1.
Victoria's Secret
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Victorias Secret is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of womens premium lingerie, womenswear and beauty products. With 2012 sales of $6.12 billion, it is the largest American retailer of womens lingerie, Victorias Secret is wholly owned by L Brands, a publicly traded company. Victorias Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, and his wife Gaye, in San Francisco, California, eight years prior to founding Victorias Secret, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. The companys first store was located in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Raymond picked the name Victoria to associate with the refinement of the Victorian era. The Secret was what was hidden underneath the clothes, Victorias Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business, enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations and a mail-order operation. By 1980, Raymond had added two more San Francisco stores at 2246 Union Street and 115 Wisconsin Street, by 1982, the fourth store was added at 395 Sutter Street. Victorias Secret stayed at that 395 Sutter Street location until 1990, in April 1982, Raymond sent out his 12th catalogue, each catalogue cost $3. Catalogue sales now accounted for 55% of the companys $7 million annual sales, the Victorias Secret stores at this time were a niche player in the underwear market. The business was described as more burlesque than Main Street, raymonds philosophy of focusing on selling lingerie to male customers became increasingly unprofitable and Victorias Secret headed for bankruptcy. In 1982, it had grown to five stores, a 40-page catalogue, Raymond sold Victorias Secret Inc. to Leslie Wexner, creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus, Ohio, for $1 million. In 1983, Leslie Wexner revamped Victorias Secret and he discarded the money-losing model of selling lingerie to male customers and replaced it with one that focused on female customers. Victorias Secret transformed from more burlesque than Main Street to a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear. The new colors, patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the appeal of European luxury were supposed to appeal to. The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England, from at least 1985 through to 1993, Victorias Secret sold mens underwear. In 1986, four years after the sale, The New York Times commented, in an industry where mark-downs have been the norm, in the five years after the purchase, The Limited had transformed a three store boutique into a 346 store retailer. Howard Gross took over as president from his position as vice-president in 1985, the New York Times reported on Victorias Secrets rapid expansion from four stores in 1982 to 100 in 1986, and analysts expectations that it could expand to 400 by 1988. In 1987, Victorias Secret was reportedly among the best-selling catalogs, in 1990, analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years, making it one of the fastest growing mail-order businesses. The New York Times described it as a visible leader
2.
Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
3.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
4.
Supermodel
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A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term supermodel became prominent in the culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothing brands and they may have multimillion-dollar contracts, endorsements, and campaigns. Supermodels have branded themselves as household names and worldwide recognition is associated with their modeling careers and they have been on the covers of magazines such as French, British, American, and Italian Vogue. Claudia Schiffer stated, In order to become a supermodel one must be on all the all over the world at the same time so that people can recognise the girls. Then I have had what I call the super model and you know the sort of man, he goes in for theatrical effect. On 6 October 1942, a writer named Judith Cass had used the term super model for her article in the Chicago Tribune, according to Model, The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women by Michael Gross, Gross stated the term supermodel was first used by Dessner. In 1947, anthropologist Harold Sterling Gladwin wrote supermodel in his book Men Out of Asia, on 18 October 1959, Vancouvers Chinatown News described Susan Chew as a super model. The term supermodel had been used several times in the media in the 1960s and 1970s, in 1965, the encyclopedic guide American Jurisprudence Trials used the term super model. American Vogue used the term super-model to describe Jean Shrimpton in the 15 October 1965 edition, Hemingway was again described as a supermodel in the 25 July 1977 edition of Time. Jet also described Beverly Johnson as a supermodel in the 22 December 1977 edition, Model Janice Dickinson has incorrectly stated that she coined the term supermodel in 1979, as a compound of Superman and model. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dickinson stated that her agent Monique Pilar of Elite Model Management asked her, Janice, im a supermodel, honey, and you will refer to me as a supermodel and you will start a supermodel division. Dickinson also claims to be the first supermodel, lisa Fonssagrives is widely considered the worlds first supermodel. She was in most of the fashion magazines and general interest magazines from the 1930s to the 1950s, including Town & Country, Life, Vogue, the original Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar. Dorian Leigh has also called the worlds first supermodel, as well as Gia Carangi. In the 1970s, some became more prominent as their names became more recognizable to the general public. Lauren Hutton became the first model to receive a contract from a cosmetics company. Iman is considered to have been the first supermodel of color, donyale Luna was the first black model to appear in British Vogue
5.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
6.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
7.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor
8.
