Today I went up to the main campus at Tavistock Place to find some books and journals that relate to my final major project. I had previously viewed issues of Vogue that are on the online library, but I wanted to find the original printed copies. For my final major project I have decided to recreate front covers of Vogue from different decades. Therefor, I found the magazine in the library, with the oldest one dating back to 1968.
Looking through the different magazines from various decades was interesting to me, as it gave a clear indication as to how much the fashion and photography industry have developed and changed.
I have recorded and taken photographs of two front covers from the available deacdes.
60s:
70s:
80s:
90s:
After looking through these issues of vogue and gaining an understanding of what it is I would like to recreate, I searched the rest of the library for books on fashion. Whilst searching, I came across a selection of books that focus on the individual decades. It was great to read through these books as they each gave me ideas and inspiration as to how to style each of my photoshoots.
‘Fashion sourcebook – 1920s’ by Charlotte Fiell and fashion historian -Emmanuelle Dirix is a book full of painted images which represent the fashion trends of the 20s. Featuring images of the popular beaded dresses, cloche hats and strappy shoes from the 20s.
Next I found a very similar book, by the same editors, Charlotte Fiell and Emmanuelle Dirix. But this book featured looks from the 30s. Fashion Sourcebook – 1930s documents the season-by-season fashions of this decade with an impressive selection of over 600 original photographs, sketches and prints. From reading this book, I have a greater understanding of the elegant silk tea-dresses, tailored suits and draped furs of the 30s.
This book by Christine Boydell showed the similar trends between the 40s and 50s. I have found that Horrockses Fashions was one of most respected ready-to-wear labels of the late 40s and 50s. This book was the most interesting to me because it includes comparisons. I also liked that this book contained photographs of women from the decades, this gave me ideas and made me think about my own photoshoots.
I then found a book which focuses only on the 50s. What I liked about this book by, John Peacock, was that each page was dedicated to an aspect of the many fashion trends, for example, accessories, dresses, hair. It featured a whole range of styles. From reading this book, I learnt that in the 50s, clothes became more conventional, and women wore scarlet lips and fingernails. I also learnt that Dior’s New Look influenced softer shoulders, corseted waists, and fuller longer skirts with petticoats.
‘Gear Guide’ by David Johnson gives an entertaining view of fashion in the swinging Sixties. This small book was filled with quirky illustrations that demonstrate different fashion styles of the Sixties. I liked this book because of it uniqueness and quirkiness. It was interesting to see something other than photographs.
As for the 70s, I came across this hard back book by Jacqueline Herald. This book drew my attention because the front of it looks like a magazine. Going through this book I noticed that it was full of documentary styled images which represent fashion trends, often in black and white. I thought that this was an original idea and represented the trends of this particular decade.
’80’s Fashion’ edited by Sonnet Stanfill, captured my attention due to a lot of pages featuring clothes on mannequins instead of models. This book explores the most diverse and exciting periods in fashion history, with the work of some of the decade’s leading designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Fiorucci, Leigh Bowery, Bodymap, Rifat Ozbek, and many others.
‘Fashions of the decade – the 1990s’ captured my attention again due to it’s front cover being styled like a magazine. This book by Elane Feldman explores, through text and illustrations, how fashion and clothes reflect the social, political, and cultural climate of time.
I can confidently say that my visit to the library was successful. I was overwhelmed with the amount of magazines, books, and journals available that relate to my project. I will definitely be visiting the library again as it was a great resource for research and inspiration.
Final Major Project 