Y3 Clothing Analysis

Brendan Madden - 3rd Year - Tutor: Hilary O’Kelly - Fashion & Textiles Essay - 10 March 2009
A N A N A LY S I S O F T W O P I E C E S O F F A S H I O N D E S I G N
M A N U F A C T U R E D S I N C E 1 9 5 0 A D D R E S S I N G TA S T E ,
S TAT U S A N D G E N D E R
The two pieces that I have chosen to discuss in this essay are my own clothes, that for the
purpose of writing this analysis I actually wore today. The first piece is a grey wool Christian Diorama
jacket and the other, a black promotional Apple t-shirt. Here I will be analyzing both garments - each
designed with very different purposes, a different customer profile and at completely different price
points - and considering them in terms of taste, status and gender.
The first piece we will consider is the grey Christian Dior Monsieur Jacket (Fig.1).
In October 2007 I visited the “Christian Dior and the Golden Age of Couture” Exhibition at the
Victoria and Albert Museum. This
was my first exposure to the work
of Christian Dior, Christobel
Balenciaga and the others featured. I
had seen and admired the work of
Yves Saint Laurent but did not
readily associate it with “the Golden

Fig. 1. Grey Christian Dior Monsieur Mens
Age of Couture” and so I decided
that I would find a piece for myself
that I associated with the
craftsmanship, the tailoring and the
elegance of the work of Monsieur
Dior. Weeks of eBay browsing went

Jacket
by and I bought my first Dior piece
- a medium blue shade tweed wool
Brendan Madden 3rd Year Fashion and Textiles Essay An Analysis of two pieces of fashion or textile design since 1950 1
suit - which I
Fig. 2. Grey Christian Dior Monsieur Mens Jacket
- Close-up of sleeve showing weave structure.
didn’t really like
too much. It
was too flashy
and felt more
like something
that Gordon
Gekko would
wear on Wall
Street, and it
conjured up
images not of
couture and
quality fashion,
but of fast cars,
cocaine and
thousand pound
bottles of
champagne
over lunch. I
was more
discerning in my
purchases from
then on, sticking
Fig. 3 Grey Christian Dior Monsieur Mens Jacket - Close-up of sleeve showing to black single
surface colour and texture.
breasted jackets
and suits, and
eventually
found this grey
single-breasted
wool jacket, late
in November
2007.
The Jacket
appears at first
glance to be
Fig. 4. Main Label bearing brandmark: Christian Dior Monsieur. Jacquard Woven
lining featuring CD (Christian Dior) logo is visible behind label. constructed
simply from a
grey wool plain
weave, but
there is much
more to it than
Fig. 5. Woolmark label and compositional details.
Fig. 6. Size label and Model Number that. It is actually
a herringbone weave (See Fig. 2. which shows a close up of the sleeve and where the weave structure
is apparent) and is not just grey, but also orange and blue (See Fig. 3 which shows a close-up of the
surface of the jacket). The first place I looked for information other than the material qualities of the
piece, was on its labeling. The main label bearing the Christian Dior Monsieur brand-mark (Fig. 4) is on
the inside Right Hand Side of the Jacket and there is a pocket behind it containing the other labels
(Fig. 5 & Fig. 6).
The label featuring the Christian Dior Monsieur brand-mark (Fig. 4) is a jacquard weave with large
areas of satin weave and a twill border in white thread which unusually for Dior Monsieur is bevelled.
This could help provide some clue to when it was designed as it is different from all my other Dior
jackets in this way. The label is folded at the edges and stitched onto the lining by machine.
The labels inside the pocket feature the Woolmark (previously International Wool Secretariat)
logo (fig. 4) which could, if we had no idea at all of production date, provide us with the information
that it was made after 1964.

The Woolmark logo was designed by Francesco Seraglio in 1964. Configured in the

fashion of a Möbius strip, the grouping of three elements appears to intertwine like a

skein of wool. The overall shape is soft yet stable, by virtue of the secure base of the

triangle and the generously radiused points. The reflection of positive and negative

shapes and spaces allows for details without compromising reduction capability. This

mark remains compellingly friendly and contemporary after more than four decades.

(Gernsheimer, 2008, pp.111)
The smaller label sewn onto the inside face of the lining inside the jacket provides us with
information on the size of the piece and features a serial number of some sort - 71506 (Fig. 6).

