Interpretation: The Real Reason Why Paris Is The World'S Fashion Capital

Kenzo Takada, the famous Japanese fashion designer, recalled how he felt when he arrived in France from the sea by ship in his idealistic 20s and said, "going to Paris is my dream." The founder of Kenzo, the global fashion brand, admits that although London was an international metropolis "full of vitality and interest" in the mid-1960s, he is not looking forward to the vibrant and trendy British capital, but Paris, the flower capital of the world. "When I grew up in Japan and wanted to enter the industry, fashion was really in Paris at that time... I wanted to go to the fashion capital with all my heart."

Takada is not the only one who is so obsessed with Paris fashion. Although in the late 1950s, Paris faced competition from London and New York, and the "golden age" of French fashion was over, many people at that time, like Takata, believed that if there was a fashion capital in the world, it should still be Paris. Just as Takata's namesake Kenzo is still in Paris, known as the city of lights, the focus of an ongoing exhibition at the New York's Fashion Institute of technology remains Paris. Paris is still regarded as a global fashion city. But why? What makes the French so fashionable?

The history of French fashion actually started in Versailles, just outside Paris. During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), the French court invested a lot of money in art and fashion. Later visitors to Versailles will be dazzled not only by Louis XIV, who is known as Sun King, but also by the gorgeous clothes of many courtiers and ladies in Versailles. It was the Sun King and his courtiers and ladies who led the fashion trend in France and throughout Europe. Dr. Valerie Steele, curator of the New York Institute of fashion's exhibition Paris, the city of fashion, and editor of the book introducing the exhibition, said the emphasis on fashion was not just aesthetic. She told BBC fashion, "The stage of power is very important. Louis XIV wanted to make sure that the image of him and his courtiers was in line with his attempt to create a modern, powerful and civilized monarch. He wanted to look no longer just a knight king in the middle ages, but a real" Sun King "with all the mythological implications. Obviously, to achieve this goal, gorgeous fashion and ceremonial costumes ... is an important part of it. "

Louis XIV's investment in clothing was so successful that he was seen as the perfect model of monarchy. "Everyone wants to imitate Louis XIV's dress, appearance and behavior," Steele said However, Louis XIV is not only concerned with soft power and cultural brands. Louis XIV and his finance minister, Jean Baptiste Colbert, also saw huge economic potential in fashion. Therefore, the ministers worked together to prevent foreign countries from participating in the competition, tried their best to protect the French textile industry, and provided a lot of funds for the textile industry. "Colbert said," fashion is to France what Peru's gold mine is to Spain. "Steele said:" this (belief) will be at the center of their economic agenda, which can be said to be an outstanding vision, because three and a half centuries later, it is still the same. Fashion is still a pillar of the French economy. "

After the death of Louis XIV, the courtiers of Versailles began to spend their time in Paris. Coupled with the emergence of fashion idols such as Queen Marie Antoinette, many people, as Steele wrote in the exhibition manual, see Paris as one with "fashion and sensual enjoyment.". The outbreak of the French revolution may have interrupted the fashion in Paris for a while. However, due to the emergence of the aristocratic subculture in Paris in the late period of the revolution and the fashionable men and women who pursued the novelty and novelty in their clothes, the fashion trend was not forgotten by the French. It is only a matter of time before the French Revolution to review the Bourbon tradition with nostalgia and admiration, at least in terms of cultural style.

　　 The power of fashion

After the end of the first French Empire, although France was defeated and its title as the world's greatest superpower had been transferred to Britain, its fashion advantage and all forms of high culture still existed. London is famous for men's wear, while Paris focuses on women's fashion. The core of French fashion is the concept of "La Parisienne", that is, the perfect and elegant Paris women are fashionable, educated and intelligent. The word Paris is also a feminine term in French, and even Paris is regarded as a personified woman. Despite its reputation, the French fashion business was small until Charles Frederick worth, a British fashion designer, opened a boutique in Paris in the mid-19th century. In Paris, "there were a lot of fashion designers, but most of them were small-scale craftsmen," Steele said

Voss introduced the concept of haute couture, which brought a revolution to the French fashion industry. This is the first time high-end fashion has been produced on a large scale in France. However, Voss later did not talk about mass production, but advocated haute couture. Voss also established the chambre syndicale to provide a regulatory framework for the French fashion industry. Mr Steele said the establishment of the Fashion Association "must have been a way of distinguishing (haute couture) from the first ready-made garments sold in French department stores that were on the rise at the same time. He claimed that (haute couture) was an art form and that he was an artist."

Today, Haute Couture now generally refers to high-end luxury fashion, but in France, and in the fashion world as a whole, the concept is much more stringent and only applies to the work of fashion designers who meet strict standards. However, contrary to popular belief, haute couture is not necessarily unique. "Haute couture is not unique. Although it is tailored for you, this style is not the only one," Steele said

After France was defeated by the German in the Franco Prussian War (1870-1871) and the failure of the Paris Commune Revolution in which socialist revolutionaries seized power for a short time, France once again exerted the spirit of Louis XIV and regarded haute couture as a kind of cultural soft power. Although the French are clearly no longer the most important economic or political power in Europe, they at least have their own culture and fashion. In an article entitled "Paris, New York, London, Milan: World Order in Paris and fashion capital", Dr. David Gilbert of Royal Holloway University, University of London, It reads: "it is no coincidence that the fashion system was vigorously promoted after the military humiliation of the Franco Prussian War and the subsequent trauma of the Paris Commune in 1871." Gilbert went on to say: "Paris fashion under the Third Republic of France... Is part of France's reaffirmation of its power and influence." As Steele said, in order to re-establish their status on the world stage, the French "equate France with civilization and Germany with barbarism, and this concept has become part of the French long-term national spirit."

