Paper Doll

Theatre De La Mode

Théâtre de la Mode (Theatre of Fashion) was a 1945–1946 touring exhibit of fashion mannequins, approximately 1/3 the size of human scale, crafted by top Paris fashion designers. It was created to raise funds for war survivors and to help revive the French fashion industry in the aftermath of World War II.

In 1944, Paris, much like many other parts of the world, were in the process of recovering from war.  Rationing was still in  place and they were struggling to rebuild. Having once been known as the fashion capitol of the world, they were keen to let the world know they were still on top. Unfortunately, there was no chance of any designer being able to get the necessary materials for a entire collection. Many couture houses had closed down during the war and some would never reopen.

Step forward Robert Ricci, son of Nina Ricci, and head of commission of public relations at the Chambre Syndicale ( governing organization for haute couture). Ricci’s idea was to organize an event to raise money, the event being a collection of dolls, all to be dressed by the major fashion houses.  Out of the 70 registered couture houses in Paris at the time 53 took part.

The dolls were made of transparent wire, with plaster heads and stood 27 inches high. Each house created 5 designs and their was a total of 237 dolls at the opening of the exhibition in March 1945. Each doll was immaculately dressed, and the details on their clothing was exquisite, proper linings, trimmings,small purses and  powder compacts. Some of the jewelery was even made by Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The dolls were set up on sophisticated backdrops, designed by some of the well known artists of the time,Jean Cocteau, Christian Berard, Jean Saint-Marti and Jean Denis Malcles. The sets were part fantasy, part real, some in recognizable Parisian scenes. The Opening of the exhibit was in March 1945 and it 100,00 people attended it before it moved on to travel around Europe and then the states,before its final stop in San Francisco.

When the exhibit was disbanded in San Fran, it was stored in the City of Paris department store (now Neiman Marcus) and for gotten about for several years until it was rediscovered in the basement in 1952. The original sets and many of the dolls had been destroyed before they were rescued by someone who had connections within the MaryHill museum. The dolls were sent there and displayed in a glass case, mostly to be forgotten about again, until in 1988 when a historian by the name of Aurthur Garfunkel became aware of their existence.

interview with poppy lissiman

What made you start doing your own label?It sounds really clichéd but I started my own label after I couldn’t find certain pieces in the market that I wanted to wear. My mother taught me to sew at a young age so I have always made clothes for myself and occasionally friends, starting my own label just seemed like the most natural thing to do. It has always been a goal to have my own shop one day as well, starting my label would be the first stepping stone to getting my name out there and eventually having my own store.


What do you want people to feel when they are wearing Poppy Lissiman?I want them to feel confident and that they’re wearing something that is unique and good quality.

Can you share the process of making a collection with us?
I usually start with a loose theme but it doesn’t really start to take shape until I see the fabrics I want to work with and then the colour palate. Thats when the designs really start to take form. Prints have always been a best seller for me and a medium I love to work with so I tend to pick out a couple of prints first then work the rest of the collection around them with the other block colours, trimmings, finishings etc. Even right towards the end of the sample making I am still designing extra pieces and editing out ones I dont think fit with the rest of the collection.

 

What is the most enjoyable moments of designing the collections?
The creative side for sure; my favourite moments would have to be picking out the fabrics and trimmings for the collection and then seeing the samples starting to come together and the range taking shape. Shooting the lookbook is always very enjoyable as well. 

And the most difficult?
The accounting! It bores me to tears but luckily my dad helps me manage my accounts and keep up to date with invoices and bills…

Do you have any favorite collection or pieces among your creations?
Every new collection I work on is my new favourite! In my very first collection (Spring Summer 2009) I did a biker jacket in electric blue satin with gold zips. It was my best selling piece for that collection and I repeated the style again with a few slight changes for the following season; AW2010, in a mustard yellow with black polka dots, this piece sold equality as well and I have almost worn this sample to death.

Where does your inspiration come from?
It comes from anywhere sometimes, I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of magazines and books. I also spend a lot of time on blogs and other fashion related websites and find a lot of inspiration when travelling.

