The Battle of Versailles: Catwalk clash of American and French fashion
Witness History9 Helmi 2024

The Battle of Versailles: Catwalk clash of American and French fashion

In 1973, a fashion show was held in France which became known as the Battle of Versailles, a duel between designs from modern America and the capital of couture, Paris.

Five American designers, including Oscar de la Renta and Halston, were invited to show their work alongside five of France’s biggest names, including Yves Saint Laurent and Hubert de Givenchy.

The aim was to raise money to help restore Versailles, a 17th Century palace built by King Louis XIV, but the media billed it as a competition between the two countries.

By the end, the Americans were declared the winners. The show also highlighted their industry’s racial diversity on an international stage, with 10 women of colour modelling work by US designers. Bethann Hardison, one of the models, talks to Jane Wilkinson about the lasting impact of the astonishing show.

(Photo: Bethann Hardison at Versailles in 1973. Credit: Jean-Luce Hure/Bridgeman Images)

Jaksot(2000)

The Tabasco floods

The Tabasco floods

In 2007, the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced its worst flooding in 50 years, with more than a million people affected. Eighty per cent of the region was under water, with people having to be res...

24 Huhti 10min

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine, on 26 April 1986, was the world’s worst nuclear accident. The explosion in reactor four caused radioactive parts to be spread over the ne...

23 Huhti 10min

Canada's war in the woods

Canada's war in the woods

In 1993, plans to log one of Canada’s ancient rainforests sparked the country’s largest act of civil disobedience. It was known as the war in the woods. For months, protesters blocked a remote logging...

22 Huhti 10min

Europe’s long drought of 2011

Europe’s long drought of 2011

In 2011, after months of little or no rain in central and eastern Europe, water levels on some parts of the Danube River fell to their lowest level in 70 years.It’s one of Europe’s busiest shipping ro...

21 Huhti 9min

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

In October 1982, Paraguay and Brazil closed the gates of the Itaipu River, beginning to fill the reservoir of what would soon be the world's largest dam. Located in a rainforest on the border betwee...

20 Huhti 10min

Discovering Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale'

Discovering Hans Christian Andersen's 'lost fairytale'

In October 2012, a local historian stumbled upon a misplaced pamphlet in the Danish Archives. It was a story called the Tallow Candle and is believed to be Hans Christian Andersen’s first fairytale. E...

17 Huhti 10min

The introduction of Sharia law in Aceh, Indonesia

The introduction of Sharia law in Aceh, Indonesia

Aceh in Sumatra is the only Indonesian province where Sharia Law, Islamic religious law, is in force. It followed years of conflict between Aceh and the central government.In Arabic, Sharia means "the...

16 Huhti 10min

The assassination of Thomas Sankara

The assassination of Thomas Sankara

In October 1987, one of Africa's most radical leaders, Captain Thomas Sankara, was gunned down in a coup in Burkina Faso.His overthrow was orchestrated by his old friend, Blaise Compaore. Thomas Sanka...

15 Huhti 9min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
kaksi-aitia
hupiklubi
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
ihme-ja-kumma
i-dont-like-mondays
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kolme-kaannekohtaa
rss-murhan-anatomia
mamma-mia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
mystista
rss-haudattu