Fashion Designers:

Vivienne Westwood:
Dame Vivienne Westwood  is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.
 

The reason I have chosen Vivienne Westwood as one of my designers for my Broadway theme is the odd ideas she as for her styles of clothing.

This picture of a Vivienne Westwood product is very costume-esque as its got the patterns and colours that are very similar to what a harlequin or jester would wear if they were performing for someone.

It has an elemant of masquerade and looks very circus like too. It reminds of the costumes in the 'Masquerade' scene from the 2004 film Phantom Of The Opera.

This creation of Vivienne Westwood's reminds me of something that Cruella De'Vil from 101 Dalmatians would wear due to the big black spots looking like dalmatian spots.

 

Alexander McQueen:

Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows.

 

The reason I have chosen Alexander McQueen as one of my five designers to research is because his ideas and style is very funky, quirky and imaginative. The collection of his that I particularly like is his Savage Beauty collection because some of the garments he has come up with remind me of something that the wicked queen from the film The Brothers' Grimm, but the version that features Heath Ledger and Matt Damon as the two brothers, would wear (See Image 3).

Another reason why is because I'm basing my FMP on stage shows and Broadway and the quirkyness of his designs is what has inspired me to choose Broadway as my final theme.

 

(Image 1 - Alexander McQueen)

(Image 2 - from the Savage Beauty Collection)

(Image 3 - from the Savage Beauty Collection, this dress reminds me of the Wicked Queen from the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm)

(Image 4 - from the Savage Beauty Collection)

(Image 5 - from the Savage Beauty Collection)

 

Jean Paul Gaultier:

Jean Paul Gaultier is a French haute couture and Pret-a-Porter fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010.

 

The reason I have chosen Jean Paul Gautier as one of my five designers is because his designs are very similar to some of Alexander McQueens, well that's just my opinion. What I like about them is that they are very funky and vibrant.

 

The thing that I like about this design is the head-piece reminds me of the bustle dress frame that would have been worn under dresses by ladies in victorian times.

 

 

 The thing I like about this image is that it reminds me of the costumes used in the film Highlander staring Australian actor Mel Gibson because of the tartan pattern that are in the fabric.

 

 

When researching, this image caught my eye because of the vibrant and bright colours of the fabric used to create it. It looks like a costume that would be used in a show about the Greek sun god called Titan, but in this image showing what he may look like as a female (that's just my opinion on it).

 

 

What I like about this image in particular is the middle design as it is very similar to one design from Alexander McQueen's collection 'Savage Beauty' (2nd Image shown below).

 

 

 

What I like about this image and garment is it looks like the Snow Queen (Image 2) and The White Witch (Image 3) from the film and story The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. So here as you can see I have compared images between the designers work and what that image reminds me of. If I was to incorporate anything from this garment and what it reminds me of would be the structure of the head-dress because in all three pictures the head-dresses are very similar.

 

(Image 1 Top - John Paul Galutier's design)

 

(Image 2 Middle - Snow Queen)

 

(Image 3 Bottom - The White Witch from Narnia)

 

 

This image to me looks like it has been made out of grass and plant life because of the coloured and textured fabric that has been used to out it together. It is very similar to the image below of a pantomime dame (Jack's mother from Jack And The Beanstalk).

 



FMP - Reseach Proposal:

THEME - Broadway: Then and Now.

The main theme that I'm choosing to do is Broadway and the three smaller themes that I'm looking at from this are THEN, Now and COSTUMES.

For the THEN theme I'm going to look at 1940's Broadway and look at what fashion was like on Broadway, stars of Broadway (who was famous back then) and the costumes that were worn on stage.

For the NOW theme I'm going to look at what shows are being shown on Broadway now, which people are Broadway stars and if the costumes of Broadway have changed now to what they were like during the 1940's.

For the COSTUMES theme I'm going to look at and compare how costumes for shows were made during the 1940's and how they are made now and if they are made in a different way now to how they were made back then.

To research my themes of THEN, NOW and COSTUMES I'm going to look at films, musicals, stars (people) and costume books. The films and shows for the THEN theme that I would watch and look into are going to be:
> Singing In The Rain
> There's No Business Like Show Business
> Anchors Aweigh
> Brigadoon and
> South Pacific

The films and shows for the NOW theme that I would watch and look into are going to be:
> Phantom Of The Opera
> The Little Mermaid
> CATS
> The Lion King
> Wicked and
> Mary Poppins

FMP (Final Major Project) Inspiration

1940s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s

The 1940s was a decade that began on January 1, 1940 and ended on December 31, 1949.
The Second World War took place in the first half of the decade, which had a profound effect on most countries and people in Europe, Asia and elsewhere. The consequences of the war lingered well into the second half of the decade, with a war-weary Europe divided between the jostling spheres of influence of the West and the Soviet Union.

To some degree internal and external tensions in the post-war era were managed by new institutions, including the United Nations, the welfare state and the Bretton Woods system, providing to the post–World War II boom, which lasted well into the 1970s. However the conditions of the post-war world encouraged decolonialization and emergence of new states and governments, with India, Pakistan, Israel, Vietnam and others declaring independence, rarely without bloodshed. The decade also witnessed the early beginnings of new technologies (including computers, nuclear power and jet propulsion), often first developed in tandem with the war effort, and later adapted and improved upon in the post-war era.

1940s Broadway:

During the 1940s, Broadway began to lose its originality and drive. New dramatists were less numerous, and Broadway began to face competition from television and movies. Some theaters were pulled down, and now theater no longer dominated Broadway.

Most theaters on Broadway were now film houses. Movies were beginning to take over the entertainment business, and theater as an industry had become obsolete, for now the increasing real-estate values made theater buildings uneconomical. In the beginning of the century, theaters were both a good investment and a symbol of vivacity and mirth. After World War II, however, theater buildings became unprofitable, and were sometimes considered dangerous after a fire in Chicago in 1902. Also by the 1940s television was becoming a worthy competitor for Broadway theater, providing the public with free entertainment. The result of all these pressures on Broadway theater was a shocking 80% unemployment rate for Broadway actors in 1948, and for the first time in its history, Broadway had to call a general emergency meeting for all the unions and theater people.

The reason these three pictures of how Broadway looked in the 1940s inspired me is because they are going to play a part in my final outcome.

The part they are going play is the stage floor of which the pictures  of old Broadway will be torn up and stook down in different directions.

Old and Modern Show Posters:



These show posters have helped inspire me to base my FMP on Broadway by giving me ideas on how I could set out my final outcome. All shows are performed on a stage and this is how I'm choosing to present my final outcome by creating a small scale stage. The part in my outcome that old and modern show posters will play will be to form the backdrop for my miniature stag

21st Century Broadway:

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is a theatrical performance presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2012, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2012 stood at 12.13 million.



Modern Broadway Shows: These are some of the modern broadway show posters that are help bring the backdrop for my miniature stage together. These poster have inspired because there are large amounts of colour which I like and will make my final outcome look good if I use bright and bold colours in the small costume outcomes that I plan on making.

Shrek


Wicked


The Wizard of Oz - This show is one that uses a lot of bright colours and sparkle such as the glittery red for the ruby slippers, the golden yellow of the yellow brick road and the emerald green of, well, the Wicked Witch of The West. For colour, definately, this is one show I will be looking at for costume inspiration.



The Lion King


Phantom Of The Opera - This show is one that uses a pattern and a lot of frills, lace and tassels; which is one feature that I will be using on my small costume outcomes.