What will you do when you are running out of ideas?
I wont try and force it… sometimes I wont do any drawing for a few days or a week or two then something will get the ball rolling again, a new idea. If I am desperate I usually look back on previous collections and try and work with ideas that have worked before, like a good fitting jacket or dress then maybe reworking the pattern so it will tie in with rest of the collection. If something has sold really well for me in the past I will try and take elements of that piece onto the next collection.

Will you use computer in your creative process? Or you love to keep things in paper?
Besides reading blogs and going on style.com my whole creative process is on paper, although I wish I was more savvy with programs like photoshop and illustrator.

What tools do you like to use when you sketch your outfits?
I’m pretty basic when it comes to sketching because ultimately the sketch ends up with a sample machinist and I have to make the drawing as easy as possible for them to understand. I use a lead pencil, then outline the finished drawing in artline pen. Occassionally I will colour with artist texters.

Do you think Australia is a good place for fashion business? Any advantages?
Yes and no, I live in Perth in Western Australia which is quite isolated from other more fashion driven cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Most of the fabric suppliers in Australia are based in Sydney and Melbourne and what is available is limited which is why I source my fabrics overseas. On the other hand the fashion community in Perth, and Australia for that matter is very nurturing of young designers and understand the difficulties of starting a small business. There are a lot of government grants available to designers to help them through the first couple of years of their business.

Any advice for the people who are working like you?
Be prepared for critique, knock backs and lots of hard work that sometimes doesnt feel very creative at all but after a while it all starts to pay off. Always keep a positive attitude and if you truely love what you do it will never really feel like work anyway.

Zines

A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier.

Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text. Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, single topic obsession, or sexual content far enough outside of the mainstream to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media.

The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyrighted and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed. In recent years a number of photocopied zines have risen to prominence or professional status and have found wide bookstore and online distribution.

FROM FASHION PLATES TO MAGAZINES

1 Early Costume and Fashion Plates

1.     What is the difference between a costume plate and a fashion plate?

Costume plates show costume as it was worn in the past, especially everyday

Past fashions.  Fashion plates promote and publicize possible future fashions.

Costume plates are about the fashions of the past and fashion plates are about

Fashion ideas now or the near future.  Costume plates almost always include

National, theatrical, court and royal dress.

2.     When did they reach their peak?

Fashion plates really reached their peak in the 19th century when they were

Hand coloured engravings.  Early costume plates are often black and white

Engravings and were almost always of men not women.

3.     When were the first fashion plates produced?

Albrecht Dürer made the first costume plates in 1494 when he made a record of

clothing styles typical of national and regional dress of Nuremburg and Vienna

These were the first costume engravings of dress already worn in the past.

4.     In 1778 Jacques Esnauts and Michel Rapilly of Paris joined forces and began to issue their La Gallerie des Modes publication of coloured fashion plates. How many did they produce?

In 1778 Jacques Esnauts and Michel Rapilly of Paris joined forces and began to

Issue their La Gallerie des Modes publication of coloured fashion plates.

Between 1778 and 1787 they in total, issued some 342 figure plates and some 72

Hat plates, all published at spasmodic intervals.

5.     Who create the Gallery of Fashion? And what did it contain?

The next lot of famous costume plates were after 1794 by Nicolaus Wilhelm von Heideloff.

Heideloff issued this monthly Gallery of Fashion and each issue contained 2 lovingly hand coloured

Aquatints finished with gold, silver or other Metallic paints.  Heideloff issued in total 217 Georgian

Fashion plates between 1794 and 1803 showing 362 different figures.

2. La Belle Assemblée and Ackermann's

1.     In what magazine and when did fashion plates start?

Fashion plates as hand coloured engravings really began in England with the

publication of an English monthly magazine called The Lady's Magazine in

1770. The publishers did not tint the plates in each Lady’s Magazine issue in the

early days, but dressmakers did this themselves so by about 1790 they were sold

Touched with colour.

2.     What other magazines contained fashion plates?

A range of other magazines with fashion plates from England, France and

Germany all ran in this era and included the following; Cabinet des Modes

1785-89 and Journal de la Mode et du Goût 1790-93.

