PAFM 1190 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cotton Gin
25 Jun 2018
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Fashion Industry Profile
Lecture 1
PAFM1190
FA15
France, Versailles
Louis XIV - Trendsetter. He started businesses that sold clothes to men and women.
Patrons began to wear the same cloth and makeup. Status was stated by jewels. No one
washed clothes in his time so King Louis XIV only wore his once - A statement towards
his status and wealth.
Trickle Down Influence Theory (1700s)
I. Society was split into upper and lower classes.
II. Court royalty had tailors and dressmakers.
III. Everyone aspired to obtain and appear of a higher social status and mimicry of royal
garb was the method.
IV. The royals wore cotton as it was a luxury fibre (back then technology was unable to
separate seeds from fibre in an efficient manner… until cotton gin was introduced by Eli
Whitney which then made it the cheaper fibre we know today.)
Color = Status
A. Purple was the most expensive because it was made using boiled down shellfish.
B. Second most expensive was red, made from beetles.
C. Today, blue is still the most popular color across all cultures, stemming from the
beginnings of cloth and accessibility to colored dyes (blue being difficult to obtain).
D. In 1856 synthetic dyes were invented and colors began to last longer.
Fur
I. As with color, the rarity of types of fur also dictated social status.
II. The Ermin trim was the most difficult to obtain and highly sought after due to its pure
white fur in the winter. It’s value came from scarcity, due to it’s ability to blend in to the
winter snow.
III. Only men of status wore furs.
Document Summary
He started businesses that sold clothes to men and women. Patrons began to wear the same cloth and makeup. No one washed clothes in his time so king louis xiv only wore his once - a statement towards his status and wealth. Trickle down in uence theory (1700s: society was split into upper and lower classes. Everyone aspired to obtain and appear of a higher social status and mimicry of royal garb was the method. The royals wore cotton as it was a luxury bre (back then technology was unable to separate seeds from bre in an ef cient manner until cotton gin was introduced by eli. Whitney which then made it the cheaper bre we know today. ) Fur: as with color, the rarity of types of fur also dictated social status. The ermin trim was the most dif cult to obtain and highly sought after due to its pure white fur in the winter.