Harper's Bazaar
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Harpers Bazaar is an American womens fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harpers Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the resource for women who are the first to buy the best. Writers Alice Meynell, Daisy Fellowes, Gloria Guinness, and Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd, when Harpers Bazaar began publication, it was a weekly magazine catering to women in the middle and upper classes. It showcased fashion from Germany and Paris in a newspaper-design format and it was not until 1901 that Harpers moved to a monthly issued magazine which it maintains today. Now Harpers Bazaar is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation in the U. S. harper & Brothers founded the magazine. This company also gave birth to Harpers Magazine and HarperCollins Publishing, glenda Bailey is the editor-in-chief of U. S. edition of Harpers Bazaar. As the turn-of-the-century began in America, Harpers Bazaar began featuring both illustrations and photographs for its covers and inside features of society and increasingly of fashion. During the late Victorian period, as the suffrage movement was gaining momentum. Bazaar also began profiling prominent socialites, such as the Astors, in 1933, editor-in-chief Carmel Snow brought photojournalist Martin Munkacsi to a windswept beach to shoot a swimwear spread. As the model ran toward the camera, Munkacsi took the picture that made fashion-magazine history, until that moment, nearly all fashion was carefully staged on mannequin-like models in a studio. Snows buoyant spirit and wicked sense of adventure brought life to the pages of Bazaar, Snows genius came from cultivating the best people. Her first big find was art director Alexey Brodovitch, who innovated Bazaars iconic Didot logo, Snow also unleashed the force of nature known as Diana Vreeland, whom she brought on as fashion editor in 1936. The collaboration of these four visionaries resulted in some of the germane fashion shoots of the 20th century and ended only with Snows retirement, at the age of 70, throughout his career at the magazine, Brodovitch, a Russian émigré, revolutionized magazine design. With his directive Astonish me, he inspired some of the greatest visual artists of the 20th century, one of his assistants was future Rolling Stone art director Tony Lane. Sadly, Brodovitchs personal life was less triumphant, plagued by alcoholism, he left Bazaar in 1958 and eventually moved to the south of France, where he died in 1971. Diana, who is said to have invented the word pizzazz, before long, she became fashion editor, collaborating with photographers Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Richard Avedon and, later, art director Henry Wolf. Her eccentricity, perception and wit, as well as her sharp wit and sweeping pronouncements, were memorialized in the movie Funny Face, making her, for many, Richard Avedon began creating fashion portfolios for Harpers Bazaar at the age of 22. His distinctive photographs showed both chic insouciance and boundless vitality, avedons women leapt off curbs, roller-skated on the Place de la Concorde, and were seen in nightclubs, enjoying the freedom and fashions of the postwar era
9.
