had continuous organ music and its clients included the first lady at the time,
Mary Todd Lincoln.
By the end of this decade, America’s prestigious retail locations like New
York’s Fifth Avenue could be compared with Paris’ Rue de la Paix and Rue
Saint Honoré and London’s Regent Street. The American luxury departmen-
tal stores retailed both imported and homemade fashion goods. The stores
also contributed to the growth in acceptance of indigenous American dress-
makers, milliners and fashion designers. Although this century did not
produce an American designer who attained international recognition, it
paved the way for the success of the designers of the next century. By the end
of the nineteenth century, the American fashion scene had evolved to a level
of international standing.The twentieth-century fashion explosion
The expeditious growth of industrialization and trade at the beginning of the
twentieth century relegated fashion to the background. In the first half of the
century, fashion was generally perceived as frivolous and a non-crucial aspect
of economic development. This notion was changed through the influence of
France and later Italy in elevating fashion and putting it on the same par as
other forms of art like literature and theatre. It is no surprise then that the
foundation of modern luxury fashion was laid in France, notably in Paris,
which is still considered as a city of style and the fashion capital of the world.
Throughout the twentieth century, fashion relentlessly evolved and influ-
enced society and several luxury fashion designers whose brands remain in
existence emerged during this period. The fashion product categories were
also expanded to include accessories and cosmetics, encouraged by the crav-
ing for fashion change as a result of the end of the Victorian era with the death
of Queen Victoria of England in 1901.
During the early part of the twentieth century, Charles Worth, the inventor
of haute couture, remained the supreme fashion force and the most respected
couturier in the world. However, the rapid development of the luxury fashion
market and the rise of other talented designers led to fierce competition. A
notable competitor was Gabrielle Coco Chanel who launched her business as
a hat-maker for the French aristocracy in 1910 in Paris. Chanel quickly
created a niche market for her business, which led to its rapid expansion.
Other designers that posed as competitors to Worth were Jeanne Lanvin who
started her couture house in 1889; Paul Poiret who opened his in 1904;
Madeline Vionnet who launched her design house in 1912; and Elsa
Schiaparelli who started in 1927.
The early twentieth century also witnessed an explosive growth of the
beauty and cosmetics sector. After the World Fair held in Paris in 1900,
François Coty launched his cosmetics company in Paris, known today as28
luxury fashion branding