Post-World War II, Changing Dress in America, and Moscow Fashion Show

Voss, Kimberly Wilmot

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73624-8_3

Kimberly Wilmot Voss²

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Abstract

Prior to the war, it was mostly European designers who ruled the fashion world. Most designers were trained in Paris, and it is difficult to overestimate the city’s influence. Yet, by the summer of 1940, German soldiers occupied the city, and Paris was cut off from the rest of the world. It meant an opening for American designers that led to an erosion of European fashion dominance. It was during this time period that, “As fashion became news, fashion journalism came of age.” Suddenly, there was a marked increase in journalists, publicists, and photographers. Designers were also adjusting to changes in the rationing of materials. New York Times fashion editor Virginia Pope noted that the easing of restrictions instead of an immediate removal of them prevented designers from going to style extremes. It was the destruction and rationing in Europe following the war that allowed American fashion to develop.

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Notes

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Nicholson School of Communication and Media, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Kimberly Wilmot Voss

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Voss, K.W. (2021). Post-World War II, Changing Dress in America, and Moscow Fashion Show. In: Newspaper Fashion Editors in the 1950s and 60s. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73624-8_3

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73624-8_3
Published: 06 August 2021
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-73623-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-73624-8
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