2015-05-13
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Whether she is wearing navel-baring miniskirts, cone bras, or Gap jeans, Madonna has been a fashion leader since she became famous in the mid-1980s.
As an icon of popular culture, she has set fashion trends
and boosted the careers of established as well as beginner
designers. She has appeared on numerous fashion magazine
covers and has been a fixture at runway shows around the world. Her chameleonlike ability to regularly transform her look reflects both the ephemeral (эфемерный, мимолетный) nature of
fashion and Madonna’s redefinition (переопределение) of femininity; her styles have encompassed everything from punk to androgynous, hip-hop, geisha, western, and military looks.
Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, in 1958, Madonna was one of six children raised in a strict Catholic home by her father; her mother died when Madonna was only five years old. Madonna was a
cheerleader in high school. She acted in school plays and trained as a dancer. She attended the University of Michigan but dropped out to pursue a professional dancing career in New York
City in the late 1970s, where she studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey. Realizing that she instead wanted to pursue a career as a singer and actor, she worked as a model, sang in the band The Breakfast Club, and starred in low-budget films. Her first success on the music scene came in 1983 with the release of her self-titled solo album; she released over a dozen
full-length albums through 2003’s American Life. Although best known as a singer, the multifaceted entertainer has also starred in numerous films, including the 1991 documentary
Truth or Dare, and Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe in 1996; has been featured in Broadway productions; and has authored several books.Madonna’s highly individual style was apparent inher debut on Music Television (MTV) in 1984. In hervideos for “Lucky Star” and “Borderline,” she wore her own version of punk—black miniskirt rolled down to expose her navel, mesh knit tank tops with her brassiere peeking through, black lace gloves, stiletto heels, a “Boy Toy” belt, rubber bracelets, teased hair with an oversizedbow, and heavy makeup.
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Madonna’s look spawned “Madonna wannabes”—legions of mostly young girls who copied her early style. The craze only heightened with her appearances in the 1985 movie Desperately Seeking Susan and on the MTV Music Awards ceremony theprevious year, when she wore a
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In addition to her collaboration with Gaultier, who also designed the neo-punk fashions she wore for her 2001 Drowned World tour, Madonna has worked with the Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana. She was a friend to the late Gianni Versace, in whose 1995 advertising campaign she appeared, and she has often been seen in the front row of his sister Donatella’s runway shows.
Another close friend, the designer Stella McCartney, created a wedding ensemble for Madonna’s 2000 marriage to the film director Guy Ritchie. Madonna has worn Azzedine
Alaпa, Gucci, Givenchy, Alberta Ferretti, and Badgley Mischka, among others. She has also worn the fashions of designers before they were well known, such as Olivier Theyskens and Rick Owens, helping to boost their careers.
In the fall of 2003 Madonna went from haute couture to mainstream, appearing in an advertising campaign.
Madonna’s influence as a fashion leader has been consistent from the beginning of her career. Her style has been watched and followed from the moment she first appeared on MTV. She has launched style trends such as wearing navel-baring fashions and underwear as outerwear, affecting the clothing choices both of other celebrities and the public at large. Her continual repackaging of herself has reflected her evolution as a woman and a performer.
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She has worn haute couture, supporting both known and unknown designers, and marketed mainstream fashions, with her looks encompassing different personas. The ubiquity of her unique and highly individual style makes Madonna an icon of modern fashion.
11.Answer the questions:
(1) What designers does Madonna collaborate with?
(2) What fashion trends has Madonna set?
(3) What are the typical garments that characterize Madonna’s highly individual style?
