Brief Biography and their Styles

Born in 1905, Christian Dior was a French designer whose destiny to be a fashion designer was in his blood. His grandfather, Louis-Jean Dior, first established the Dior fortune, although it was nothing related to fashion. The grandfather established the business of producing char from oxidized roots and then importing guano from Chile and Peru. The business was then expanded by the cousins Lucien and Maurice Dior, the latter being Christian Dior’s father (Pochna 8). His mother who was the most influential person in his life; he was never interested of his father’s work.Madeleine, his mother, longed for beautiful things to compensate for the â€Å"less appealing nature of her husband’s profession† (Pochna 12). Eventually, Christian studied political science at Paris and created costumes for the annual carnivals back at his hometown. But his journey to success was not smooth sailing. His mother died, the family’s business went broke, and Christian dev eloped tuberculosis. It was only in 1946 when he was given a break to be a designer (â€Å"Christian Dior’s Luck†). The name Christian Dior became one of the top-of-the-line brands in the fashion world.Today, he is known for introducing a collection of feminine clothes with soft rounded shapes, flowing skirts, and nipped-in waists. He envisioned creations that are â€Å"luxurious, exquisite and very womanly. † For this reason, he won the hearts of many women around the world (â€Å"Christian Dior’s Luck†). In addition, Dior is known for creating wonderful dresses called â€Å"Venus† and â€Å"Junon. † Jeanne Lanvin The year 1867 witnessed the birth of another future couturiere. Despite poverty, Jeanne Lanvin rose to being a famous designer. At the young age of 16, she learned how to make hats.Later on, she conducted an on-the-job training at Suzanne Talbot’s fashion house and became a young milliner. Her training taught her the right skills in dressmaking. After a few years, Lanvin set up stalls to sell her hats. Later on, she opened her very own boutique. She became famous among Parisian mothers when she made a dress for her sister and her niece. Lanvin created dresses with charming pleats and trimmed with English embroidery (Sanderson). Lanvin also became famous for the â€Å"robes de style† clothing, characterized with tight waists and full skirts. Her creations were to be the precursors of Christian Dior’s â€Å"New Look† creations.In addition, she was also known for the â€Å"la chemise† dress. This was to become the â€Å"basic silhouette† for the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, Lanvin was known for intriguing designs, such as her Riviera collection which featured Aztec-inspired embroidery. In 1922, her collection was added with a â€Å"Breton† suit. It consisted of a gathered skirt with a short and braided jacket. The jacket, in turn, has many tiny bu ttons and boasted a white organdy collar. The suit also came with a sailor hat (de Mesterton). Lanvin’s creations were in demand among actresses and royal personalities.Many people liked the way Lanvin designed her creations with embroidery, beading, and use of exotic embellishments. Not only these, but Lanvin also made sure that her dresses were of high quality. Additionally, she believed that women should wear clothes that are colorful and feminine. She created dresses with empire-waists, sleeves that were long and flowing, billowing skirts, and tight waists. She made use of luxurious fabrics in her creations and incorporated ruffles, lace, flowers, beading, and ribbons. The Lanvin style was also known to make use of applique, parallel stitching, and embroidery (de Mesterton).Madeleine Vionnet Madeleine Vionnet was another French designer born on 1876. Just like Lanvin, Vionnet learned from an early age the skills of dressmaking. When she was 11, she became an apprentice of a seamstress. By the age of 19, she became a premiere d’atelier. In 1902, she entered the House of Callot Soeurs and learned to make dresses through â€Å"impeovizational draping. † A few years later, she became a designer at the House of Doucet. This was where Vionnet was inspired to make clothes for uncorsetted bodies (Bissonnette). Vionnet worked for many dressmakers in London and Paris before launching her own house in 1912.She revolutioned the world of fashion when she developed the bias cut, characterized as sleek and graceful style. The bias cut enabled the clothing to cling to the body like a second skin. With this creation, Vionnet became famous, and many people would praise the way she combined geometry and anatomy to her dresses. Vionnet was also known to pay close attention to the medium and fabric she used. Furthermore, Vionnet took advantage of the knowledge that the body is a three-dimensional entity. Thus, she developed techniques such as pleating, twi sting, cutting, tucking, wrapping and looping fabric (Bissonnette).In addition, Vionnet made use of the bias cut by creating