3.     Name 3 other influential fashion magazines that competed with each other?

La Belle Assemblée

The Lady's Monthly Museum

Le Beau Monde

4.     How long did the La Belle Assemblée run?

63 years

5.     What was the full name of the full name of La Belle Assemblée?

Bell's Court and Fashionable Magazine Addressed Particularly to the

Ladies

6.     The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics was created by Ackermann. What design elements did it contain and why was it significant?

The fashion plates were included as a guide for ladies and dressmakers. It also

contained other images of other design elements such as pictures of furniture and

Art pieces that might interest refined ladies in their home making.  It paid special

Attention to classical styles and taste in relation to art. Each monthly magazine

Had two or more fashion plates of a lone figure or a model plus child.  In total

Ackermann released around 450 fashion plates and the magazine ceased to exist

In 1829 with the prettiest plates thought to be between 1826 and 1829.

3. Le Follet Courier des Salons

1.     When did Le Follet Courier des Salons first appear?

One of the longest lived fashion plate magazines Le Follet Courier des Salons first appeared in

1829. This French magazine was exceptionally stylish and although early plates were Not signed,

many collectors are now familiar with the signatures of later years.

2.     Which magazine was Le Follet equivalent to today?

Le Follet was a magazine equivalent to our Vogue of today and flourished to

The turn of the century. It still hand coloured plates when other magazines had

Moved onto much cruder litho printing.

3.     When was La Mode founded?

La Mode was founded in 1829 by Henri de Girardin.

4.     When did La Bon Ton appear?

Le Bon Ton appeared in 1834.

4.                 Godey's Lady's Book

1.     Name 3 English magazines and explain why they couldn’t compete with their French counterparts?

London publishers often copied engraved plates and much was lost in the

Copying. Although the two most important English magazines of the mid C19th

were the Ladies Cabinet and The Ladies' Gazette of Fashions, these English plates

are poorly drawn and tinted.  Fashion plates from these 2 latter publications are

not thought to add to a collection. The English magazine the Lady's Magazine,

knew when it could not match the artistry and simply began importing fashion

plates from Le Follet. Much the same happened in America.  Later by the 1850s

engraved French plates were actually imported to America for Godey's magazine

having previously been published in Paris up to eleven months earlier

2.     Name 2 American magazines of this period?

Godey's Lady's Book and

Graham's Magazine.

3.     What was the most famous American 19^th C magazine, and up until what date did it publish to?

The most famous of mid C19th American magazines of this time frame, included

Godey's Ladies' Handbook published from July 1830 without break until 1898.

4.     What articles did it include?

Godey's Unrivalled Coloured Fashions,

Latest Fashions for Godey's Lady's Book

Godey's Coloured Fashions

Godey's Ladies Handbook

6. The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine

1.     Name two of the most important Victorian British Magazines?

Samuel Beeton founded two of the most important British fashion magazines of the C19th.  These

Victorian magazines were Mrs Beeton's The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine and the Queen.

7.     The Queen Fashion Magazine 1890s -1908

1.     What was the longest running English magazine?

One of the longest running English female magazines was The Queen magazine that began in 1861.

2.     When did it run until and who bought it out?

It ran Until the 1960s, and got bought out by Harpers Bazaar

3.     What was it called?

After the sale Harpers took over running it as a combined magazine re-launch with the new name Harpers & Queen.

4.     When was the ‘Queen’ dropped?

From March 2006, Harpers & Queen was be called Harpers Bazaar.

5.     What is it now called? Why? What was used to promote the name change?

In September 2007 to celebrate the new look Harper's BAZAAR, 50,000 London

newsstand copies of bazaar were each studded with 200 Swarovski crystals on

the updated new title.  The move to the new logo was to bring Harper's BAZAAR

in line with sister titles globally.

When was Vogue first published?

On December 17, 1892, the first issue of Vogue was published

Butterick published a magazine called The Delineator.

The Delineator featured the Butterick sewing patterns and provided an in-depth look at the fashion of the day. Butterick also produced quarterly catalogs of fashion patterns in the 1920s and early 1930s

 

When was Cosmopolitan first published?

It was first published in 1886 in the United States

When was Vanity Fair first published?

The first issue was published in February 1983