6 minute read
STOP AND CHECK
CULTURE H IG H LIGH TS: B R IT ISH FASHION
Clothes are very important to ^rftish teenagers, and many of them Love V/IA/ H iy/ »-»I W I II j w* * ► »V W » • H /1 1 rv^| J I to shop for the latest fashions. How can they afford ft?
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1 Work in cjroups. Read these words and use them in your own sentences.
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Work in groups Read Jenny’s story from her website and say what fashion
designers are mentioned in the text.
1. Britain has seen an explosion in the num ber of fashion shops aimed at the younger generation, but at a price you can afford! M any of these fashions are influenced by music and movies.
W here do British kids shop? In stores like TopShop, Warehouse, Oasis and Miss Sixty.
W hile B ritain is well-known for its high street shopping, it also has num erous world famous fashion designers. Today, British designers are responsible for collections in French couture houses and a huge num ber are w orking for in ternational brands throughout the world — in New York, Milan and the Far East.
Famous British fashion designers include Vivienne Westwood, Alexander M cQueen, Paul Smith, and Stella M cCartney, daughter of the former Beatle Paul McCartney.
2 . For example, a teach er tu rn ed fashion designer, V ivienne W estw ood is one of th e m ost influential and recognisable B ritish designers of th e past 20 years. She once said th a t fashion is, “life-enhancing and like everything th a t gives pleasure, it is w orth doing w ell.” W estwood began designing and selling clothes through her shop, “Let it Rock”, on the Kings Road in 1971. Her designs becam e closely linked w ith the punk explosion. In 1976, W estwood’s future business partner, Malcolm McLaren, dressed his band the Sex Pistols in clothes from W estwood’s boutique. H er status among th e stars was g u aranteed from th a t point on. In 1981, her first London collection, “P irate”, p u t W estwood firmly on | the fashion map as an original and unusual design talent. In 1983 she became the first female British designer to grace the Paris catwalks since M ary Q uant in the 1960s.
In 1990 and 1991 Westwood was named British Designer of the Year and was later awarded an OBE (O rder of the British Empire) in recognition of her services to British fashion. In 1998 and 2002 she won the Queen’s UK Export Award.
3 . The British Fashion Council (B F C ) helps British designers to establish themselves in the industry. Using sponsorship money they are able to p u t on London Fashion Week twice a year. This week long event has catwalk shows and exhibitions and attracts buyers from Australia and South America, as well as Europe and the US. The media coverage of the event is enormous w ith more t han 250 TV crews, 350 photographers and around 2000 press clippings.
Some designers are now working w ith famous companies to create clothes which are accessible to everyone. Debenhams and M arks and Spencer are just tw o stores which now offer designer clothing at affordable prices.
S Read the true / false statements. If the statement is false, give the correct statement according to the text.
i 1. M any fashionable shops for kids have opened in the UK recently. 2. Fashionable shops sell fashionable clothes for reasonable price. 3. British fashion is not well-known outside the UK. 4. Vivienne W estwood is an unknow n British designer. 5. Vivienne W estwood has worked in a fashion industry over 20 years. 6. Vivienne W estwood’s early woks were for punks. 7. At the beginning of her fashion career W estwood dressed “The Beatles”. 8. Vivienne W estwood was awarded many times for her achievements. 9. Young designers are helped by the British Fashion Council (B FC ). 10. Some young designers work for well-known shopping companies.
4 Write the list of the brands which are mentioned in the text. What are they famous for?
5 Read the story from Nastya’s e-mail and tell about the Ukrainian Fashion Week and the famous designers in Ukraine.
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approxim ately one week twice a year, which allows fashion designers or "houses" to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers to take a look at the latest trends. The Ukrainian Fashion Week gathers young and well- known designers to share their ideas and present new trends for the coming seasons. Everybody can see famous collections of Liliya Poustovit, Volodymyr Podolyan, Oksana Karavanska, Svitlana Tegin, etc. As the Ukraine’s most recognised designer, Liliya Poustovit has shown in the Ukraine for over a decade. Volodymyr Podolyan was discovered in a competition to find emerging talent in Kyiv. Their collections are already sold at Dover Street M arket in London.
5 a Tell about Vivienne Westwood and Volodymyr Podolyan using
the factfiles below.
n a m e
Vivienne Westwood
BORN
April 8, 1941, England
NATIONALITY English EDUCATION U niversity of W estminster, Goldsmiths
LABELS
Vivienne Westwood
AWARDS
British Fashion Designer of the year 1990, 1991, 2006.
NAME
BORN
NATIONALITY
EDUCATION
LABELS
AWARDS
Volodymyr Podolyan July 2, 1975, Moldova Ukrainian
graduated w ith distinction from “SLAVA ZAITSEV Fashion Laboratory" (2004), Fashion design Vladimir Podolyan, PODOLYAN FO R ATELIER 1
main award in th e national contest of young designers at the “Fashion Seasons” - “Looknig Into F uture 2003”, award in the all-U krainian contest “Feeriya of Beauty 2003”, award in the 4th International contest “Crystal S ilhouette”
klork in groups. Discuss the following questions.
1. Is it im portant to be fashion-conscious? 2. How much money do you spend on clothes? 3. Do you prefer clothes w ith famous brand names? W hy? 4. W hy do people pay more for a famous brand name?