garments that did not use corsets and constricting undergarments. She was a popular designer in the 1930s when she introduced garments that sensually cling to the body. These creations were inspired by medieval styles including Greek and Roman. Aside from the famous bias cut, Vionnet was also the mastermind behind the creation of cowl neck, handkerchief dress, and the halter top (â€Å"Vionnet, Madeleine†). Vionnet was different from other designers in such a way that her creations were hard to copy.This was because she was afraid that others would copy her style and sell them cheaply (Condra 124). Victor Stiebel In the fashion world, Victor Stiebel is known for creating romantic evening gowns and flawless tailoring. This was later became Stiebel’s signature as a designer. Born in 1907, Stiebel studied architecture at Cambridge where he designed the costumes for a theatrical presentation. In 1927, the Victoria & Albert had two of Stiebel’s designs. One featured a black and white evening dress in Garconne style. The other one was a black and silver gown with an appliqued snake from hem to bodice (Conekin 147).Two years later, Stiebel trained at Reville where he learned the skills for creating evening garments. Three years was enough for Stiebel to fully learn the necessary skills for haute couture (Conekin 147). He opened his very own house in 1932. Despite the â€Å"diminishing role of the court dressmaker,† Stiebel chose to establish himself along this line. Surprisingly, his creations were acclaimed. Many considered his garments as â€Å"very striking creations. † In addition, the simple evening gowns he made were praised as â€Å"particularly suited to the Englishwoman’s figure.† Stiebel was also famous for cleverly using pleats and draperies that defined the body. His signature was the n known to be the artful use of striped fabrics (Conekin 148). Not only were these Stiebel’s creations that garnered praises from fashion magazines. He was admired for featuring slender cut and floral printed dresses. Specifically, Stiebel created an Empire line dress made from oyster satin which featured a silver-edged train. He also proved to be a resourceful and imaginative designer. He designed clothes that were appropriate for the season (Conekin 148).In 1942, Stiebel, along with other designers, founded the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers. The organization aimed to represent the interests of London fashion designers. During this time, some of Stiebel’s creations were gown in flowing Grecian styles made of silk jersey. He also designed and created a black gown with ostrich feathers trimmings. Many of his other designs were featured on fashion magazines (Conekin 151). Pauline Trigere Pauline Trigere is another Paris-born designer who rose to fame b ecause of her own style in designing and creating clothes.She migrated to the United States and became an American citizen in the 1940s. She was the daughter of a tailor, and she longed to be a professional in the fashion world. Before opening her own house in 1942, Trigere worked for other design houses in New York. Armed with the skills she learned from her father and from the design houses, she created 11 dresses which her brother sold. Her clothes were sold because the boutiques liked the way Trigere created them (Ward & Ferguson). Her clothes were famously known for being feminine-fitting.Aside from this, the wealthy and famous personalities liked her style of exquisite tailoring. Trigere also made use of very expensive materials, thus driving the prices of her creations higher. One of her famous creations was the wardrobe of Patricia Neal in â€Å"Breakfast at Tiffany’s† (Ward & Ferguson). Trigere is known for many things, one of which is the creation of the firs t reversible coat. Coats were her most recognized garment, and she made various styles. She was also known for creating sleeveless coats and coats featuring detachable scarves. She also included her trademark turtle pins among her clothes (Ward & Ferguson).Additionally, Trigere was known for directly turning sketches into dresses because she herself did not know how to sketch. But this was not a disadvantage for the creative designer. What Trigere did was to â€Å"cut and drape from bolts of fabric† (Nemy 1). Even after death, Trigere is praised by her peers for beingan intellectual designer and creator of timeless fashion (Nemy 1). Works Cited Bissonnette, Anne. 2001. Vionnet. Kent State University Museum. 27 April 2009 . â€Å"Christian Dior’s Luck. † 2007. Articlesbase. 27 April 2009 . Condra, Jill. The Greenwood encyclopedia of clothing through world history. United States: Greenwood Publishing group, 2008. Conekin, Becky. The Englishness of English Dress. E ngland: Berg Publishers, 2002. De Mesterton, M-J. 2008. History of the House of Lanvin. Elegant Survival. 27 April 2009 . Nemy, Enid. 2002. Pauline Trigere, 93, Exemplar of American Styles, Dies. The New York Times. 27 April 2009 .

Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Decision Making - Essay Example It is a general assumption that consumers are easily swayed by proper channels of communication when it comes to marketing. The best method of communication to consumers is through advertisement. Advertisement will give an organisation a clear perspective of the market reaction towards their goods. Advertisement provides marketing strategists with a large population of consumers to please. However, a large consumer population to lure requires a lot of information depending on the consumer demand. Consumer demand is by far the best thing to understand when plotting a marketing strategy. Consumer demand requires an organisation to understand the requirements and needs of its target market. According to Ferrell & Hartline (2010) the lack of understanding one’s consumer requirement is the worst weakness an organisation can have in the marketing front. He further argues that consumers’ preferences should be the first priority in designing a marketing strategy. Lack of unders tanding one’s consumers is the most significant barrier in coming up with a marketing plan or designing. This paper will highlight the disadvantages the unknown factor in consumer requirements has on the marketing strategy of an organisation. It is usually a general assumption that marketing department holds the most importance when it comes to pushing sales and increasing the customer population. In all marketing departments, there should be a set aside team which does a marketing research on consumer requirements. With a known consumer preference, it becomes easier when the designing part of a marketing strategy. Firstly, all marketing strategies revolve around pleasing the target market. With this as the considered factor it is only logic to make the presentation of advertisements very appealing to consumers. Consumer preferences in advertising range from the method used in advertisement, channels used in marketing, the timing of advertisements and most importantly sinceri ty. That is; the advertisement should match the real product. With all these demands, a market research for preferences is advised (Ferrell & Hartline, 2010). Methods of marketing include digital advertisement or the use of sales people. Depending on the target market different consumer prefer different modes of advertising. It is usually a general consumer feeling that digital advertising is the most appropriate method. Apart from the consumer preference consideration, digital advertisement is appropriate for many organisations. This is because it reaches a much greater environment, it is easier to plan and implement and the cost is relatively low. The use of sales people seems to bug many individuals since they feel they invade their personal space. Depending on people’s activities during the day, the use of sales people may face great opposition from consumers. Consumer preferences also revolve around timing. Timing mainly affect digital advertisement since it depends on t he audience it reaches out to (Rantanen, 2005). He also argues that morning and daytime advertisement are likely to get a less audience compared to advertisement aired during the night. Researches indicate that night time advertisement slots are usually expensive compared to the day time slots. This is an indication that the general consumer market prefers and is easily exposed to night time digital advertisement. With increasing demands for advertisement channels it is also preferred that organisations do a market research on the best channels the