Vogue (magazine)
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Vogue is an American fashion and lifestyle magazine made up of many components including fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. Vogue began as a newspaper in 1892 in the United States. The British Vogue was the first international edition launched in 1916, Turnures intention was to create a publication that celebrated the ceremonial side of life, one that attracts the sage as well as debutante, men of affairs as well as the belle. From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York upper class, the magazine at this time was primarily concerned with fashion, with coverage of sports and social affairs included for its male readership. Despite the magazines content, it very slowly during this period. Condé Montrose Nast purchased Vogue in 1905 one year before Turnures death and he changed it to a bi-weekly magazine and started Vogue overseas in the 1910s. Under Nast, the magazine shifted its focus to women. The magazines number of publications and profit increased dramatically under Nasts management, by 1911, the Vogue brand had garnered a reputation that it continues to maintain, targeting an elite audience and expanding into the coverage of weddings. According to Condé Naste Russia, after the First World War made deliveries in the Old World impossible, the decision to print in England proved to be successful causing Nast to release the first issue of French Vogue in 1920. The magazines number of subscriptions surged during the Great Depression, during this time, noted critic and former Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield served as its editor, having been moved over from Vanity Fair by publisher Condé Nast. In July of 1932, American Vogue placed its first color photograph on the cover of the magazine, the photograph was taken by photographer Edward Steichen and portrays a woman swimmer holding a beach ball in the air. Nast was responsible for introducing color printing and the two-page spread and he greatly impacted the magazine and turned it into a successful business and the womens magazine we recognize today and greatly increased the sales volumes until his death in 1942. Toward this end, Vogue extended coverage to include East Village boutiques such as Limbo on St, marks Place, as well as including features of downtown personalities such as Andy Warhols Superstar Jane Holzers favorite haunts. Vogue also continued making household names out of models, a practice continued with Suzy Parker, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, Lauren Hutton, Veruschka, Marisa Berenson, Penelope Tree. In 1973, Vogue became a monthly publication, under editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella, the magazine underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes to respond to changes in the lifestyles of its target audience. Mirabella states that she was chosen to change Vogue because women werent interested in reading about or buying clothes that served no purpose in their changing lives and she was selected to make the magazine appeal to the the free, working, liberated woman of the seventies. She changed the magazine by adding text with interviews, arts coverage, when that type of stylihtic ceange f ell out of favor in the 1980s, Mirabella was brutally fired. Her take on it, For a magazine devoted to style, in July of 1988, after Vogue had began to lose ground to a three-year-old upstart Elle, Anna Wintour was named editor-in-chief
10.
Burberry
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Burberry Group, Inc. is a British luxury fashion house headquartered in London, England. Its main fashion house focuses on and distributes ready-to-wear outerwear, fashion accessories, fragrances, sunglasses, the first shop opened up in the Haymarket, London, in 1891. Burberry was an independent family controlled company until 1955, when it was reincorporated, the fashion house has dressed notable actors, world leaders, musicians, and athletes. Its distinctive check pattern has one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its trench coat, Burberry has branded stores and franchises around the world and sells through concessions in third-party stores. Christopher Bailey has been the CEO and Chief Creative Officer since 2014, the company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. In 2015, Burberry ranked 73rd in Interbrands Best Global Brands report, ahead of Ralph Lauren, Burberry has more than 500 stores in over 50 countries. Burberry was founded in 1856 when 21-year-old Thomas Burberry, a drapers apprentice, opened his own store in Basingstoke, Hampshire. By 1870, the business had established itself by focusing on the development of outdoors attire, in 1879, Burberry introduced in his brand the gabardine, a hardwearing, water-resistant yet breathable fabric, in which the yarn is waterproofed before weaving. Burberry was the name, but then the company soon switched to using the name Burberrys. In 1999, it reverted to its old name, Burberry, the name Burberrys of London is still visible on many older Burberry products. In 1891, Burberry opened a shop in the Haymarket, London, in 1901, the Burberry Equestrian Knight Logo was developed containing the Latin word Prorsum, meaning forwards, and later registered it as a trademark in 1909. In 1911 they became the outfitters for Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton, a Burberry gabardine jacket was worn by George Mallory on his attempt on Mount Everest in 1924. Adapted to meet the needs of military personnel, the coat was born during the First World War. After the war, the coat became popular with civilians. The iconic Burberry check has been in use since at least the 1920s, Burberry also specially designed aviation garments. In 1937, A. E. Clouston and Betty Kirby-Green broke the record for the fastest return flight from London to Cape Town in The Burberry plane – which was sponsored by the brand. Burberry was an independent family controlled company until 1955, when it was taken over by Great Universal Stores, stars of the modern world began wearing the Burberrys brand
11.
