5 Revolutionary Designers Who Were Almost Forgotten

It’s easy to think that it’s enough to make some fashion breakthrough once to make history. Allegedly, the designer releases an outstanding item or collection - and his name is immediately preserved in the memory of descendants forever. No matter how it is. The history of fashion knows many examples of people who were practically forgotten by their descendants, despite the fact that they once made a real fashion revolution and were literally on everyone's lips. We have collected the stories of 5 revolutionary designers who are not remembered by the public as well as Gabrielle Chanel or Christian Dior.

Charles Frederick Worth

We bet that if you don't work in fashion, or at least you are not deeply interested in it, then this name does not mean anything to you. Meanwhile, it was Charles Frederick Worth who is considered to be the first fashion designer in history. Yes, it was he who created the first fashion house - and, in general, marked the differences between a designer and an ordinary tailor. He was the first to suggest all those ideas that are so familiar to us that they seem to have been simply always. Let's say the release of seasonal collections and shows. He was the first to stop simply making things according to the order of customers - and began to dictate his own vision to them. Despite all this know-how, his age was short-lived. For some time, the House named after him existed under the leadership of his children and grandchildren, but then it could no longer withstand the competition and closed. Now the name of Worth is remembered only by fashion historians.

Paul Poiret

Paul Poiret once started his career at the House of Worth - as, as they would say now, the creative director. After that, he opened his own House - and very quickly gained great popularity, first in Paris, and then far beyond its borders. It was Poiret (and not Gabrielle Chanel, as many believe) who first freed women from corsets and offered them trousers, and also made the first voluminous things that resemble modern oversized. He also introduced a fashion for all sorts of ethnicity, the first to begin to quote Japanese kimonos and Arabian trousers. In addition, for the first time, like modern designers, he launched lines of perfumery and household goods - in general, he turned his business into an entire empire. But Poiret ended his career practically in oblivion. With the advent of the Art Deco era, it became difficult for the once most popular couturier in the world to adapt to the challenges of the time and compete with young and energetic colleagues like Gabrielle Chanel and Jean Patou - and in 1944 he decided to close his House. In 2018, an attempt was made to revive it - but it was not crowned with success. The collections of the updated Poiret were received coldly - both by the press and by buyers. Even a whole assault of first-rate stars like Rihanna and Naomi Campbell in the brand's dresses on the red carpets did not help. Even a whole assault of first-rate stars like Rihanna and Naomi Campbell in the brand's dresses on the red carpets did not help. Even a whole assault of first-rate stars like Rihanna and Naomi Campbell in the brand's dresses on the red carpets did not help.

Elsa Schiaparelli

The main rival of Gabrielle Chanel, the fashion surrealist and “frantic Elsa” - what nicknames were awarded to Elsa Schiaparelli by contemporaries. She was one of the leading designers of her time - and a true revolutionary in everything she did. In the history of fashion, she remained as a popularizer of the "shocking" pink color, a lover of not the most obvious (and sometimes simply insane) visual solutions and a pioneer of collaborations with artists - it was she who first began to invite her famous and talented friends like Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau for cooperation. … Despite an outstanding list of achievements, Schiaparelli did not stand the test of time, unlike the eternal rival Chanel. After World War II, her House was already living out its last years - as is often the case, she simply could not adapt to how fashion had changed. In 1954, she closes her business, and no one remembers about it for 54 years - until Diego Della Vale decides to revive it in 2013. Since then, the House of Schiaparelli has existed again and has successfully launched new collections.

André Courrezh

André Courrez was one of the most prominent representatives of the generation of designers of the sixties. Together with Pierre Cardin, he actually broke with the bourgeois traditions of couture of the 50s and proposed a fundamentally new image - mini length, A-shaped silhouette, clear geometry in everything and bright, pure colors. The fashion of the space age is often called the collections created by him. He promoted purity, youth and dynamism. Courrege opposed high heels and long skirts, because you can't walk fast in them. He was also one of the first to put his collections into mass production, having become at the origins of pret-a-porter - as opposed to the individual couture tailoring, which his predecessors insisted on. But by the 80s, things went badly for his brand - and again because he failed to reorganize in time. His infantile doll dresses and trapeze coats did not fit into the bright and excessive fashion of the 80s - and he did not want to change. Now the House of Courreges is revived and regularly releases new collections, but over the past few years it has already changed several creative directors in search of its new DNA.

Mary Quant

British designer Mary Quant is another flamboyant heroine of the 60s and rival of André Courrez for the title of the inventor of the miniskirt. Fashion historians alternately give this honorary title to one, then to the second - we diplomatically recognize the contribution of both to this cause. In addition, Quant has done a lot to democratize fashion - her collections have always been much more accessible than those of her colleagues. She is also considered the first stylist of The Rolling Stones, for whom she came up with sloppy and hooligan images - in spite of the neat and "sleek" The Beatles. Despite the explosive popularity in the 60s, two decades later no one really remembered her brand - and Quant switched to creating cosmetics and household goods.