A New School of Fashion
By the end of World War II, a lapse in overseas communications catalyzed a fragmentation in France's style dictatorship, allowing the global couture clientele recognition of several American designers who had by then built fortified wartime houses. By 1950, a strong dichotomy had developed between the refined yet overly structured elegance of French tailoring and the casual, sporty comfort of American design. This duality manifested most simply in the stark contrast between mid-century department store mass production and the more exclusive custom-made couture trade popular in the epicenters of Paris and New York. The resulting isolation of the respective sectors of society who solely patronized one or the other tradition fostered the need for clothing that incorporated the most appealing aspects of both industries. While French couturiers like Christian Dior and Jacques Fath were pairing down their couture designs and championing them as ready-to-wear garments for American department stores and New York boutiques alike, only Italian fashion artists understood the desperate need for more accessible, comfortable, and yet equally refined and tailored collections.