Ethnic Influences on Apparel Design

Since the twenties we have been seeing forgien influnces on western dress. Many ethnic groups have influnced our designs by the colors that are use down to the patterns. Sometimes these influnces are so small you might not even realize them.

My Culture, Human Behavior, and Clothing class has been recently studing Kente Cloth which is native to Ghana, located in central Africa. Kente Cloth has been around for over five hundred years and each color and pattern in the design means something different. Our teacher Mrs. Brown taught us today that Kente Cloth became popular in the U.S. when the first president of Ghana visited America wearing a Kente Cloth garment. I have actually seen many dresses and other types of appearel with the Kente Cloth patterns on them. So even though Kente Cloth is a very traditional type of dress in Ghana, designers sometimes are influences by things such as Kente Cloth and they create something very new and fashionable.

Indian clothing has also been influencing fashion since the 1960's. Youth in the sixties started to wear indian influenced designs to imbrace their new free love, nonconforming attitudes (CNST Indian Influences on Fashion). During my reasearch I also learned that tie die, which is actually called bandhani in the Hindi language, originated in India (CNST Indian Influences on Fashion). I thought the example of tie dieing was a great one because everyone I know has at least one tie died shirt. These are just a few of the many ways that Ethnic Designs have influenced fashion as we know it.

New York Fashion Week review

Two designers really stuck out to me in the New York fashion week. First of all my taste is really classy and elegant, so even though there were some really amazing desiges, I tend to be bias towards the romantic pieces.

Calvin Klien's "soft geomentry" dresses really amazed me. They were so elegant, yet futuristic. Even though they were really out of this world they were still wearable. I agree with Astrid Munoz when she descibed his work as "Jackie O in the future". I loved his use of metalics and I am just blown away by how he was able to shape the fabric.

Oscar de la Renta was another designer who I fell in love with. His style has alot of class. I thought everything looked like something you could wear and still look elegant and classy. He never fails to create timeless designs. Rachel Zoe commented, "women should go back to the Jackie O look". I totally agree. I think women should focus on looking elegant rather than edgy. But that is just my opinion.

Organic Clothing

With the rage of "going green" and using organic products everyone is buying everything including organic clothes. What could be better than fabrics created without pesticides or other harmful chemicals? Organics are better for the earth as well as the body, not to mention the harvester.

Non-organic clothing is made with many pesticides and non-natural dyes which can cause headaches, skin allergies, and stomach problems. By buying organic clothing for you and your family you will be helping them live healthier lifestyles. In the long run, you and your family will get sick less often so you have more time to spend with each other.

Organic clothing has many environmental advantages. Since organic fibers are grown without the use of pesticides, the soil is better for the growth of trees and other plants. By getting in the habit of buying organic clothes and using organic products, we are doing our part of taking care of the earth.

My Favorite Designer- Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel was and is such an inspiration in the fashion world. Chanel's clothes were designed to free the woman from stiff clothing and make her feel independent, successful, and confident. Coco revolutionized the fashion of her day and in my opinion is the defintion of "Girl Power".

Chanel invented the little black dress which was versatile; it can be worn in either day or night time. This famous dress was shown in Playboy and caused controversy. I love how Coco Chanel was never afraid to take risks. She was always designing to impower women.

Even after Coco Chanel died in 1971, her empire lives on. Now her empire also produces perfume and make-up as well as clothing and accessories. Her chic style also lives on with her empire and I hope it stays around forever.