Tom Ford
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Thomas Carlyle Tom Ford is an American fashion designer, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He gained fame as the director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. In 2006, Ford launched his own Tom Ford label, Ford directed the films A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals, which were Oscar-nominated. Tom Ford was born on August 27,1961, in Austin, Texas and he spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin, his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11. In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michaels High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, at age 16, he enrolled at Bard College at Simons Rock, but quickly dropped out. He moved to New York City to study art history at New York University, Ford dropped out of NYU after a year, focusing on acting in television commercials. Ford began studying architecture at The New Schools art and design college. While in New York, he often visited Studio 54, where he realized he was gay, the clubs disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs. Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris and he spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but graduated with a degree in architecture. Despite his lack of experience in fashion, Ford called American designer Cathy Hardwick every day for a month in hopes of securing a job at her sportswear company, Hardwick eventually agreed to interview him. She later recalled the incident, I had every intention of giving him no hope, I asked him who his favorite European designers were. Months later I asked him why he said that, and he said, is it any wonder he got the job. Ford worked as an assistant for Hardwick for two years. In 1988, Ford moved to Perry Ellis, where he knew both Robert McDonald, the president, and Marc Jacobs, its designer, socially. He worked at the company for two years, but grew tired of working in American fashion, in a later interview with The New York Times, he commented, If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me, too much style in America is tacky. Its looked down upon to be too stylish, at the time, Italian fashion house Gucci was struggling financially and was seeking to strengthen its womens ready-to-wear presence as a part of a brand overhaul. The companys creative director, Dawn Mello said, no one would dream of wearing Gucci, in 1990, Mello hired Ford as the brands chief womens ready-to-wear designer and Ford moved to Milan
12.
Gucci
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Gucci is an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by the French holding company Kering. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921, Gucci is also the biggest-selling Italian brand. Gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of September 2009, in the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes Worlds Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, as of January 2015, the creative director is Alessandro Michele. With beginnings at the end of the 19th century, the Gucci company became one of the world’s most successful manufacturers of leather goods, clothing. As an immigrant hotel worker in Paris and later London, young Guccio Gucci was impressed with the luggage he saw urbane guests bring with them. Before leaving, he visited the manufacturer, H. J. Cave & Sons, upon returning to his birthplace of Florence, a city distinguished for high-quality materials and skilled artisans, he established a shop in 1920 that sold fine leather goods with classic styling. Although Gucci organized his workrooms for industrial methods of production, he maintained traditional aspects of fabrication, initially, Gucci employed skilled workers in basic Florentine leather crafts, attentive to finishing. With expansion, machine stitching was a method that supported construction. Together with three of his sons, Aldo Gucci, Vasco Gucci, and Rodolfo Gucci, Gucci expanded the company to include stores in Milan and Rome as well as additional shops in Florence. Guccis stores featured such finely crafted leather accessories as handbags, shoes, the company made handbags of cotton canvas rather than leather during World War II as a result of material shortages. The canvas, however, was distinguished by a signature double-G symbol combined with prominent red, after the war, the Gucci crest, which showed a shield and armored knight surrounded by a ribbon inscribed with the family name, became synonymous with the city of Florence. Aldo and Rodolfo Gucci further expanded the horizons in 1953 by establishing offices in New York City. Film stars and jet-set travelers to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s brought their glamour to Florence, movie stars posed in Guccis clothing, accessories, and footwear for lifestyle magazines around the world, contributing to the company’s growing reputation. Guccis distinctive lines made its products among the most frequently copied in the world in the early 2000s, pigskin, calf, and imported exotic animal skins were subjected to various methods of fabrication. Waterproof canvas and satin were used for evening bags, bamboo was first used to make handbag handles by a process of heating and molding in 1947, and purses made with a shoulder strap and snaffle-bit decoration were introduced in 1960. In 1964 Gucci’s lush butterfly pattern was custom-created for silk foulards, the original Gucci loafer was updated by a distinctive snaffle-bit ornament in 1966, while the Rolls-Royce luggage set was introduced in 1970. Watches, jewelry, ties, and eyewear were then added to the product lines
