Think Culture Pre-Intermediate - Oxford University Press · famous when a band called The Sex Pistols wore clothes from her shop at a gig in 1976. They wore razor blades, safety pins

Stella McCartney

7 catena di negozi (L.61) 8 cuoio (L.75) 9 pelliccia (L.75)

Check 4 Write questions for these answers.

1 Twenty-one.

2 They were often simple shapes, with strong primary colours.

3 To thank her for her services to the fashion industry.

4 The Sex Pistols.

5 ‘World’s End’.

6 They modelled her clothes.

7 Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow.

8 For her less expensive, casual clothes.

Culture Britain

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Warm-up

1 In pairs. Describe the clothes in the photos (A–C). When do you think the photos were taken? How do you know?

Reading 2 Read about three famous British women

designers. Write the name of the designer below each photo (A–C).

Vocabulary 3 Find the English translations for these words

in the article.

Mary Quant

1 audaci (L.11) 2 clienti (L.17) 3 gusti (L.18) Vivienne Westwood

4 concerto (L.43) 5 lamette (L.44) 6 premi (L.50)

Culture Fashion – Made in Britain2

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M A RY Q UA N T

Born: 1934

Early career: opened clothes shop ‘Bazaar’ in the King’s Road, London, in 1955.

Famous designs: the miniskirt and geometrical ‘bob’ hairstyle.

Now: designs clothes, make-up and cosmetics.

Her clothes were original, daring and shocked many people. But what made Mary Quant different from other designers of the fifties and sixties? She opened her first shop in 1955, when she was only 21. She was the same age as her customers and knew their tastes. Her clothes were often simple shapes, with strong primary colours. In a time of great social change her most famous creation, the miniskirt, became a symbol of liberation. In 1961 she opened a second shop in London, and by 1963 she was exporting clothes to the USA. In 1966 she received a medal from the Queen for her services to the fashion industry.

Listening 5 T5 02 Listen to Sharon, an art and design

student, talking to her friend, Chris, about British fashion over the past decades. Complete the table for the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Types of clothes

60sWomen:

Men:

70sHippies:

Punks:

80s NewRomantics:

90sAntiFashion:

Speaking T

6 In pairs. Ask and answer the questions about Italian fashion.

1 Was Italian fashion similar to British fashion in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s?

2 Who or what influenced Italian fashion in the past?

3 What are the main influences on Italian fashion now?

4 Who are the most famous Italian designers?

5 What are they particularly famous for?

6 What is fashionable at the moment?

Writing Portfolio

7 Use the Internet to do research and write a short text (100 words) on activity a or b.

a A famous Italian designer. Include this information:

when and where born

training and early career

influences

first important job/collection/show

famous creations

present activity

b The history of Italian fashion, decade by decade. Include this information:

fashion trends, decade by decade

social and cultural influences

different designers

musical influences

Culture

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Culture 2Vivienne WestwoodBorn: 1941

Early career: opened a shop, ‘Let It Rock’, in the King’s Road in London, in 1971.

Famous designs: the punk style, the pirate look.

Now: has shops in Milan, Tokyo and New York. Designs clothes, perfume and cosmetics.

Vivienne Westwood is known as the woman who invented punk. However, there is much more to her than that. Her designs became famous when a band called The Sex Pistols wore clothes from her shop at a gig in 1976. They wore razor blades, safety pins and dog collars as jewellery, and had spiky coloured hair. In 1981, Vivienne Westwood changed style and invented the pirate look. It was influenced by her love of historical costumes. Today, she is famous throughout the world and has won numerous awards. She has shops in many different countries but her original shop, now called ‘World’s End’, is still in the King’s Road.

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STELLA McCARTNEY

Born: 1971

Early career: Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, chief designer at Chloé in 1997, VH1/Vogue Designer of the Year in 2000.

Famous designs: Adidas by Stella McCartney.

Now: designs for a high street chain, has also launched an organic skincare range.

Stella McCartney is almost as famous as her father, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. She is very young, but critics say that her success is thanks to her talent, not her surname. When she graduated from college in 1995, her friends, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, modelled her collection. Now she designs clothes for celebrities including Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow.

However, Stella McCartney is probably most famous for her less expensive, casual clothes. She has designed a collection of sports clothes for women called Adidas by Stella McCartney. She is also a strict vegetarian and refuses to work with leather or fur.

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