Each label signed "Christian Dior" had a special number permitting instant identification

of models sold in France and abroad. Consumers dissatisfied with garments could

return them to retailers, and the Christian Dior wholesaling operation could

subsequently discipline the manufacturer. (Okawa, 2008, pp.91)
In order to consider the garment in terms of taste, status and gender, it is necessary to provide a
contextual backdrop to its production. The accompanying fact sheets (Tables 1 & 2) provides
information about the pieces and about their ‘lineage’. It is necessary here of course, to assume the
garment is genuine and not counterfeit. Grossman and Shapiro’s 1998 study of consumer awareness
and counterfeiting provides some insight into this assumption, asserting that counterfeited goods are,
on close inspection or on continued use, demonstrated to be of a far inferior quality to the original
item and of course, available for a far lower price, although as this garment was purchased second-
hand the latter does not apply in this case. (Grossman & Shapiro, 1988, pp.81, 82)
Christian Dior himself never produced a menswear collection, and it was not until Marc Bohan
[very unenthusiastically - “I hated going into the men’s department,” Bohan said. (Murphy, 2007, pp.26)]
designed his first menswear collection in 1970 that the brand of Dior was fully accessible to men.
Previously men’s accessories had been made under license, and interestingly, the licensing of men’s
garments had been sanctioned as early as 1954.

During the very early years of Maison Dior, design and merchandising were carried out

at the Paris headquarters. From around the world, high-end retailers and

manufacturers seen as worthy of producing and selling Maison Dior's products were

signed on as licensees beginning in 1949. Between 1946 and Dior's death in 1957,

Maison Dior expanded the firm's core businesses by opening specialized branches and

entering licensing agreements with manufacturers. In France, Maison Dior established

subsidiaries to
produce and market a wide variety of lines... menswear in 1954.

(Okawa, 2008, pp.89)
The type of men that the Dior Monsieur brand was targeted at was wealthy middle-aged men
who admired the style and quality of Dior. The focus was initially on fit and comfort, then moved more
and more towards tailoring and enhancing of the figure, the notion that clothes were designed to
please the wearer and viewer, and in 1992 upon his appointment as Creative Director of Christian
Dior Monsieur, Patrick Lavoix said “The only legitimacy of designing clothes is through the desire to
please” (d’Aulnay, 1992). ‘At the time, in fact, much of the Dior men’s business was licensed, presenting
a tricky leviathan to homogenize. Bernard Arnault, head of Dior parent LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis
Vuitton, started to scale back licenses in the mid-Nineties to modernize the house and make it a more
profitable business.’ (d'Aulnay, 1992). The radical change at Dior Monsieur came in 2000 when Hedi
Silmane, previously the menswear designer at Yves Saint Laurent was appointed Creative Director.

Men’s wear existed at Dior long before Hedi Slimane. But it was a radically different

business, founded on traditional tailoring and sporty outfits more fit for the yacht club

than the dance club. “We were a very classical and traditional house,” said Patrick

Lavoix, who oversaw Dior’s men’s business before Slimane was hired in 2000. “That

was our clientele.” (Murphy, 2007, pp.26)
Silmane came to Dior with a vision of something very new, and immediately changed the name
and connotations of Dior Monsieur, replacing them with a new brand, Dior Homme. Initially the two
sold side-by-side but Silmane dropped Dior Monsieur after one year.

Before Slimane’s arrival, the men’s business was substantial and global, but mostly

licensed and associated with a mature, bourgeois clientele...With his electrifying debut

Dior show in January 2001...Slimane began constructing a new brand based on

modernist rigor and youthful verve....And Slimane is unrepentant if people assume his

clothes can only be worn by the very young and the very thin. “I really don’t care,” he

stated. “It’s not so much about being skinny or not. The sense of fit and proportion is

what is important.…In men’s wear, a lot of things became tighter, so everybody thinks

it’s normal….You just have to try it. When I started at YSL, I was asked all the time

about comfort. No one asks anymore.” As for any accusations of ageism in his design

approach, Slimane retorted, “Older people want to look younger. Vitality comes from