The French should make Sun King proud. In the early and middle of the 20th century, even though the two world wars brought great disasters to France, New York, which was already the undisputed world economic center, still had to obtain fashion inspiration from Paris to a large extent. Gilbert wrote in his article: "The Paris Fashion Association vigorously promotes the concept of excellence and Transcendence of women's fashion taste in Paris. Its enduring strength comes from the phenomenon that other international cities will accept this concept when promoting fashion and media reports. It is almost natural that this concept should not be questioned or criticized. There is no place better than new York, the capital of the 20th century, to show the essence of Paris fashion And the influence and significance of fashion in the wider field. "

It seems strange that a cosmopolitan city like New York, which is so ambitious and powerful, should regard Paris fashion above its own. But as Steele pointed out quickly, it seems strange, but not hard to understand. "Many (US) magazines, such as vogue and Harper's bazaar, are read by people of the upper class who have been visiting Paris for decades to buy haute couture... They're willing to spend a lot of money on it," she said Steele also noted that many people around the world "associate French fashion with glamour" and are infatuated with it. Nevertheless, the popularity of French fashion in the United States is also a double-edged sword. Nowadays, cheap copies of French haute couture can be found everywhere. Many North Americans are willing to buy these pirated goods at much lower prices than the real ones. "You know, a cheap little black dress from New York or Berlin [looks] very similar to Chanel's premium customized version," Steele said

　 golden age

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, designers such as Christian Dior, Gabrielle 'coco' Chanel and Hubert de Givenchy created what is now known as the "golden age" of French fashion. There is no doubt that Paris stands out among women's fashion trends. However, in the mid-1960s, the trend began to change. Under the leadership of designers such as Mary quant, London experienced a "youth shock" in the fashion industry. In the 1970s and 1980s, Milan and Tokyo Rose and became new fashion capitals. If we say that many Japanese designers "defected" to France following the example of Kenzo Takada, it can be regarded as calming down the threat from the East. In Paris in the 1980s and 1990s, despite the emergence of famous designers such as Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gaultier, it set off the Renaissance of Paris fashion, But there is also growing pressure from new and old competitors in London and New York. Still said France "has been fighting back."

Through the emergence of soft power and cultural brands, the emergence of haute couture, the unremitting promotion of French fashion by the French, and the unlimited praise of French fashion by overseas fashion critics and followers, Paris seems to enjoy an unquestionable fashion reputation. But today, given the status of fashion trends in cities such as London, Milan and New York, as well as the increasing globalization of the fashion industry, as Kenzo takada said, "fashion is almost all over the world". At this moment, can Paris still be called the world's fashion capital?

According to Steele, Paris still enjoys the reputation of the international fashion capital for various reasons. First, some of the world's most famous fashion groups are headquartered in Paris. "Fashion is no longer a situation in which many small independent enterprises are independent, but the business of large multinational enterprise groups," she said Almost all global luxury groups, such as LVMH and kering, are headquartered in Paris, although they have acquired Italian companies and invested in British and American companies. Steele also believes that the level of fashion shows in Paris is higher than that in other cities. "Going to Milan is not that exciting. I mean, New York is an amazing place, but fashion shows are not as glamorous and passionate as Paris shows."

AGN è s B, a Paris designer, agrees with Steele. "They've tried it in Milan, London and New York, they've had fashion shows everywhere, but it's definitely inspired by Paris," she told BBC design Isabel marant, another designer who works in Paris, takes the same view when evaluating the status of Paris as the world's fashion capital, pointing out that the grandeur of Paris fashion shows is amazing. "In Paris fashion week, the way to lead fashion through the quality and level of fashion shows is unique," Maran said

Large multinational fashion luxury group headquartered in Paris, and the incomparable contemporary Paris fashion show, is undoubtedly an important factor to consider. However, perhaps history is the key factor that has always been regarded as the capital of global fashion, whether this historical origin is a well founded fact or the result of clever marketing by the French and others concerned with French fashion. "France has been... A new trend in dress. We French have been leading the trend for a long time," Agnes B said "France has a great cultural heritage," he agreed In an interview with the BBC, she referred to designers such as Paul poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli and Chanel, praising them for "creating new trends and being admired all over the world.". As Agnes B points out, "there is a new generation of designers, but I think the fashion atmosphere in Paris remains the same."

No matter how brilliant the history of fashion in Paris is, it seems strange to emphasize it to this extent. However, as Gilbert's article said, "the status of fashion capital in the 21st century is not only related to the actual design and production of clothing, but also to reputation, expectation, historical heritage and tradition... Profound and long-term symbolic connections will also have real economic and cultural impacts." And Steele said a little more relaxed, "the rule of qualification is really important. If you're the oldest fashion capital with a long reputation, then even if you've suffered a lot of setbacks, the result is still 'Oh, yes, still the best!'"

In view of the above reasons, it is difficult to deny the supremacy of Paris as the capital of fashion. So what is the future? Do people who think Paris is the fashion capital of the world think that the title will one day be replaced by other cities? "Of course, anything can change," Steele says. She believes Shanghai could be a competitor given China's growing economic clout. In addition, although Kenzo takada and Malang did not specifically mention which city is competitive, they also mentioned that the international competition of fashion industry is increasingly fierce, and that fashion shows are more and more around the world. "A lot of cities [also] show a lot of interesting fashion styles and talent," Mr. Maran admits If there is one day, considering the great role of cultural heritage and history in creating the fashion capital, Paris, known as the "fashion queen of the world", is unlikely to step down from the throne and abdicate in a short time.