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15 FAVORITE VINTAGE FASHION DESIGNERS by TORI on FEBRUARY 5, 2013 Since everyone always asks me (not really) who my favorite vintage designers are, I decided it was high time I wrote about them. Here are fifteenish designers who have shaped my vintage taste over the years. John Kloss You can sort of tell that John Kloss was an architect before he was a fashion designer. His passion for graphics is clear…I think there’s some math in those dresses. And despite that, I. Am. Obsessed with his designs. They’re so beautiful and unique, with that color blocking and space age awesomeness. Although he eventually wound up designing lingerie, his early dresses are where the real party was.

15 FAVORITE VINTAGE FASHION DESIGNERS

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15 FAVORITE VINTAGE FASHION DESIGNERS

by TORI on FEBRUARY 5, 2013

Since everyone always asks me (not really) who my favorite vintage designers are, I decided it

was high time I wrote about them. Here are fifteenish designers who have shaped my vintage

taste over the years.

John Kloss

You can sort of tell that John Kloss was an architect before he was a fashion designer. His

passion for graphics is clear…I think there’s some math in those dresses. And despite that, I.

Am. Obsessed with his designs. They’re so beautiful and unique, with that color blocking and

space age awesomeness. Although he eventually wound up designing lingerie, his early dresses

are where the real party was.

Jean Bousquet/Cachrel

Jean Bousquet is a designer and began Cacharel, a clothing line. I adore Cacharel because

these clothes were super feminine, breezy, and usually photographed by the dreamy Sarah

Moon. These dresses tended to be floral and lightweight: some of the prettiest clothes to come

out of that time.

Rudi Gernreich

I’m pretty sure old Rudi was slightly insane. His clothes were very wild, and also very brave. I don’t

think he gave a snap what people thought. This guy also invented the monokini, which was

suddenly everywhere two summers ago. Peggy Moffitt (above) was his musey muse and

modeled almost everything he created.

Zandra Rhodes

Perhaps my favorite of these designers. Her work was stunning and ornate, and almost looked

like costumes. Big, bold, detailed, very present. Things of perfect beauty.

Emilio Pucci

He designed some of the most beautiful and colorful pieces from the 60s, and that is saying a lot

because everything was colorful then. Pucci is one of the rare 60s designers who transitioned

gracefully from the mod look to the hippie look.

Biba/Barbara Hulanicki

Barbara Hulanicki is a designer, and Biba was her famous shop. Her designs were mod, but also

very YSL-ish, incorporating lots of suits and big hats. Biba became a sensation because the

clothes were very stylish, but also very affordable for regular customers. She also bridged the

gap between womens’ clothing and little girls’ clothing by being the first to specifically create

something for teenage girls to wear. A lot of her designs mixed muddy colors with a burst of

something like pink or purple. Preecoo.

Ottavio and Rosita Missoni

Sweet Missoni. This line started with a husband and a wife who both had a passion for knitting. I

love that this brand was founded by a husband and wife, and I also love that their trademark

look (rainbow colors, zigzag and striped knits) has remained intact throughout the decades. You

can spot a Missoni piece anywhere.

Roberto Capucci

Party time! Capucci’s stuff is cray! Designing couture since he was just twenty years old, Capucci

refers to his sculptural creations as “a study in form.” To me, it’s completely artistic and

interesting. He’s been an influence to designers such as Issey Miyaki, Isabella de Borchgrave,

and Alexander McQueen, and he gets inspired by things like sidewalk cracks, peeling fruit, fire,

and angels rising into Heaven.

Ferdinando Sarmi

Follow your dreams, superstars! Ferdinando’s dad basically forced him to be a lawyer, despite

his son’s obvious passion for fashion design. Old Ferdinando went ahead and graduated law

school, then snuck off to create costumes for films, and eventually became head designer for

Elizabeth Arden before going on to begin his own label. His work is elegant and lovely. I hope his

dad was eventually proud of him.

Paco Rabanne

One of the most distinct looks of the 60s. Rabanne is responsible for those “tile” dresses that flood

our Tumblr. He designed dresses made of hard materials like the tile, chain mail, and plastic.

Dude was nuts. Amazingly nuts.

Pierre Cardin

This crazy dude. Pretty much the “space age” designer, he created lots of avant garde outfits

that were extremely popular in fashion in the mid 60s. He used lots of geometric shapes, head

gear, boots, and bright colors, and definitely left his mark on the decade. Mr. Cardin also

worked at Christian Dior for awhile.

Mary Quant

The mama who began the whole “Twiggy” look with big eyelashes, heavily-lined eyes, brightly-

colored tights, Vidal Sassoon haircuts, and angular posing. She also gave the miniskirt its name,

even though Courrèges supposedly invented it. She is the mod queen, especially because she

created Twiggy’s whole look. Mary Quant’s name is forever synonymous with mod and swinging

60s.

Ossie Clark/Celia Birtwell

Yummy Ossie Clark made some of the absolute best 60s clothes. One of my very favorites. His

work also went from mod to hippie smoothly, and he collaborated with his wife, Celia Birtwell. He

made the clothes, and she designed the prints. I think I’d spontaneously combust if I found a

piece by them today.

Halston

He’s the reason that brightly colored, frilly hippie clothes went out the window. Because of him,

evening wear changed dramatically. Normally, this would annoy me (I love the hippie stuff), but

his designs were so incredible that I don’t mind. His dresses were sleek and luxurious, but also and

comfy and breezy—exactly the type of thing that women want to wear for a long night out. His

drapey, Grecian-style creations were ravishing.

Elsa Schiaparelli

She never intended to be a designer. Good old Schiap made her first creations with the idea

that only she would wear them, until they were discovered by an investor who shared her work

with the world and made her famous. More of an artist than a clothing designer, she often

incorporated strange materials into her clothing such as cellophane, sackcloth, latex, and so on.

She worked with the likes of Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, and Picasso. She was ahead of her

time when it came to design.

There you have them: fifteen rebellious, creative, important, groundbreaking designers. My

boyfriends and girlfriends.

This post was written by Tori.