Compare and Contrast the metatheoretical assumptions that underly Essay

Compare and Contrast the metatheoretical assumptions that underly Idealism and Realism - Essay Example Idealism concerns itself with ideas and places its existence over the nature of the material world, that is, the material world must adhere to the ideas that are presented, whatever they may be. Idealism may be Subjective or Objective, depending on how the idealists view the existence of the sensing world. Idealism is said to be subjective when the external world is believed to be non-existent and that the world beyond sensation cannot be understood. However, it is said to be objective when the external world is the expression of the ideal forces, which may be expressed as the Will of God or the Absolute Idea, that the Mind has direct access with. Because of this latter belief, several methodologies were developed to aid this search for the Absolute Idea. One of the idealistic methods involves elemental analysis - concepts are divided into simple elements which are then subjected to simple and self-evident axioms similar to mathematical principles. In this method, complexity of the s ocial structure is reduced in its elemental form. Another method, considered as the most popular one is the a priori method - an object is understood in terms of logically deducing a general conception of its nature. In this method, premise development is critical in ensuring that the deduction is in its most accurate form. On the other hand, realism claims that ideas must adhere to what is experienced in this world, and hence, upon the materials present in this world (MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism). In this respect, the debate between idealism and realism is whether what comes first - ideas or materials - and what is more important to pursue. Both philosophical approaches have distinct impact in the operation of the world since their conception. Idealism is able to influence its mode of thinking in politics, philosophy and religion (Hutchison). In politics, Conservative and Liberal idealism takes the center stage. Because the nature of politics is concrete in terms of its actions, these political streams are commonly objective. Nevertheless, they have significant differences in how they act politically. First, the conservatives aim to restore a Golden Age from the past, whereas the liberalists seek to make progress through Utopia (Hutchison). Although the end goal is that of an ideal world, the way in which they view how and especially when to reach these goals is basically different. The conservatives were also more successful in their program. The Christian Republics in Geneva, early Massachusetts and Holland were flourished more than the experimental liberal Utopian communities in terms of economics and culture (Hutchi son). The impact of idealism in philosophy is seen from the development of German mode of thinking such as Existentialism, Postmodern Deconstructionism and the concept of the New Age (Hutchison). In religion, idealism was able to influence Greek Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic spirituality in terms of their divine missions. The Greek Orthodox monks, for instance, longs for the restoration of Eden; the Protestant church idealized the state of the early church characterized by simple small sects richly blessed by God; and the Catholics from the words of Pope Gregory VII who calls himself the "vicegerent of Christ" prophesize the restoration of Kingdom of Christ in the millennium or after it (Hutchison).

Responsive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Responsive - Essay Example From this point of view, the benefits of progress are measured in terms of higher standards of living, better health, greater security and increased incomes. As a result of all these measurable factors, many have ignored their traditional cultures in pursuit of these â€Å"goodies.† Some individuals in the society willingly pursue this material targets while others are forced into the system by government policies. This means that the disadvantages of progress will affect both sets of individuals in the society. One question spurred by the reading is whether progress always impacts positively on the quality of life. This question is hard to answer because assessing economic development and progress is difficult. This leads to an assumption that the benefits of progress outweigh the detriments. Therefore, the most widely used indicator of positive progress is the standard of living which in my view is misleading. This means that an array of factors is considered when evaluating progress, and they include literacy, health programs and employment rates. In my view, money is not the sole measure of progress but the well being of individuals in the society should be also considered. Disregarding tradition implies that the ability of culture to satisfy psychological and physical needs of the population is compromised. This directly lowers the quality of life from the cultural perspective. From the article I can conclude that progress significantly lowers the standard of living due to degradation of mental and physical health, increased incidences of delinquency and crime, family instability, demographic structures and the strained relationship between the society and natural resources. It is also true that before progress took centre stage, all these undesirables were non-existent or minimal. Therefore, progress has done more harm than good to the quality of human life. The fact that many diseases arise because of economic development shows

Listening Without Resistance and Systems Thinking Research Paper

Listening Without Resistance and Systems Thinking - Research Paper Example In addition, I have been judging the accent of the other party in the conversation. I have been thinking that people who have great accent are less literate. This has been making me get less keen when listening to them. Conversations I have had in the past weeks were just discussions. Discussion is listening without a desire to be changed by the conversation (Mozdzierz, 2009). A dialogue, on the other hand, is a special way of conversation in which one is willing to be influenced by the conversation (Robinson & Rose, 2007). The conversations I have had in the past weeks could not fit to be called dialogue. This is because of my behavior of choosing not to be keen when the other party in a conversation had an accent, pronunciation problem or spoke less audibly. In most cases, my actions were either partially or completely withdrawing myself from the conversation. Therefore, I have done more of discussion than dialogue. Conversations could be easily converted to dialogue using several advantage points. One of the points is completing the features of a conversation. According to Nikulin (2010), this could be done by personal voice, unfinalizability, and allosensus. Another point is asking for clarifications during the conversation. This could increase someone’s attentiveness on the conversation. As a result, the conversation would have a great influence on the person and thus converted into a dialogue. The other point is reframing the message communicated during a conversation. This could avoid negative reactions and judgments made during conversations. As a result, the conversation would have a great influence on the parties involved and thus it would have been converted to a dialogue. System thinking is one of the five disciplines defined by Senge to guide activities of a learning organization. According to Wyk (2003), system thinking could be conceptualized as a tool for making complex patterns in a learning organization much