young people. You can’t fight that.” (Socha, 2007, pp.26)
At that time, however, French menswear was at a low ebb. In comparison to American
sportswear, British bespoke tailoring or Italian suiting, the French didn't have a
distinctive menswear style of their own. For that, Slimane blames the English. The 18th-
century craze in France for English-style tailoring destroyed the last vestiges of the
fancier Gallic look. More recently, he says, "There wasn't really a French tailoring
tradition. We didn't have that. We lost the tailors. It was a disaster. The French fashion
houses never thought that men's fashion would be possible. They couldn't see how it
would make money. When I started at Saint Laurent, people were sceptical. They've
started to understand it, but it's quite recent." (Rushton, 2004)
From the mid 90s onwards, Dior Monsieur suits and blazers made for sale in Europe were
constructed mostly in France. Most other menswear, Shirts, etc were still licensed for example to a
Japanese manufacturer, but Dior were starting to source their shirts within France. This indicates that
my jacket was probably made before then.
As Murphy says in 2007, prior to the arrival of Silmane, Dior suits were aimed at a very particular
clientele with a very particular taste. This grey wool jacket evokes a sense of the casual, relaxed but
elegant dresser. I normally don’t wear my jacket with a shirt and tie, and if I do, the shirt is fully open
and there is a dark t-shirt underneath. Normally I wear the jacket with a similarly colored grey light
cotton zip-up hoodie and in fact, I almost consider the garments to be one piece. The juxtaposition of
these two very different garments at two very different price points is a successful one as they
complete each other. The combined weight of the garments is quite surprising though and this limits
the activity one can pursue whilst wearing them. The structured tailoring of the jacket works well with
the loose flowing knit of the hoodie which itself acts almost as a lining to the piece and provides extra
warmth without making the look too casual. I believe that together with the hoodie, this jacket speaks
for my own taste, for tailoring and structure but also for comfort. The grey wool is an incredibly
successful piece as it doesn’t ever appear dull but at the same time isnt’ flashy or showy. The piece also
represents my status by
Fig. 7. Jacket with grey hoodie as worn by me
suggesting that the fashion
that is accessible to me is
somewhere between high
street and high fashion but
it is not fully either. The
gender that the garment
conveys is very masculine
and for this reason I have
chosen to photograph it
not on a man or a woman
but on its own as a piece
where it speaks for itself
without the visual aid of
actualized gender.
The second piece that I have considered in this assignment is a black t-shirt (Fig. 9) which I was
given for free as part of my job as the Apple-on-Campus representative for NCAD. First, we will
consider this purely on its qualities as a garment, as a t-shirt. It is a reasonably good quality 100%
cotton t-shirt, made in the USA and is all black with a screen-printed logo
motif of an Apple with a leaf and a piece eaten from it. This brandmark
(Fig. 11) was created in 1997 by Steve Jobs (First used in the PowerBook G3
of 1998) and is based on the original Rainbow colored Apple brand-mark
designed by Rob Janoff in 1977 (Fig. 8)

Fig. 8. Original Apple brand-mark
Fig. 9. Black 100% Cotton T-Shirt featuring screen-printed Apple Logo
Secondly, it’s intended purpose aside, the t-shirt is seen by Apple fans as a collectors’ item. Apple
branded non-computer products are only officially available for sale at the Apple Company Store (Fig.
10) in Cupertino which I visited in 2003. Along with Apple branded garments, the company store sells
a plethora of other Apple branded goods, merchandise, books and promotional posters.
Fig. 10. The website of the  Company Store
These products serve to reinforce the Apple identity and stretch it into a truly ‘whole lifestyle’
brand offering.
The logo motivates consumption when attached to watches, T-shirts and other
commodities by way of a process I call "branding." Branding both shifts the concept of
use-value from the actual product to its brand image, and also identifies the product
relative to the chain of signifiers constituting its brand "family." (In the same way
ranchers brand livestock with the sign of their ranch.) Products branded in this way
offer membership in a kind of private club, where the only privilege offered is
belonging. (Oswald, 1996, pp.59)
Because consumers value visibility, they are willing to pay more for a product that has a
stronger brand image or that is more widely recognized by others. The increase in
consumer willingness to pay for a brand stretcher's product depends, therefore, on the
relative difference in brand recognition between the brand stretcher's product and an
incumbent's product. (Pepall & Daniels, 2002, pp.540)
The items are generally of a very high
quality and reinforce the notion that
Apple branded computer goods are
of a higher quality - both in terms of
workmanship and aesthetic- than
competing brands which could not
get away with selling such blatantly
promotional items.
Fig. 11. Detail of Screen-printed Apple Logo on knitted

