ESCADA

ESCADA Escada, Biography Wolfgang and Margaretha Ley Fashion and Perfume Designer History Escada is an International luxury fashion group for women and men clothes and perfumes. It was founded in 1976 by Wolfgang and Margaretha Ley of Germany. The Escada collection includes Couture fashion, Escada Sport and Escada Accessories, fur coats, handbags, sunglasses and jewelry. Escada fragrances include Sentiment perfume, Escada Sport and Casual Friday for men. For special Escada online discount perfumes and colognes including gift sets and gift baskets at up to 50% off retail prices, see the resource list below.

ACTE 2 by ESCADA

Fashion Designer Christian Dior (1905-1957) was born in Normandy, France. At his parents' insistence, he studied political science. After military service and several years of indecision, he returned to Paris in 1935 and began his design career by selling sketches. His hat designs were initially more successful than his dress designs. But he concentrated on his dress designs and was hired by Robert Piguet in 1938. During the war, he served in the South of France, then returned again to Paris in 1941 and worked for Lucien Lelong, a much larger design house. In 1946, he was able to open his own house, backed by textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac. For his first collection in 1947, he created the extremely popular "New Look", which featured rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and a very full skirt. Dior created an opulent clothing style which contrasted the severe living conditions of post-war France. After the war, he helped to re-establish Paris as the capital of world-fashion . Dior became the last great dictator of style in the 1950s. Each collection throughout this period had a theme - classic suits, ballerina-length skirts, the H-line in 1954, and A- and Y-lines in 1955. Together with his partner Jaques Rouet, Dior was the pioneer for license agreements in the fashion business. Already in 1948, he decided to arrange licensed production of furs, socks, ties, perfumes, and clothing in regionally seperate production centers. Thus spreading the brand name quickly around the globe. In 1953, he hired Yves Saint Laurent as an assistant. After Dior's sudden death in October 1957 in Italy, Saint Laurent became head designer and introduced the trapeze dress in his first collection for the house. When Saint Laurent was called for military duty in 1960, Marc Bohan took over, remaining until Gianfranco Ferre became designer in 1989. Ferre is to be replaced by the end of 1996. After much talk about possible successors of Ferre, it has been confirmed in October 1996, that John Galliano will take his place as chief designer for Dior. Galliano, known as the current enfant terrible of the fashion business was responsible for Givenchy for two seasons before switching to Dior. It is believed that Dior's parent-company LVMH wants rejuvenate Dior's appearence, hoping it will create an equally astonishing run on Dior products like Tom Ford created for Gucci. Indeed, Galliano's appraoch to fashion resembles Dior's intention when he started in 1947. In contrast to Chanel for example, Dior established a romantic and very feminine look, which emphasised luxury rather than comfort. Galliano, as Dior's successor, creates an equally feminine style, blending today's freedom of expression with the reminiscence of past opulence. Dior is a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Selected Lines * Haute Couture, since 1947 * Haute Fourrier (furs) * Christian Dior Boutique (deluxe) * Christian Dior Boutique Fourrier (furs) * Christian Dior Coordinee (diffusion), discontinued in 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Selected Awards * Neiman-Marcus Award (1947) * Parsons Medal for Distinguished Achievement (1956) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Economic Data Ownership Since 1990, the Christian Dior S.A. belongs to Europe's biggest luxury products manufacturer, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), which is owned and operated by Bernand Arnault through the investment company Financiere Agache. The company is listed at the Paris stock exchange. The Christian Dior S.A. itself holds 42% of the LVMH assets and is the holding company for the fashion brands Christian Dior Couture, Kenzo, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, and Louis Vuitton. The group achieved in in 1996 sales worth of 32.35 billion Francs ($6.33 billion). Performance Direct sales of Dior clothes (including licences) climbed in 1994 to $193 million. In 1996, the Christian Dior Couture division achieved a turnover of 1.2 billion Francs ($235 million). Including Dior perfumes, 85% of the sales are achieved in export, with Asia on top of export sales. LVMH's move to employ Galliano and Alexander McQueen as the new star-designers is said to be partly a reaction to the slumping perfumes sales of the LVMH's fragrance business (Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy fragrances). In the first half of 1996, LVMH achived only 70 million Francs ($13.7 million) compared to 380 million Francs ($74.3 million) in the previous period. Distribution Currently, Dior operates 160 boutiques worldwide, 15 of them in Japan. Clothing is exclusively sold in the Dior stores. Other retailers only carry licensed Dior products like eye-wear, lingerie, ties, Bady Dior clothing, perfumes, and other accessories. Since LVMH acquired in 1997 the Duty Free Shoppers (DFS) group of stores, which are mostly located in Asia, the Dior distribution has been expanded to the 165 DFS-outlets. Since 1993, Francois Baufume has been head of all fashion activities of Dior. Currently, Dior is reducing the number of its licenses - which reached over 300 in the early '90s - and also his franchise arrangements, in order to regain control over Dior products. Several marketing surveys have shown that Dior is the most widely recognized brand in top fashion to date. Christian Dior is a wolf in very tight-fitting clothing due to its 42% controlling stake in luxury goods giant LVMH. Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault and family control Christian Dior. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Address Headquarters 30, avenue Montaigne 75008, Paris, France Tel.: (+1) 40.73.54.44 FAX.: (+1) 40.70.90.32 Press Office Veronique Benard-Vilnet Tel.: (+1) 40.73.56.07 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Selected Boutiques Paris Boutique 30, Avenue Montaigne 75008 Paris, France ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial provided by Jost Krebs RUNWAY SHOWS Christian Dior W COMPANY PROFILE Christian Dior JOB TITLES Designer DISCLAIMER Information in this report relies on information provided by individual designers, public relations agencies and other public sources. Infomat can accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information or for loss or damage caused by any use thereof.

