“Ballet Russes”, Fall/Winter 1976-1977

In the documentary Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times, the legendary designer was revealing these facts about the way he creates through drawing: “When I pick up a pencil I don’t know what I will draw. Nothing is planned. It’s the miracle of the moment. I start with a woman’s face, and suddenly the dress follows, or the garment takes shape. It’s a very pure form of creation, without any preparation, without any vision.and it is what impresses me most. This surge of thoughts. This capacity of creating clothes. No one’s more amazed than me. when the design is done I’m very happy. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. Then, you must stop drawing, go and do something else. But you will always come back to the paper and pencil.” 

“Toreador”, Fall/Winter 1979

“Le Smoking”, Fall/Winter 1966

“Homage to Braque”, Spring/Summer 1988

“All creation is just recreation - a new way of seeing the same things and expressing them differently.” Yves Saint Laurent 

A collection is a set of garments and accessories, designed and produced for sale to retailers or to direct customers, for a season or a particular occasion, and presented in a variety of forms, some of them being: catwalk shows, lookbooks, websites. 

Chanel, Haute Couture Fall 2010.

A collection can be inspired by a particular trend, theme, cultural, historic or social setting. 

For example, in its Fall 2010 Haute Couture collection, Chanel used as inspiration medieval costumes worn not only by princesses, but also by peasants. As a result, one have oversize silhouettes, jewel tones and highly adorned garments.

In further posts, we’ll talk about who and what is involved in the process of developing a collection, from sketching to its promotion. 

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Who dictates fashion or who should be your muse

After having spotted an interesting article on Pret-a-protester.com about short films as ways of showcasing fashion collections, I made some research on the matter. 

I have found some interesting facts. Abandoning the glamorous and expensive catwalk fashion shows and migrating to alternative ways like short films or private showcases, in front of only the press and the buyers, is a subject that has been taken into consideration since the beginning of 2009. 

Fashion labels, including Louise Gray and David David, who usually show their collections on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, are choosing alternative methods of showcasing their latest designs. Gray will show her new designs using mannequins at the Soho House private members club in west London, while David Saunders, the head designer of David David, will unveil his new collection via a film that will be shown to an invited audience of editors and buyers,

informs Telegraph.co.uk. 

But, I believe, if you are a designer, it’s worth choosing an alternative way of showcasing your collections not only because of the present economic situation, but also due to the benefits a short film, for example, can bring:

• It is different, fun and unique;
• It is fast and easy to watch;
• It is easy to share with everybody. 

Here are examples of two different kinds of short fashion films: Karl Lagerfeld’s Remember now, having a storyline and Inez Van Lamsweerde, and Vinoodh Matadin’s YSL - Spring/Summer 2010 MANIFESTO, which is actually showcasing the fashion pieces during a photoshoot. 

Remember now

YSL Spring/Summer 2010 MANIFESTO