surface of t-shirt
Although both the pieces considered in this analysis are designed, produced and distributed with
totally different aims, and in very different markets, they actually express of the wearer, and evoke
within the viewer very similar tastes, statuses and genders. In terms of status, the Dior jacket more
inherently so as the label is only seen by a viewer when the jacket is open or removed and it relies on
its quality of fabric, cut and construction to convey this status. The apple branded t-shirt is obviously
not made by Apple and aimed for sale in the same way as their computers are, but at the same time,
the Dior (ready-to-wear mens) jacket is not aimed at and marketed in the same way as the Dior
Couture that gives the jacket its brand premium. In terms of taste, both reflect a casual dress-code but
a taste for quality brands and products, they suggest different outworkings of that taste. The Dior
jacket suggests an aesthetic that is minimal, unfussy and discrete, whereas the Apple t-shirt suggests a
wearer that is brand loyal, tech savvy and young. The same t-shirt worn on an older man would look
boyish and out of place unless the wearer has a distinct claim to the taste expressed that is unique
and not mimic-able by others of a similar age, build and cultural background - the same can be said for
Bono’s sunglasses.
I here propose another function of branding and advertising content, namely, that
consumers can use brand choice as a way of signaling to each other. Briefly, the
argument is as follows. Much social interaction is based on signs whose meanings
derive from convention (use). When a product is consumed in public, then brand
choice could be used to send a signal. (Wernerfelt, 1990)
Let us return lastly to gender. Both pieces are undeniably masculine. The cut and tailoring of the
jacket if worn by a woman suggests a very particular taste and a particular attitude to gender, but
when worn by a man does not suggest a variation on the wearer’s notion of gender, but a
reinforcement of it. The Apple t-shirt can be worn by a man without being noticed but when worn by
a woman would evoke curiosity and would appear somewhat out of place. It is a shapeless and
masculine garment in itself and this even with the apple logo not present would quieten the sexuality
and gender of a woman by concealing her shape.
WORK CITED
Amies, Hardy, (2007), ABC of Men's Fashion (New Edition), New York: Abrams
Birdwell, A.E, (1968), A Study of the Influence of Image Congruence on Consumer Choice, The Journal
of Business, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Jan., 1968), pp. 76-88 Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
Colavita, Courtney, (2007), "THE OPEN DIOR; FACED WITH A TOUGH DILEMMA, DIOR
HOMME'S NEW CREATIVE DIRECTOR, KRIS VAN ASSCHE, MADE AN INSPIRED CHOICE."
Daily News Record, July 9, 2007, New York: Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
d'Aulnay, Sophie. (1992), "Lavoix starts over: the designer says his new home, the House of Dior, has
business and fashion philosophies that match his own. (profile of men's wear designer Patrick
Lavoix)." Daily News Record, June 29, 1992, New York: Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
Davies, Hywel, (2008), Modern Menswear, London: Laurence King Publishing
Design Museum, (2009), Christian Dior: Fashion Designer, London: The Design Museum, URL: http://
www.designmuseum.org/design/christian-dior (Accessed 01.03.2009)
Gellers, Stan. "Lavoix's Dior men's line makes U.S. debut in N.Y. (Patrick Lavoix, Christian Dior) (Brief
Article)." Daily News Record. Conde Nast Publications, Inc. 1994.
Gernscheimer, Jack, (2008), Designing Logos: The Process of Creating Symbols that Endure, New York:
Allworth Press
Grossman, Gene M. and Shapiro, Carl, (1988), 'Foreign Counterfeiting of Status Goods', The Quarterly
Journal of Economics, Vol. 103, No. 1 (Feb., 1988), pp. 79-100, Boston: The MIT Press
Keers, Paul, (1987), A Gentleman's Wardrobe: Classic Clothes and the Modern Man, London: George
Weidenfeld & Nicholson Limited
Mason, Elizabeth, (2002), Valuable Vintage: The Insider's Guide to Identifying and Collecting Important
Vintage Fashions, New York: Three Rivers Press
McLean, Craig, (2005), 'To Dior For', The Observer, Sunday 25 September 2005, London: Guardian
News & Media
Michael D. Smith and Erik Brynjolfsson, (2001) 'Consumer Decision-Making at an Internet Shopbot:
Brand Still Matters' The Journal of Industrial Economics, Vol. 49, No. 4, Symposium on E-
Commerce (Dec., 2001), pp. 541-558 New York: Blackwell
Monreal, Guy, (1981), Gerard Penneroux: Un Homme Nouveau chez Christian Dior, L'OFFICIEL
HOMMES n°24 de 1981 pp.116-7, Paris: Editions Jalou
Murphy, Robert, (2007) 'Tinker, Tailor', Womens Wear Daily, Tuesday 27 February 2007, New York:
Condé Nast Media, pp.26
Murthi , B. P. S. and Srinivasan, Kannan, (1999), Consumers' Extent of Evaluation in Brand Choice, The
Journal of Business, Vol. 72, No. 2 (Apr., 1999), pp. 229-256 Published by: The University of Chicago
Press
Okawa, Tomoko, (2008), 'Licensing Practices at Maison Christian Dior', in Blaszczyk, Regina Lee (Ed.),
Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture and Consumers (Hagley Perspectives on Business and
Culture), Philidelphia: University of Pensylvenia Press
Okonkwo, Uche, (2007), Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques, Houndmills, Hampshire:
Palgrave Macmillan
Oswald, Laura, (1996), 'The Place and Space of Consumption in a Material World', in Design Issues,
Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring, 1996), pp. 59, Boston: The MIT Press
Pepall, Lynne M. and Richards, Daniel J, (2002), 'The Simple Economics of Brand Stretching' The
Journal of Business, Vol. 75, No. 3 (Jul., 2002), pp. 540 Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Rushton, Susie, (2004), "Fashion special: The Talented Mr Slimane Hedi Slimane's snaked-hipped
trousers and lean jackets are the wardrobe of choice for edgy idols from Franz Ferdinand to the
Libertines. But Dior Homme's saviour wants more. Now he has designs on your home... Susie
Rushton meets the king of slimline chic." The Independent on Sunday. London: Independent News
& Media
Socha, Miles, (2007), 'For The Boys: The Menswear Heritage', Womens Wear Daily, Tuesday 27
February 2007, New York: Condé Nast Media, pp.26
Tyler, David J (Revision by), (2008), Carr & Latham's Technology of Clothing Manufacture - Fourth
Edition, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
Wernerfelt, Birger, (1990), 'Advertising Content When Brand Choice is a Signal', The Journal of
Business, Vol. 63, No. 1, Part 1 (Jan., 1990), pp. 91, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
List of Illustrations:
1. Grey Christian Dior Monsieur Tailored Menswear Jacket
2. Close-up of sleeve showing weave structure on jacket
3. close-up of sleeve showing surface colour and texture
4. Main label of jacket bearing brandmark
5. Woolmark label
6. Size and model label
7. Jacket as usually worn with grey hoodie
8. Original Apple Brandmark
9. Black Cotton Apple-branded t-shirt
10. Apple Company Store Website
11. Detail of Apple Logo on t-shirt