Coco Chanel Biography

From her first millinery shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris, France. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women's trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles.

Coco Chanel claimed a birthdate of 1893 and a birthplace of Auvergne; she was actually born in 1883 in Saumur. According to her version of her life story, her mother worked in the poorhouse where Gabrielle was born, and died when Gabrielle was only six, leaving her father with five children whom he promptly abandoned to the care of relatives.

She adopted the name Coco during a brief career as a cafe and concert singer 1905-1908. First a mistress of a wealthy military officer then of an English industrialist, Coco Chanel drew on the resources of these patrons in setting up a millinery shop in Paris in 1910, expanding to Deauville and Biarritz. The two men also helped her find customers among women of society, and her simple hats became popular.

Soon Coco Chanel was expanding to couture, working in jersey, a first in the French fashion world. By the 1920s, her fashion house had expanded considerably, and her chemise set a fashion trend with its "little boy" look. Her relaxed fashions, short skirts, and casual look were in sharp contrast to the corset fashions popular in the previous decades. Chanel herself dressed in mannish clothes, and adapted these more comfortable fashions which other women also found liberating.

In 1922 Coco Chanel introduced a perfume, Chanel No. 5, which became and remained popular, and remains a profitable product of Chanel's company. Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business in 1924, and perhaps also her lover. Wertheimer owned 70% of the company; Coco Chanel received 10% and her friend Bader 20%. The Wertheimers continue to control the perfume company today.

Coco Chanel introduced her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature "little black dress" in 1926. Most of her fashions had a staying power, and didn't change much from year to year -- or even generation to generation.

Coco Chanel briefly served as a nurse in World War I. Nazi occupation meant the fashion business in Paris was cut off for some years; Chanel's affair during World War II with a Nazi officer also resulted in some years of diminished popularity and an exile of sorts to Switzerland. In 1954 her comeback restored her to the first ranks of haute couture. Her natural, casual clothing including the Chanel suit once again caught the eye -- and purses -- of women. She introduced pea jackets and bell bottom pants for women. She was still working in 1971 when she died. Karl Lagerfeld has been chief designer of Chanel's fashion house since 1983.

In addition to her work with high fashion, Coco Chanel also designed stage costumes for such plays as Cocteau's Antigone (1923) and Oedipus Rex (1937) and film costumes for several movies, including Renoir's La Regle de Jeu. Katharine Hepburn starred in the 1969 Broadway musical Coco based on the life of Coco Chanel.

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