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A Fashionable Summer ~ Carven of Paris

Discussion in 'A Fashionable Summer 2005 (Asst. Designers)' started by noir_boudoir, Jul 13, 2005.

  1. noir_boudoir

    noir_boudoir Registered Guest

    well it makes a whole lot more sense now - phew!

    herewith:

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    <img src="http://archive.noirboudoir.com/lives/carvenscarfbanner.JPG"></p><center>
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    <table valign="middle" bgcolor="white" border="0" width="610"><tbody><tr><td valign="middle" width="305"><p align="center"><img src="http://archive.noirboudoir.com/lives/carvenfull.jpg" border="2" width="295"></p>
    <p align="center"><font size="-1"><b>A</b> Ready-to-Wear party dress, produced by Marcel Fenez for Carven, early 60s.
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    </td><td valign="middle" width="300"><p align="center"></p><p style="line-height: 180%;" align="left"><font face="arial" size="2"><font size="+1"><b>Diversification<br>
    </b></font>Carven's presence on the fashion scene until the mid-late 50s was as a couture creator of innovative teen and leisure fashions. But subsequently, never one to miss an opportunity, Carven joined other Paris designers in producing ready-to-wear collections, which could either be exported, or licenced for production overseas.<br>

    For example, in spring 1958, Marianne Charlier, Paris buyer for 'Miss Bergdorf' selected thirty out of sixty model dresses to be copied by David Crystal in junior sizes, for their new collection in New York. At about the same time, David Crystal produced a Dior licensed line too. <br>
    In the UK, the manufacturing house of Marcel Fenez may have played a similar role in distributing Carven's ready-to-wear models; this frosted chocolate party dress, left, is a product of the Fenez-Carven collaboration.<br>
    </font></p>
    </td></tr><tr><td valign="middle" width="290"><p style="line-height: 180%;" align="left"><font face="arial" size="2">Both Dior and Carven licensed sweater designs at around the same time (mid-50s) but although Lyle and Scott still celebrate their Dior designs, Carven's&nbsp; collaborator remains unclear. <br>Despite her inventive sports-clothes of the late 40s-c. 1950, by the end of the decade, Carven became increasingly known internationally for quality, teen-sized evening clothes. Nevertheless, accessories were produced alongside dresses from the very first collections. Another product which became a widely disseminated token of Carven's design was the printed headscarf - collections of these were first produced c. 1955. More recently, the Carven brand was expanded to include leather bags and sunglasses.
    </font></font></p>

    </td><td valign="middle" width="290"><p align="center"><img src="http://archive.noirboudoir.com/lives/carvenscarf.JPG" border="2" width="290"><font size="-1"><br>Carven scarf (with signature, above). Courtesy of Lizzie Brammlett<br>
    </p></td></tr><tr>
    <td valign="middle" width="310"><center><p style="line-height: 180%;" align="center"><img src="http://archive.noirboudoir.com/lives/carvenblazer.jpg" border="2" width="290"></p></center></td><td valign="middle" width="290"> <p style="line-height: 180%;" align="left"><font face="arial" size="2">
    Carven's presence in south-east Asia, and particularly Japan, became very strong. Her reputation as a global designer is perhaps suitably bolstered by the fact that she designed Air France air hostess costumes in the late 60s-70s. <br>

    This chenille-pile blazer, left, seems to be an 80s product, with monogram 'C' buttons. It was purchased in Japan and has a Japanese care label.&nbsp; 'Miss Carven' was a petite-sized line distinct from the older 'Carven Junior' label (for girls) produced in the 50s-60s. The colours, wine, rust, olive, rich green and ultra marine, are strangely close to the palette favoured by Carven in her first few years of couture collections reported in the New York Times.
    </td></tr><tr><td valign="middle" width="310"><p style="line-height: 180%;" align="left"><font face="arial" size="2">Carven is pictured here in 1989, with a contemporary design, in the rich, artistic setting she had built around her, with the help of her second husband (Monsieur Grog, I kid you not). Within the next few years, she retired from the running of her design firm and Carven's haute couture collections ceased. After the company was bought by a businessman (Daniel Harland) Pascal Millet was installed as artistic director in 2001, and brought Carven dresses back to the runways while reining in the brand's more detached licensed lines. <i>Fashion Windows</i> reported more recently that luxury leather goods firm, Arco, has acquired Carven, with Millet still in post, for four million Euros.
    </td><td valign="middle" width="290"> <center><p align="center"><img src="http://archive.noirboudoir.com/lives/carven1989.jpg" border="2" width="300">
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  2. Patentleathershoes

    Patentleathershoes VFG Veteran VFG Past President

    That dress in the last picture reminds me of a peacock...that is fantastic!

    The blazer to me is a bit differing from the rest of the collection but it reminds me of more ethnic influences in the color scheme.

    Interesting about Air France...maybe there is an Air France ad showing that.

    hmmm...i will process all this and have many more thoughts in the a.m i certainly imagine.
     
  3. noir_boudoir

    noir_boudoir Registered Guest

    Chris, the Carven stuff I've seen come up for auction on Ebay generally consists of accessories. By and large, the outfits that surface are actually the air hostess uniforms. They get put up for sale at quite astronomical sums.

    The different branches of Carven which one might come across are perhaps a) the couture designs, in quality collections in Europe (b) the ready-to-wear party dresses, in the UK and America and (c) the complete, later ready-to-wear wardrobes, where you have the solid, continuing buying of Carven in the Middle and Far East.

    That's oversimplistic, but it gives an idea of how her distribution apparently worked differently across several markets.
     
  4. Patentleathershoes

    Patentleathershoes VFG Veteran VFG Past President

    Thanks so much Lin, my eyes have been opened once again and now i will know what i am coming acrossed when i come acrossed it

    Chris
     
  5. dibs2002

    dibs2002 Registered Guest

  6. denisebrain

    denisebrain VFG Vice President Staff Member VFG Past President

    Fantastic Lin! Thank you so much for another excellent presentation.

    My French (equally diminutive) Godmother favored/favors Ma Griffe, and the green/white stripes seem to correlate with Lily of the Valley ideally. In the pseudo-psychology of color perception, green is considered "undecided" but in bold stripes, it is just plain fresh! What a total lifestyle marketing scheme.

    (Oh, and my Godmother actually drove the same Fiat, until the brakes gave out on an exit ramp at top speed!) The car is long gone, my G-mother is now 91...still soaked in Ma Griffe...
     

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