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Louis Féraud adore les femmes
Louis Féraud was born in the southern French town of Arles in 1921 and opened his first boutique in Cannes in 1950.
When, in 1955, Brigitte Bardot visited his shop with the paparazzi in hot pursuit and bought a white sundress, the rest of Cote d’Azur elite immediately flocked to buy his clothes, assuring his success as a designer.
By the mid 1950s he had established a couture house in Paris, designing for Bardot and other film stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Kim Novak, and he presented his first haute couture collection Paris in 1958.
Féraud subsequently hired up and coming designers Jean-Louis Scherrer and Per Spook, going from strength to strength throughout the 60s and signing up with Fink of Germany in 1970 to design a ladies’ prêt-à-porter collection.
“Fashion is not created to separate people but to bring them together; it is a rendezvous of love,” he famously declared. His aim, he said, was always “to please women”, and he invariably succeeded with his sophisticated designs and fine French tailoring, coining the slogan “Louis Féraud adore les femmes”.
An accomplished fine artist as well as a designer, Féraud was heavily influenced by his colourful Provencal roots and he continued to paint throughout his life, exhibiting in Europe and the USA. He also created a number of perfumes.
Féraud twice won the ‘Golden Thimble Award’ for his haute couture collections in 1978 and 1984, and his designs were favoured throughout the glamorous 80s by stars like Joan Collins in her ‘Dynasty’ role as Alexis Colby. In 1991, he was elected Prince de l'Art de Vivre and was made an Officier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1995 by the French President.
Following his retirement in 1995, the House of Féraud was run by his daughter Kiki until 1999, when it was acquired by the Dutch group Secon. Féraud died that same year at the age of 79, but his label, famous for its elegance and sophistication, continues to delight new generations of women from across the globe.
Just as “Féraud adore les femmes”, it is undoubtedly still the case that “les femmes adorent Féraud”. The Frockery does too and we can never resist this particular label.
Louis Féraud Little Black Dress
Louis Féraud white linen mix jacket
Coffee pussy bow blouse (Louis Féraud)
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Frockery Focus on Marion Donaldson:
The label that brought the Swinging 60s to Glasgow
In 1966, at the age of only 22, newly married and with just £50 of capital behind her, Glasgow designer Marion Donaldson created a new and exciting fashion label which was to have a profound and lasting influence and which has since been widely credited as bringing the mood of Carnaby Street and the Swinging 60s to Glasgow and Scotland.
Specialising in one-off mini skirts and dresses, Marion and her husband David quickly took the fashion world by storm. Contrary to popular belief, they never had their own shop but began selling their clothes wholesale to Glasgow’s first fashion boutique, In Gear, and Aquarius on Byres Road, soon graduating to Fenwick’s of London. A subsequent partnership with Liberty’s of Regent Street led to a rapid expansion and the production of Marion’s best known ‘signature’ dresses in fabulous Liberty fabrics.
The company’s turnover quickly grew, but while the customer base was widely spread throughout the UK, the design and manufacturing elements remained Glasgow-based.
The company’s iconic art nouveau label was originally inspired by an oval mirror which the Donaldsons bought at auction and remains instantly recognisable in all of their garments. Initially printed purple on white in the 60s, it changed to brown on cream, then gold on purple and finally became silver on black.
Marion Donaldson Ltd traded from 1966 until 1999, but her garments have a timeless charm and quality and remain immensely popular, both for everyday wear and collecting.
The Glasgow Museum of Transport is currently creating a display of family snapshots about 60s fashion with a particular focus on the work of Marion Donaldson as she is recognised as being such an important design influence. According to curator Kate Tansley, "The popularity of the Marion Donaldson label reflects the mood of Glasgow at that time, and hopefully the photographs will help visitors travel back in time to the 1960s." For more details of the project and exhibition, visit the Museum's website.
The Frockery can never resist a Marion Donaldson piece and we have a selection currently in stock:
Beautiful sheer print blouse (Marion Donaldson)
Marion Donaldson 1970s maxi dress
Marion Donaldson navy shift dress
Liberty print dress (Marion Donaldson)
Vintage Marion Donaldson velvet dress
Marion Donaldson foxglove print dress
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Frockery Focus on Joseph Ribkoff:
A golden anniversary for a wow factor label
It is fitting that, for the first of our Frockery Focus pieces, we should feature the glittering career of Canadian designer,
Joseph Ribkoff , who this month (November 2007) celebrated 50 golden years in the fashion industry.
This memorable milestone was formally marked at the 2007 Montreal Fashion and Design Festival where Ribkoff was held up as “a pillar of the fashion industry, both at home and abroad, who has been serving femininity for more than 50 years.”
The now global fashion label started from fairly humble beginnings in Dorval, Quebec, in 1957, when the loss of his job at a local fashion house prompted the young, newly married Joseph Ribkoff to launch his own business venture. Later he would joke that he only started his own business “to avoid getting fired again!”
With a natural flair for fashion and a keen instinct for business, Ribkoff started as he was to go on, creating stunning top-end statement designs, while providing unrivalled customer service and successfully meeting the challenges of changing market conditions over half a century. He has never looked back, declaring his clothes to be for women who unashamedly want to stand out from the crowd.
Ever popular with discerning fashionistas the world over, Joseph Ribkoff pieces are, without exception, beautiful creations with an undoubted wow factor, as the following examples from The Frockery catalogue demonstrate.
Stunning vintage Joseph Ribkoff black evening ensemble
Black showstopping Joseph Ribkoff dress
Glam 1980s Joseph Ribkoff jumpsuit
Winter white Joseph Ribkoff evening top
Vintage purple Joseph Ribkoff dress
Joseph Ribkoff lavender evening skirt
Joseph Ribkoff lounge lizard suit
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