While the high influence of France in dictating fashion and lifestyle
continued well into the next century, the political disturbances the country
faced during and after the French revolution years (1788–90) had an impact
on both French fashion and the world. However, France was yet again to
restore its fashion leadership position in the following centuries, and further
reinforce the position of Paris as the undisputable fashion capital of the world.
The nineteenth century and modern luxury fashion
The nineteenth century marked the beginning of the modern luxury goods
sector and the launch of many of the highly valuable luxury brands that we
know today. The rapid development of the fashion industry during this period
was made possible by the bolstering of social and economic conditions and
rising prosperity. The demand for luxury goods remained high and extremely
talented and entrepreneurial designers emerged and grasped business oppor-
tunities made possible by their predecessors.
In following with the tradition of the previous historical periods, outward
appearance remained an indicator of wealth and social status. In addition,
fashion became more than a vocation for knowledgeable people, and was
recognized as an important contributor of economic growth. The French and
most of continental Europe saw fashion as an intricate part of their societies
and a necessary subject of discussion alongside literature, arts and history
among intellectuals. The French government reinforced its support for the
textile and fashion sectors through creating incentives and favourable poli-
cies. In England, however, fashion and luxury were perceived as frivolous
and irrelevant subjects, especially among scholars.
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the fashion industry in Paris
had become an established world leader and was mainly segmented into two
parts: dressmaking which was mostly controlled by highly influential women,
and textile merchandizing and professional tailoring which was mostly
controlled by men.
The buoyancy of this period gave rise to the launch of some of the luxury
brands still in existence, including Guerlain by Pierre-François Pascal
Guerlain in 1828 and Cartier by Louis-François Cartier in 1847, both in Paris.
Also a young and gifted Louis Vuitton created the Louis Vuitton brand in
1854 as a leather luggage goods company in Paris while in Hampshire,
England, 21-year-old Thomas Burberry founded the Burberry brand in 1856.
One man, however, was to change the face of luxury fashion and its market-
ing and management style forever. He was the Englishman, Charles Frederick
Worth, who invented haute couturein Paris in 1858. During this period, when
dressmaking was the sole domain of women, he became the first prominent
male couturier and the private designer of the wife of Napoleon, Empress
Eugenie, and other high-society women. His talent didn’t rest solely in the
chapter 2 25the history of luxury fashion branding