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

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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)

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Ronson and I'm an invisible enemy.
0:05.0	That changed people psychologically.
0:08.0	Words can be dangerous if you don't know the context.
0:12.0	We were told to stay at home.
0:15.0	We lived with an invisible enemy,
0:17.0	with only the internet for company.
0:19.0	That changed people psychologically.
0:21.0	I'm John Ronson, and I'll be unerthing the roots of the culture
0:24.8	wars that engulfed us then and still do now.
0:28.8	The award-winning podcast, Things Fell apart, returns.
0:33.0	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:35.0	Hello.
0:37.0	Hello,
0:40.0	Hello,
0:41.0	Welcome to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me Jane Wilkinson.
0:47.0	This is a story about a fashion show,
0:54.0	but it's no ordinary show.
0:56.1	This is the Battle of Versailles, a clash between designs from modern America
1:01.6	and the capital of Kichur, Paris.
1:06.0	Buffeted by Carnaby Street, subverted by Fifth Avenue,
1:09.6	nevertheless Paris still conducts herself as the world's fashion capital.
1:15.4	Although today fashion happens almost everywhere.
	...

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