Ethnic Influences on Apparel Design

I think a lot of our fashion designs are influences by different ethnic and cultures, since the begining. Erte who is Russian, did designs for movies. Erte' was best know for his colors and details like buttons, tabs, paockets, and buckles to name a few. He brought to the fashion world the high collars, handkerchief hemlines and dropped waists(www.udel.edu/orzada/toc.htm).

The Japanese brought the kimono, which was originally called the Kosode. "The kimonon communicates personal and social messages of gender, status, and aesthetics."(www.udel.edu/orzada/Janpan1.htm) Standard fabric from in the U.S. is 45 or 60 inches, kimono stardard fabric is 14 inches, which is a lot more narrow than the U.S. (www.udel.edu/orzanda/Janpan1.htm).

Another ethnic style that was a big influence on apparel design was the Empire style. The Empire got its name from Empress Josephine, who was married to France's Emperor Napoleon. This dress has a raised waistline located under the bustline. Fahion historians feel Napoleon was inspired by the the Greek silhouette. This trend is known as neoclassical, and is was big in Western Europe and the United States. This trend has been repeated many times thought out the years, like the 1960s, early 1990s, and again int the first decade of the twenty-first century.(The Business of Fashion:Designing, Manufacturin, and Marketing. Leslie Davis Burns, Nancy O. Bryant)