14 - Sunday, June 9, 1991 — North Shore News

The

THROWING CAUTION to
the wind, and _ traditional
couture out the window,
couture designers present a
coquettish mix of feminine,
shapely silhouettes for spr-
ing ’91.

Carol
Crenn

oe

FASHION STATEMENTS

This success with excess is ap-
parent in almost every collection
in Paris, as they shift into over-
drive with exploding shapes, ex-
hilarating colors and exaggerated
details.

Couture chic has suddenly been
catapulted back into the stylish
spotlight, surpassing even the in-
fluence of the ready-to-wear fash-
ion collections.

From its earliest beginnings in
the 1840s to its most successful
era of the 1950s, the couture was
the unquestioned source for fash-
fon trends. Anything and ever-
thing that counted in fashion was
created by the couture icons
whose names included Christian
Dior, Balenciaga, Coco Chanel
and Madame Gres.

Unfortunately, however,
couture then fell to near death.
For years, its collections limped
from season to season, aging and
unchanged. Couture’s rebirth
would have been dismissed as im-
possible even six years ago,
because of iis most recent history.

The renaissance of the collec-
tions was introduced in the late
780s by newly appointed kings of
couture, Karl Lagerfeld for
Chanel and Christian LaCroix for
Jean Patou. The conservative look
that dominated and weakened the
couture style was replaced with a
flamiboyant blend of wit, sex ap-
peal and sophistication.

What is haute couture?

To be labelled couture design,
each garment must be hand-
finished. (This includes shoulder
pads, which take up to six hours
to be secured perfectly.) These
garments are so well made that
when they are turned inside out,
the same fine stitching detail can
be reveaied on the inside as is seen
on the outside. These are onc-of-
a-kind pieces, with decoration
such as embroidery, beadwork,
pleats, appliques, soutashe and
braid trim applied by hand.

Less than 30 designers in France
have been accepted in the select
club of haute couturiers because
the requirements are stringent.
And even when the prerequisites
are fulfilled, the president of the
French Couture Federation can
reject any applicant.

tn Paris, the couture designer
must show 75 garments to the
public during two presentations
yearly, where the press are invited.
In addition, at feast 45 private
fashion shows must be arranged
for private clients each season.
And the designer must have 20
employees on staff who are skilled

re of couture

THE QUALITY and workmanship intrinsic to haute couture is making a comeback in the’9Cs.

artisans.

Today, the list of couture de-
signers in Parisinclisdes the names
of ¥ves Saint Laurent, Nina Ricci,
Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro,
Hubert Givenchy, Pierre Balmain,
Guy Laroche, Jean Louis Scher-
rer, Hanae Mori as well as origi-
nal members Christian Dior,
Gabrielle Chanel and Madame
Gres, even though many of the
originating designers are deceased.
Two of the newest members of the
couturier club ase Lecoanet/
Hemant and Christian LaCroix.

There are couturier designers all
over the world, however, who
may not show in the Paris collec-
tions, but their workmanship is of
equal quality. The requirements
for creating designs are similar,
though employed staff and fash-
ion presentations are not neces-
sary.

While the haute hoopla of
couture is not for everyone, it is a
consideration if you wish te ac-
quire a wardrobe worth keeping as
an heirloom. Investment dressing
for the ‘90s will see a return to
high precision design, possible
through the skillful hand of a
couturier/couturicre.

Isabel Anderson, of Salon
Isabel, is a couturiere designer
who lives and works in West Van-

couver.

“I have been around far a long
time. And there are not many of
us left,"" she says.

Anderson, a senior citizen, has
been sewing since she was cight
years cld. She dressed dolls and
showed them during exhibitions
near her Toronto home. Though
she feels that she was given a
good background because both of
her parents worked in the in-
dustry, her father urged her not to
enter the unstable creative field.

She dresses clients elaborately
for the opera, garden parties,
graduations, formal gatherings
and weddings. She custom designs
garments requested by clients,
designed to both fit and suit a
client's figure, and she also creates
gowns specifically for fashion
shows, which she then displays in
the studio for sale.

