Savoir Faire Then and Now

We know the big names of couture and the it designers of today, but how many of us really know the history behind a house or what the original design aesthetic was actually like?

Are the new designers who take over the creative directorships of these houses following the design aesthetics that the original names followed or are they going off in their own directions using references from the house’s archives to inspire them?

Are they reinterpreting the look, the cachet or just in it to make money? Where elegance and sophistication was the catchphrase most used to describe these “old” houses what would the catchphrase be now. Previously we could see continuous evolution, the refinement of a line, a certain aesthetic, what do we see now?

Here are some then and now photos of some such houses that had their beginnings almost half a century ago and what they are producing now? What do you think?

Pierre Balmain

Balenciaga

Christian Dior

Chanel

Givenchy

Nina Ricci

Yves Saint Laurent

Flirting with Savoir Faire!

I remember my mother wearing Tweed by Lentheric when I was a small child, and I could never have imagined that the below might have ever happened to her.

Don't our young couple exude all the confidence and savoir faire in the world? She is confident in the knowledge that her perfume is going to attract the opposite sex, and he is confident in the fact that that he has the perfect opening line!

Savoir Faire on the Soccer Field

True to the Italian nature it seems that Dolce & Gabbana also love soccer! Just recently they have designed the uniforms and leisure wardrobes for two soccer teams.

Italy’s World Cup team wore the below, which really set them apart from the majority of the other teams participating in this year’s World Cup.

Secondly the boys from Milano Beach Soccer must look a treat on and off the field in the below.

It is nice to see some savoir faire on the sports field, who says you can’t look good and play as well!

Put Some Chris in Your Dior!

Some Chris Von Wagenheim that is!

Savoir Faire just loves the great fashion photographers of the 70’s and 80’s, such as Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin and Chris Von Wagenheim.

All photographers had a very similar pseudo erotic style which can seem to be sexually intimidating, but hey these were the days of hedonism and excess. Wangenheim’s world is a dark one, combining sexuality, violence and voyeurism, which somehow come together with visual elegance, which is unique to his work. All these things are subtle as in his work for Dior; however they are there in the background causing us all to look twice.

By the mid 1970’s the fashion side of Dior under the directorship of Marc Bohan was languishing and had reached an almost middle class sensibility. It was a good solid house that symbolised good taste. Not so on the licensing side of things, where accessories such as sunglasses, bags, scarves etc were the must haves, as the Dior logo took precedence over all others. The cosmetic division under the directorship of Serge Lutens was also pushing the boundaries with highly artistic advertising copy and colours.

The series of advertisements for Dior accessories used strong visual references plus clever puns on words to create a campaign that stood out for its innuendo. They were secretive and mysterious with a heightened sense of expectation as if the models were caught in a moment wondering what was going to happen next. I remember as a teenager whenever seeing the Dior ads in magazines etc, thinking how glamorous and grown up they were, and clipped them out for future reference and I still have them.

Aspects of his work are still referenced by photographers, artists and pop stars today. In the Dior Addict campaign of the early 2000’s you can see these references.

Fall into the Trenches with Some Savoir Faire!

Now that autumn or fall as they like to call it up here in the Northern Hemisphere is upon us, now is the time to invest in (if you already have not done so) the perfect trench coat. Perfect for just keeping the chill off and not to heavy for the cooler temperatures the trench is a classic.




Developed as an alternative to the heavy serge greatcoats for soldiers during World War I, it has now become a staple of today’s wardrobe. Some of the best of course come from Burberry (who invented gabardine, the traditional material for trench coats); however there are many great examples out there!

*All the above are from Burberry or Burberry Porsum

*BCBG

*Alexis Mabille

*Christian Cota

*Lanvin

*Topman

*Rex

So get into a trench this fall with some savoir faire!