German and European Banks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

German and European Banks - Essay Example This survey was conducted by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, Johannesburg, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The survey identified liquidity, credit risk and credit spreads as the top three factors that pose a risk to banks. The report highlights the fact that the global financial situation has changed the importance of various risks; liquidity is now the highest risk to threaten banks. The shortage of liquidity has the power to impact the credit and derivative markets and this fear can lead to further worsening of the recessionary situation. Of the three top risks, liquidity and credit spreads had never before been considered as a risk; this is a clear indication of the changing risk scenario. The survey listing also has 'regulatory over-reaction' as the only non-financial risk in its top ten factors. This again is a clear indication that the market fears actions by politicians and regulators who will try to rectify the issue. The survey had varied opinions depending on the class of the respondent. While the bankers saw sharp variations in the credit, derivative and equity market as the most important risks, the non-banking people saw poor risk management and a liberal system of bonuses as the chief risks. The global economic crunch has affected not only the US but also Europe. Not only are the East European banks going to be affected but also the West European banks having loaned out to these banks, will be equally affected. A survey done by credit rating agency Moody's Investors Services states that Hungary and Latvia has already appealed to the IMF for a bailout; Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania may soon be going the same way. Some of the Western European banks were affected; UniCredit of Italy fell 7.3 percent and Societe Generale of France fell by 9.5 percent. The German Banking scenario is dominated by savings banks, cooperative banks and landesbanks, all of which are less-profit oriented than commercial banks. The market is fragmented and there is lot of competition. September 2008, saw two big mergers in the German banking sector. Commerzbank took over Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Bank took over Postbank. This was a direct reaction to other European banks entering German terrain. Banco Santander of Spain, UniCredit of Italy and 'ING of Netherland were the new entrants in the German market. UniCredit purchased Hypo Vereinsbank while Credit Mutuel of France took over Citigroup's German subsidiary. The German banks realised that size matters and the only way they could keep off European banks were through merger. The current economic crisis has led to banks writing down approximately 400 billion dollars in bad loans. Market liquidity and funding liquidity are two factors that interplay to create the funding environment. Market liquidity is said to be low when it becomes difficult to sell an asset that is when it is difficult to raise money by selling an asset. Funding liquidity is said to be high, when money to buy an asset can be easily borrowed. According to Brunnermeier and Pedersen (2008), more funding can be garnered (funding liquidity) if more assets

Recearch paper 2 Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Recearch paper 2 - Statistics Project Example According to the results and analysis of obtained data presented â€Å"in the July 2001 SUR11 for study 091and the Clinical Study Report (CSR) filed with the FDA in July 200316 for study 078.17 This analysis provided evidence of the excess risk associated with rofecoxib for noncancer deaths (HR, 2.71; 95%CI, 1.57-4.68; P_.001). Most of this excess was due to heart disease deaths (HR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.54-9.51). The independent analysis also confirmed the increased risk of total mortality (HR, 2.13; 95%CI, 1.36-3.33; P_.001) first identified by the sponsor’s statistician in April 2001.14†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Psaty & Kronmal, 2008). In any case, the analysis was on the intention-to-treat principle that encompassed different events occurring within a span of 1 year of protocol 091 including additional 14 days employed in following up of the patients in order to ascertain the condition. Median is the statistical measure vividly described in the article. In the article, confirm that after the medication period of following up was the median of up to 1.7 years. In order to attain this median value as one of the measures of central tendency, the researchers used Cox Model, which was later on adjusted for purposes of accumulating ate and sex (Psaty & Kronmal, 2008). In statistics, median is the middle value or number in a given set of data. In order to find the median or middle value, the given set of data is arranged in value order from the highest to the lowest of from the lowest to the highest (Psaty & Kronmal, 2008). After arranging the data in ascending or descending order, the middle value becomes median, a measure of central tendency. 2. Interpret Inferences. Do one of the following, in everyday language without any special mathematical symbols; and make sure to have the correct measures and units. (a) Pick 3 confidence intervals (CI) from the article and give a formal interpretation for each. Answer the question: Which one is the most