AMERICAN FASHION - DESIGNER GUIDES TO FASHION

In this Series we look at the titans of American fashion. The taste makers whose designs have intrinsically connected us to deeper elements of the American experience. Across the decades, American designers have sought to deliver a unique voice to the world of fashion; bringing their perspective to an ever evolving nation and shaping the look of a country, as it passes through political and social upheaval and onto a digital revolution. American Fashion as we know it today, stems from the early settlers; colonists from Europe, whom brought with them the current dress from their native homes. Once prosperity struck the colonies, fashion moved away from practicality towards the decorative and clothing was used as a means of wealth distinction. These early European influences dampened with the weight of the revolution. With patriots calling out for a distinctly American style, women began making their own materials and wearing home made clothes was now considered a political statement, rather than a reflection of ones ability to buy. In the early 1850s, a mass market of middle-class consumers emerged with industrialisation. Brooks Brothers was among the first companies to serve this market, having begun in 1818 as a tailorshop and growing to 75 tailors and 1,500 manufacturing employees by 1857. The mid-19th century “gold rush” had an even greater effect on the US fashion system. Mr. Levi-Strauss realised that the gold prospectors would need tents, and ordered a special resilie