Punked

Punk is described in the Dictionary (2017: online) as “a style or movement characterized by the adoption of aggressively unconventional and often bizarre or shocking clothing, hairstyles, makeup, etc., and the defiance of social norms of behaviour, usually associated with punk rock musicians and fans”.

We chose the punk era as our main influence throughout this project, due to Rita’s punk sprit and her love her alternative designers.

Punk fashion was completely unheard of until the mid 1970s. It started as a rebellion towards more upper-class individuals and people who dressed punk generally had a lower income or were students. The punk style was torn-up clothes bought from charity shops and customised to look more edgy. It deconstructed garments into new forms. Thomas (No date: online) advised “Whilst torn fabrics, frayed edges and defaced prints are now considered normal in the 21st century, in the 1970s it shocked many people, because it had never been seen before.  Until then fabric had been treated as a material to keep as pristine, new looking and beautiful as possible”.

Vivienne Westwood and then partner Malcom McLaren further pursued punk when they collaborated and opened a store on Kings Road in London, called ‘sex’ Milligan (2014). From then Westwood progressed on to become a designer and has continued to release new collections over the past 30 years. She is now known as one of the most influential fashion designers of her time; who heavily contributed to the punk fashion development. 

LBD and everything Black

HISTORY OF THE LBD

In 1926, Coco Chanel created and designed the original little black dress and since has been a staple piece within every wardrobe. Before the dress was product placed for the first time in Vogue, black was previously referred to as a colour of mourning. The little black dress quickly became an item that everyone could wear, as it was accessible and affordable for every class. This resulted in the dress being nicknamed the “Chanel’s Ford”, as at the time Henry Ford cars were popular amongst the public. Fast forward to 2016, 90 years later the little black dress is still accessible for everyone, but it has developed greatly and it is not only perceived as the classic dress it first was.

Two key individuals come to mind when thinking about the little black dress. Firstly, Coco Chanel, the other Audrey Hepburn. In the 1961 film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Audrey wore an iconic little black dress that the world fell in love with, creating the well-known image as we see her today. The infamous dress was designed by Hubert Givenchy; many mistakenly believe it was Yves Saint Laurent. For many years, Hepburn and Givenchy worked together on many films including Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954) and How To Steal A Million (1966). However, Givenchy was not credited for his designs and contribution to the wardrobe throughout the film. This famously disappointed Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn. After this, Audrey protested that Hubert’s name should appear in the credits of future films that they would collaborate on. From this, the two developed a firm friendship.

Elle magazine in 2014, created a gallery of the most famous Little Black Dresses in history, here are some of the examples.

• Audrey Hepburn, designed by Givenchy for the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961).
• Princess Diana, designed by Christiana Stambolian. This was known as the ‘Revenge Dress’ as the dress was revealing and was worn after her divorce from Charles.
• Kate Moss, designed by Balenciaga. The dress was worn in 2002 and created a edgier take on the LBD.
• A reinvigorated LBD by Karl Largerfeld for Chanel in the 1980’s.
• Elizabeth Hurley, designed by Versace. The dress was worn when she joined Hugh Grant to his film premier of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).

COLOUR BLACK

“The colour black will forever be stylish and timeless Johnson” (2001: online)

The colour black is considered authoritative and powerful. The colour alone can evoke strong emotions Smith (2015). For some people the colour black is seen as intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable because of the power it exudes and for many others, black is often seen as a colour of sophistication, as in the consideration of 'the little black dress’. Empower yourself with colour psychology (2009: online) advised “a support of this information is the recognition of affluent and success orientated women who choose to wear the colour as it can give an impression of elegance, sophistication and confidence”.

About Rita Britton

Rita Britton was born in 1943, terrace house in Barnsley, Leeds. Brought up in a tin bath and outside toilet, she stills claims that she lived in the most beautiful place in the world. Britton began her journey of making clothes from the age of 15 working at a paper mill, the same mill her mother worked for Yorkshire Post (2009).

Although Yorkshire Post (2009) explains that Rita’s desire to succeed started from the age of 23, with £500 savings from working in the mill and a loan from her father who worked as a lorry driver. Using these funds, Rita left the mill and opened her shop, Pollyanna. This fashion boutique is now world-famous; it was the oldest independent fashion retailer in Britain. It stocked designers such as Jean Muir, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons, offering a huge range of luxury clothing. Tredre (2015) advised that with Britton’s knowledge of Barnsley and what the public wanted, she did not allow anyone to dictate how the clothes were sold. Britton (2015: online) famously said ‘’There's a social history of the fashion industry in there’’. According to the Barnsley Chronicles (2009: online) the shop has been located in 5 locations in Barnsley town centre over the 50 years.

Musgrave advised (2015: online) “Unfortunately, with the emergency of Rita suffering from a stroke few years ago which was a big shock to all, Pollyanna is no longer in business”.

However, Rita created a new base for herself in a different building under the name Tobacco Warehouse Nomad Atelier (2015). As a creative person, Britton never saw herself as a businessperson, but now she is able to be creative in her own way and do create what she likes. Nomad Atelier, Britton’s clothing label was established 20 years ago as a collection of basics from designer labels that she stocked. These designers were not the well-known, luxury designers; as the industry in her opinion has become very ‘tits and glitz’.

The clothing brand, Nomad Atelier is more than Britton’s own spin of Japanese avant-garde and Belgian Deconstructionist fashion design that championed at her old shop, Pollyanna. This is an interesting contrast to the little black dress, as it expresses differences to the appearance of the dress and what it could symbolise.

Client Brief #2: Nomad Atelier

Our chosen brief was to create a campaign for the 90^th anniversary of the little black dress (LBD). We will be exploring the meaning of the little black dress and the history of its creation to present day. One key individual we will reference throughout this journal is Rita Britton; we will look at her work and her influences. From this, we will create a campaign for the little black dress, capturing what we believe the true spirit of it is.