Anderson, a longtime active de-
signer member of the Western
Canadian Designers and Fashion
Association, states, ‘1 am more
expensive than a lot of people.
Mosi of my gowns are over $1,000
because of the time involved in
making a couture design.””

She buys imported fabrics from
Vancouver suppliers for her cre-
ations, and sometimes she has to
hand-dye the trim, lace or fabric

to acquire a desired color.

Current designs featured by
Anderson include a long ballroom
gown in sheer georgette with a
halter neckline, romantic,  self-
made roses accenting the sides of
the dress, and a stole to place low
on the shoulders.

A pretty Italian lace dress
features the lace fabric’s border,
placed at the hem and added to
the sides of a matching jacket. It
has a series of small fasteners to
secure it at the back, ‘‘that you
need a handmaid to help you
with,’’ explains Anderson, who
adds that the lace for the outfit
costs $110 a metre.

A dress in silk chiffon has a
gathered waist and an attached
drapery in the back, which can be
removed. The dress’s her flares
out dramatically due to the addi-
tion of fishing line, which is sewn
into edge of the hem to give it the
fluted look.

A luxurious mariboo coat, a
favorite in her collection, is white
with a pink lining, and has a lars
collar. It uses many yards cv.
mariboo, the underside (down) of
an ostrich, for its construction,
and is said to be very light and
warm. The coat cost her $900 to
make and took two weeks to
complete.

Crenna’s
quick
snips

CHANGING COLORS ...
Generra Sportswear Co. has in-
troduced a new line of casual wear
that changes color when it touches
the skin, or when the air
temperature goes up or down.

Based in Seattle, the firm sold
300,000 of the garments to stores
across the ¥J.S. at the beginning
of spring, and they sold so quickly
that 600,000 were stocked in
April, and another million will be
shipped at the end of the month.

Generra bought exclusive rights
to a new dye from a Japanese
firm called Matsui Co., which was
the samme company that created
““thermochromatic’’ paint, which
changes color on dolls and toy
cars. No details of the process
have been disclosed.

This summer’s T-shirts, tanks,

jeans and shorts change color at
78°F. There is no distributor in
Canada yet, however.
MAKING WAVES ... Former
Vancouver resident, now based in
New York, Marcus Ergas has es-
tablished himseif as an interna-
tional mens wear designer. tn his
second year of business, his
designs are already sold in
prestigious stores such as Barney’s
in New York, as well as shops in
Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

After extensive travelling, Ergas
studied at Helen Lefeaux School
of Fashion Design in Vancouver,
and then trained at FIT (Fashion
Institute of Technology) in New
York. He worked for Anne Klein
and Tahari for a short time upon
geaduation, and introduced his
own line soon after.

The unique, forward line will be
seid at Boy’s Co. in Vancouver in
the fall. It will include fabrics
such as velvet, ultrasuede and
wool/spandex knits.

Anderson also makes a style
that combines two dresses in one.
The gathered skirt, which also has
white mariboo accents, can be
removed to reveal a straight skirt.
She also makes a hat to match.

Her simply cut dresses are
designed in ornate fabrics. A
sheath dress covered in sequins, is
clean-lined to highlight the
glamoreus texture. Another simple
dress is cut in gold lame, and has
a short skirt, which Anderson
describes as a ’60s style.

Who buys such elaborate one-
of-a-kind dresses?

‘*E have people that come a long
way for my work. My clients
range from great grandmothers, to
nuns looking for an impeccably
made habit, to female stock car
racers who want to be able to pcel
off their racing suit and have a
glamorous outfit underneath,”’
Anderson says.

One of her clients, who buys a
Ict of gowns, admitted to Ander-
son that she does attend many
formal functions, but she aiso
buys them just because she likes
to look at them. Another client
who has had Anderson design
clothing for her regularly for the
past 20 years has kept everything
ever made for her as an invest-
ment.

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