Written by: Patts Pérez
Recently, vente-privee.com, the french website that sells high end products with a discount, has curated a study called “Young vs Seniors”.
Said study has become viral because it featured different aspects of fashion. This study covers two age ranges, young people and seniors, so they could find similarities or discrepancies of the opinion of both groups.
¿Who spends the most in fashion? ¿How much? ¿How much does age influence our shopping habits? ¿Which is the bag of our dreams? ¿Which is the european country with the bigger influence in fashion?
Italy, France and England are ahead of this question. ¿How and when did fashion become decentralized?
A 46% of women over 65 years old and a 36% of women under 30 years old both agree on Italy as the biggest influence on fashion.
Since 1945, Italy began to win territory thanks to more competitive prices, regulating the clothing production and promoting textiles. The foreign public started to turn their eyes into the european country, In 1951 the first catwalk in a historic landmark was organized, to turn the presentation of the collections into an experience that went beyond clothing: the scenery has a huge role in the collection, and makes it become a part of the art filled moment that stays in our memory.
Maybe that’s why italian fashion became an influence to most seniors, the fact that they’re not simply clothing items, but have a meaning behind them. Social class, art, beauty, love… The last one became more important when the matrimony formed by Linda Christian, an artist, and Tyron Power, famous actor at the time; chose to marry in Rome, being both of them from the States.
Such a big event won over people’s hearts, and made them change their mentality towards Italy, which became the country that hides beauty, charm and love, a fact that young people still keep very much in mind, since those are the words they use to define the country.
From the classics, Armani or Salvatore Ferragamo, to the more radical ones, like Elsa Schiaparelli was in teh twenties, Versace’s creativity or Nina Ricci’s sweetness. Possibly all of these are reasons that have turned Made in Italy into the “authority”.
Following Italy, it’s easy to guess that France, the cradle of fashion, falls in second place; and both young people and seniors agree on this.
The battle for the gold started after World War II, in the fifties. Before, Paul Poiret was the indisputable king of fashion with his Art Noveaux inspiration. His style, the colors and new cuts made a huge impact on the fashion world and left his mark choosing Paris as the city to follow, with Chanel and Dior.
Chanel, like Schiaparelli, became the transgressor of the time, each of them in their respective style. ¿Maybe there lies the reason for their supposed rivalry? The love-hate relationship was present just in the designers as in the countries rivalry to stay up on top of fashion.
If Chanel was revolutionary, Dior brought elegance back, and the french fashion characteristic of court ladies reappeared.
A little later, at the half of the century, France had to confront the United States and its Ready to Wear: The fashion war was declared.
After these difficult struggles, in the eighties, France’s position was still intact, but the poll by vente-privee have demonstrated that both seniors and youngsters have brought it down to second place.
¿Has France lost its title? ¿Is it only how legendary for fashion it was that it is still at a high spot?
Nevertheless, many french designers are and will be some of the big names in fashion. Chanel is a part of history, myth, icon and example to follow; Vionnets cuts still show through nightgowns, and a “Louis Vuitton” is still the bag that most women sought after, both young and senior.
Lastly, 19% of young people believe that England is on the 3rd place, because of its youthful, radical trends. We believe this is because of what happened in the sixties and seventies with Sex Pistols and the beggining of the Punk lifestyle.
Rallies, youth revolutions, pop, photography, CD’s, fashion and music supposed an important artistic movement of the time in London.
The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimmy Hendrix… Fashion was moving alongside them, the inspiration of all these elements became one, turning into a unique unit. The center of all this: London, and its King’s Road.
All the designers of the time wanted to have their boutique there, where Vivienne Westwood opened her store Let it Rock, which later would be called SEX; and is where “going shopping” became popular.
Mary Quant promoting the miniskirt that Courrèges created, the revelation of Viviene Westwood, the focus of artists, contraculture, punk society and what we know as Swinging London, that are still a part of our days, influencing deeply the younger generation.
McQueen’s creativity should be considered, as well, thanks to its current Creative Director Sarah Burton, who has known how to follow the footsteps of her predecessor, and the functional style of Stella McCartney, who has demonstrated how her talent is innate and she’s not simply a name; or the famous and mythical Westwood, who still revolutions fashion daily, without forgetting one of the most sought after brands: Burberry.
