Marc Bouwer is a

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

based in New York City. He is a member of the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessor ...

Career

Upon winning the South African Vogue Young Designers Award, Marc Bouwer moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Shortly after, designer

Halston Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer, who rose to international fame in the 1970s. Halston's minimalist, clean designs, which were often made of cashmere or ...

notices Bouwer's portfolio. Bouwer apprenticed with Halston fine tuning his design skills, particularly draping. Bouwer's "cut" and modern use of stretch fabrics, such as

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and

spandex Spandex, Lycra, or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is a polyether- polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1958 by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Name The name ''spandex'', which is an anagram of t ...

, in evening wear coined the term "bathing suit gown" and gave way to "athletic glamour". Opening house in 1990 with business partner, Paul Margolin, Marc Bouwer Couture has since graced the covers and pages of publications including

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

, Vanity Fair, Glamour, and

InStyle ''InStyle'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith, and started originally as a brand extension of ''People (magazine), People'' before carving out its own ide ...

. Actress

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

arrived at the 2004 Academy Awards in a white satin Marc Bouwer gown, later named one of the best Oscar dresses of all time by

André Leon Talley André Leon Talley (October 16, 1948 – January 18, 2022) was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, author, and editor-at-large of '' Vogue'' magazine. He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its f ...

. Most recently, Bouwer helped in reintroducing us to loyal client and friend,

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

, designing the costumes for her Still The One Tour, which opened December 1, 2012 at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

. Bouwer was the first American designer to produce a virtual fashion show in response to economic struggle across the globe and regarding the environment. As opposed to bringing us to

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a , privately managed public park in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th Street (Manhattan), 40th and 42 ...

, Bouwer took us, and his inaugural Spring/Summer 2009 collection, to the web. Not only did this new medium of fashion allow friends and clients to experience the collection if unable to physically attend a show, but it also opened the experience into the offices and homes of stylists, buyers, journalists, and fashionistas everywhere. Bouwer felt it was his "social and environmental responsibility" to pave way to such a movement "minimizing impact and waste". Bouwer virtually presented his Fall 2010 collection, starring

Candice Swanepoel Candice Susan Swanepoel (; ; born 20 October 1988) is a South African model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010. In 2016, she was listed 8th on the ''Forbes'' top-earning models list. ...

, before taking the experience one step further. In February 2011 Bouwer was the first designer to present a virtual 3D fashion show with his Fall 2011 collection starring model

Selita Ebanks Selita Ebanks (born 17 February 1983) is a Caymanian model. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2005 to 2010. She has also worked for high fashion brands Neiman Marcus and Ralph Lauren, and appeared in magazines such as the ''Sports Illustrate ...

Awards

Bouwer's awards for avoiding

animal products Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hol ...

in his fashions include a PETA Humanitarian Award, and The United States Humane Societies “Compassion in Fashion Award”. Marc uses technology in designing, to create cruelty free fashion with high quality

faux fur Fake fur, also called faux fur, is a pile fabric engineered to have the appearance and warmth of fur. Fake fur can be made from a variety of materials, including polyester, nylon, or acrylic. First introduced in 1929, fake furs were initia ...

s, garnering several

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

sponsorships.

Television appearances

References

External links

* *
CFDA Members
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouwer, Marc Living people South African fashion designers Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

Awards

Television appearances

References

Further reading

External links