Ethnic fashion has been and still is an ultimate source of inspiration, coming in and out of fashion countless times. Starting from the 19th century and later Jaques Ducett and Paul Poiret, the oriental Japanese style came into the fashion. Names like Jeanne Paquin, Callot Soeurs, Charles Frederik Worth, Mariano Fortuny, Madeleine Vionnet, Jeanne Lanvin, Madame Gres and others followed the early 20th centry ethnic frenzy. Even before, trough the conquests of India and Africa and the American Natives, the European culture had been influenced by the flamboyant style, new fabrics, colors, shapes, forms and motifs that opened a new chapter in prestige and luxury. Trough trade and exchange the influences mixed to create an amazing and magical fusion.
Ethnic fashion has Indeed always been extremely rich source of inspiration to the creative minds in fashion. The second half of the 20th century brought Japanese ethnic fashion to Europe trough designs of Kenzo, Myake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto translating the ethnic into modern trend.They had stirred the Paris fashion scene with their fusion collections incorporating futuristic modern vision and ethnic.
The famous Yves Saint Laurent with his exotic and wild ethnic style revolutionized the modern couture by braking out of the 60's modernist style and was the first to create the ethnic "back to nature" 70' style. In the 70's every type of ethnic image set a trend. The ethnic influence was so strong that it revived craft skills from past times and distant places. Ethnic fashion and style trends became popular due to the broader travel experience. 80's ethnic style was represented mainly in jewelery, accessories and fabric design. We all remember New Romantics and icons like Boy George and Cindy Lauper. 90's bring Chinese collars and prints, motifs for inside of garments and affordable embroidery and beedwork.
The last 10 years, fashion witnessed many ethnic inspired collections. The ethnic revives itself in fusion with other influences as fusion itself and it ranges from very light application of ethnic details to the total look as the culmination of the ethnic frenzy. After the gourmet fusion of tastes, the trend definitely passes over to fashion and the fusion of ethnic as its basic ingredient.
