The most important thing is roses.

The last romance of charles james.

Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

(Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Translator/Deng Cong

The two world wars changed the world pattern, and power and wealth were transferred from the European continent to the United States on the other side of the ocean. In this thriving land of the New World, the American heiress, who is called "pirate" in the new era by the British, yearns for the aristocratic culture and fashion trend in Kaku Takashina, Europe. They married a British aristocrat and went shopping in Paris, starting a "gilded age" that lasted for 50 years in all aspects.

Hemingway once praised Paris as a flowing feast when talking about life in Paris in the1920s. For those American heiresses who spend money like water, Paris is their fashion pilgrimage site, and Paris haute couture almost monopolizes the American high-end women's wear market. It is against this background that Charles James from Britain reversed his export, climbed to the peak of his career and artistic life in the field of American haute couture women's wear, and became a generation of fashion design masters and artists welcomed by Americans.

△ Charles James's women's dress design combines the principles of sculpture, architecture and geometry, which is very modern. The dress he designed is characterized by a big skirt, rigorous tailoring, full of folds and accumulation, exquisite three-dimensional like sculpture, full of poetry.

Charles James was born in England and became famous in America. He is a talented designer of Zaohui and a lonely artist who pursues perfection. Charles James/kloc-became a milliner in Chicago at the age of 0/9 and started his career at the age of 20. At the age of 2 1, as a fledgling designer, he designed sportswear for American actress gertrude lawrence and won the first pot of gold in his life.

From 65438 to 0929, Charles James returned to London and Paris to seek a deeper supply of art. After several setbacks, his unruly and innovative style began to win him a reputation at bruton Street 15 in London and Lancaster Hotel in Paris, and gradually entered the top fashion art circles in Europe. At that time, there were masters such as cecil beaton, Salvador Dalí, paul poiret, elsa schiaparelli and cristobal balenciaga in this circle. Christian dior's "new look" design benefited from Charles James, who was also a close friend and early supporter of Charles James. These masters and their circles have broadened Charles James' horizons and drawn artistic inspiration, providing an excellent understanding platform for fashionable women in British upper class.

△ Nancy James, the ex-wife of Charles James, is wearing a "swan" dress designed by him, the work is 1955. In the two years after designing the four-leaf clover, Charles has successively introduced the same stunning ball dresses, named butterflies, trees and swans respectively, which are extremely exquisite.

During his years in London and Paris, Charles James established a life-long design methodology: complicated cutting and sewing, which is the root of his fashion magic. In addition, he also created the elements of women's clothing with Charles James style: leggings, tight fishtail skirts, satin cloak skirts, flexible tailoring, front pleats and tulle stacking.

△ Charles James and his model, 1948. In addition to the prom dress, the model also wears another classic design by Charles James: wrapped trousers skirt.

Before the outbreak of World War II, Charles James moved to the United States. After working for Elizabeth Arden briefly, Charles James opened his first studio and salon at 699 Madison Avenue, tel: 1945. Here, Charles James returned to be a simple fashion designer, tailoring clothes for most American fashion ladies at that time, thus opening his golden age of 65,438+00 years in new york.

△ Charles James, 1952. In the early 1950s, Charles was at the peak of his popularity and creativity.

In the early 1950s, Charles James was at the peak of his popularity and creativity. 1953, the dress "four-leaf clover" worn by American socialite Austin mcdonnell Hearst (the wife of American media tycoon Randolph Hearst Jr.) at the inaugural ball of President Eisenhower was the pinnacle of Charles James. This ball dress vividly expresses Charles James' design concept: it combines the principles of sculpture, architecture and geometry, and has great aesthetic value and modern spirit. In the next two years, Charles James introduced the same stunning ball dresses, named "Butterfly", "Tree" and "Swan" respectively, which were extremely exquisite. In addition, Charles James also included a jacket with sculptural texture in the classic design of 1950s, but this commercialization mode of cooperation with manufacturers did not last long, because Charles James' pursuit of perfect artistic temperament ran counter to the demand of American clothing market at that time.

△ "Alfalfa Leaf" ball dress exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Op. 1953.

The symbol of elegance and fashion is as charming as sculpture, and its unique design style makes Charles James among the famous American couture fashion designers. The evening dresses he designed from 1947 to 1955 represent the highest attainments of his artistic career. His haute couture suits, coats and casual clothes are also well received and enjoy a high reputation. Charles James won the Huang Fengying Fashion Review Award with 1950 and 1954 respectively, and Neiman-Marcus, an American century-old luxury fashion boutique, also highly affirmed his contribution and value to the American fashion industry with 1953.

△ "Four-leaf clover" ball dress was designed by Charles James for American socialite Austin mcdonnell Hurst, and it was also the pinnacle of it. This ball dress vividly expresses Charles' design concept and style: a sculptor's rigorous pursuit of the golden ratio of women's bodies.

△ "Four-leaf clover" ball dress, 1953.

Charles James's artistic style is complex and changeable, and it is difficult to summarize and classify it. Sometimes it is elegant and classic, and sometimes it is weird and controversial. The strict demand for perfection and insatiability is the source of Charles James' endless creativity. He constantly challenges the traditional and inherent boundaries, and even challenges himself. Fashion pursues novelty and eternal cycle at the same time, and this contradictory feature is also verified by Charles James: he created a new modern trend and paid tribute to the Victorian classical fashion.

△ Charles James and celebrity Austin McDonald Hearst, and the dress designed for her, Op. 1947.

The key to deciphering Charles James' costume design code is to create infinite possibilities through permutation and combination from limited shapes and contours. However, no matter how ever-changing the final form is, one thing in Charles James' design concept remains unchanged, that is, his deep concern for women's body structure. Under the guidance of this principle, Charles James realized his design ideal in three ways: first, relying solely on cutting and sewing, creatively using fabrics for modeling; The second is to use a bracket similar to a corset inside and wrinkled cloth outside; There is also a kind of transformation and deformation to shape the fantastic outline of clothing, and to maximize the curvaceous beauty of women. In the late design style of Charles James, we can clearly see the signs of paying tribute to Victorian fashion: corsets, skirts and hoop skirts are used to show the graceful body curves of women. In addition to pursuing the rigorous style of the golden ratio of the body like a sculptor, Charles James' unique but solemn color consciousness and outstanding fabric selection ability are all important factors that make fashion design an art.

△ "Butterfly" ball dress, 1955.

However, prosperity and decline are the most beautiful and cruel dialectics, which seems to be the eternal rhythm of life rhythm. After the golden age of 10, 1958, the American economy was in recession, and Charles James' reputation began to decline. Financial difficulties, lawsuits and incompatibility with mainstream fashion, Charles James sadly closed his two studios and a showroom, ending his business design career forever. However, the commercial failure did not stop Charles James from pursuing art. He tirelessly pursued the perfect design form and spared no effort to bring forth the new, still showing strong artistic vitality. Charles James spent the last 14 years of his life in Chelsea Hotel in new york, which is regarded as an artist's paradise. During this period, some customers, friends and followers never left, giving the lonely talented artist the last comfort.

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This article is taken from Civilization 20 14.09.