that is embedded in their culture. Clemente’s article suggests that while a causal outfit

After spending a few years in the industry, staring as a wardrobe stylist, Jeneen has changed careers that include being a single mother of twin girls and a flight attendant for Southwest Airline. Her work as a stylist consists of commercials for Target and fashion shows during Fashion Week in New York. All things dealing with fashion Jeneen Talbert is concentered an expert to many.

Altman in 1933 ordered an entire collection from her.She ordered bathing suits,dresses,and gowns.Muriel’s clothes were used in majority of the films in the 1930’s.She designed a whole collection of clothing for the leading lady Katharine Hepburn for her film Sylvia Scarlett and also created a collection made just for Katherine personal life. Every woman wanted her clothes or wore them.Her designs were based on a comfortable fitting and her liking in style..She continued with her work in the Hollywood designing clothes for 8 more movies.As time went by she continued working for magazines .Soon World War II she made clothes specifically designed for women aircraft workers.Soon the clothes were used by famous aircraft maker companies. After the war she went back to making clothes for Lord and Taylor’s freelancing.Sooner or later she became head designer at Stein and Blaine.Her career lasted for a very long time.but in the 1950’s her career slowed down due to her style in her designs.In the 50’s they were looking for things sexy and innovative but her designs were mature and respectable.Muriel’s career slowly ended by this ‘Kiss of death” in the fashion industry.She retired from the fashion industry in 1957 and went to her love and passion for painting.Muriel had a successful career and was known for her talent.She died in 1977 at the age of 76.Muriel brought her talent and shared it with the world.She made