Year 2 art

As an immigrant hotel worker in Paris, and later London, young Guccio Gucci (1881-1953) was impressed with the opulent luggage he saw sophisticated and higher class guests bring with them, pushing him to visit the manufacturer HJ Cave & Sons. Returning to his birthplace of Florence, Italy, Gucci established a shop in 1920, selling fine leather goods with classic styling. Pigskin, calf and imported exotic animal skins were subjected to various methods of fabrication. Satin and waterproof canvas were used to make evening bags. Bamboo was first utilised for making handbag handles through a process of heating and molding in 1947, and purses fashioned with a shoulder strap and snaffle bit decoration were introduced in 1960. An especially iconic touch, added in 1964, was the use of the double G logo used on belt buckles and other accessory decorations.

Balenciaga is a high fashion brand, founded by designer, Cristóbal Balenciaga in Spain, 1919. Balenciaga opened his first boutique in San Sebastián, Spain in 1919, which went on to expand including branches in Madrid and Barcelona. His designs were worn by the likes of the Spanish royal family and the aristocracy, but the Spanish civil war soon intervened with Balenciaga’s affairs, as he was forced to close his stores and move to Paris. Years later in 1937, Balenciaga opened his Paris couture house on Avenue George V, and his first fashion show featured designs heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. During WW2, customers risked their own safety to travel and see Balenciagas designs, and it was during this period that he was noted for his “Square coat” (shown below). Post war, the full scale inventiveness and originality of the designer became apparent.  The fluidity of his shapes and outlines enabled him to change the relationship between his clothing and women's bo...

The brand was founded by James Jebbia. The first Supreme store opened in 1994 on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan. The store was designed with skaters in mind, keeping the clothes around the perimeter with a large space for people to skate comfortably in the middle. The brand mainly caters to Skateboarding, hip hop and rock cultures in addition to the youth culture in general. It produces clothes, accessories and skateboards. The brands distinctive red box logo is largely based on Barbara Kruger’s propaganda art; an example given below.