WWD Cable Bulletin
OK. HERE WE GO. FOUR ISSUES OFWWD CABLE BULLETINS FROM FOUR CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF THE PARIS SHOWS OF MARCH 1980. MUGLER (WOW!), GAULTIER (WOW!), KENZO (WOW!). PHOTOGRAPHED (WE ARE FAIRLY SURE) BY THE GREAT BILL CUNNINGHAM. HUNDREDS OF PHOTOCOPIED PHOTOGRAPHS. THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY, UTTERLY, EXTRAORDINARY!
Photocopied and stapled, these are the bulletins of Women's Wear Daily produced for the international fashion week calendars. We have never seen these before and never seen anything written about them before. Google "WWD" and "Cable Bulletins" and you get nothing. Yet here they are - four issues from the 1980 Paris shows. The yellow cover, above, is Saturday March 29th. They run till Tuesday!
This is such a standout photograph. It was this picture that made us think Bill Cunningham before we knew he was even in Paris with WWD in 1980. It is a snapshot of Hebe Dorsey, Suzy Menkes' predecessor at The Herald Tribune. Wearing a Giorgio Armani t-shirt, the image is captioned 'The One and Only' but is unclear if that is to be attributed to him or her!
Tuesday's cover states "Yves St. Laurent TODAY" and they really mean it. It probably was shot that morning. These fifty page Cable Bulletins were photographed, typed, pasted up and
delivered in a single day. That's quicker that you can say analog Instagram! And how good are they? Well, see for yourself.
They are just stunning. This picture is from the 1980 A/W Mugler collection. Its completely AMAZE. There are just hundreds of pictures. Photographed during the shows or immediately after, with a couple of the models in their last outfits joined by the designer on a balcony, in the street, in the Tuileries. And they were most likely photographed by Bill Cunningham, who worked for Women's Wear Daily at that time.
OMG! JPG! The text written about this very early Gaultier show is wonderful: "His clothes are amusing and reflect what is going on in young circles." Young circles! It reads like a fifties Vogue. But the hurried typed text and the rough scissors cut and paste layout are all part of the appeal. They are the Sniffin' Glue
of Paris Fashion, albeit somewhat more polite!
How is that for a page layout! There are so many wonderful elements. Try this Chloe page header for typewriter art. Or the
subscription page where you would designate your Paris hotel for delivery. Or the advert for
Le Palace saying they are opening specially on Monday for Fashion Week. They are surely the best things we ever found.