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What details does the author examine on the Christian Dior jacket?

Brendan Madden - 3rd Year - Tutor: Hilary O’Kelly - Fashion & Textiles Essay - 10 March 2009

points - and considering them in terms of taste, status and gender.

Victoria and Albert Museum. This

was my first exposure to the work

of Christian Dior, Christobel

Balenciaga and the others featured. I

had seen and admired the work of

Yves Saint Laurent but did not

readily associate it with “the Golden

Age of Couture” and so I decided

that I would find a piece for myself

that I associated with the

craftsmanship, the tailoring and the

elegance of the work of Monsieur

Dior. Weeks of eBay browsing went

by and I bought my first Dior piece

- a medium blue shade tweed wool

didn’t really like

was too flashy

and felt more

but of fast cars,

then on, sticking

and suits, and

found this grey

wool jacket, late

grey wool plain

(Fig. 5 & Fig. 6).

that it was made after 1964.

garments had been sanctioned as early as 1954.

my jacket was probably made before then.

suggesting that the fashion

somewhere between high

street and high fashion but

it is not fully either. The

gender that the garment

conveys is very masculine

and for this reason I have

not on a man or a woman

but on its own as a piece

where it speaks for itself

without the visual aid of

of 1998) and is based on the original Rainbow colored Apple brand-mark

designed by Rob Janoff in 1977 (Fig. 8)

Fig. 9. Black 100% Cotton T-Shirt featuring screen-printed Apple Logo

Fig. 10. The website of the  Company Store

The items are generally of a very high

quality and reinforce the notion that

Apple branded computer goods are

of a higher quality - both in terms of

workmanship and aesthetic- than

competing brands which could not

get away with selling such blatantly

Fig. 11. Detail of Screen-printed Apple Logo on knitted

and gender of a woman by concealing her shape.

Davies, Hywel, (2008), Modern Menswear, London: Laurence King Publishing

www.designmuseum.org/design/christian-dior (Accessed 01.03.2009)