Historical Artistic Style: Surrealism

James Charles Evening jacket

Date: 1937 (designed)

Techniques: Quilted satin, filled with down

Place: Paris, France 

A surrealistic composition is made when unrelated objects or symbols are placed in the same composition and the viewer's subconscious mind is left to determine the meaning. In fashion it can be combining unrelated fabrics or ideas, creating a paradox. This jacket was created by Charles James for Mrs. Oliver Burr Jennings in 1937. It was designed in the same way a down quilt would be constructed.  It became a cult item in the 1970s and James wanted to try it in other materials such as leather or nylon stuffed with kapok for skiing or other sportswear. 

source: Victoria and Albert Museum 

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/objectid/O75134

Historical Artistic Style:Pop Art, Mondrian and Pollock

Agatha Ruis Della Prada

Autumn/Winter 2009 

Fabrics: Plastic, Fake Hair, Jersey 

Her new collection is fun and over the top as always.  This time 

it is inspired by Vasarely's compositions, Piet Mondrian's geometry and Yayoi Kusama's extravagant spots. I have  included pictures of her current collections as well as the artists she references.  The complex combination of elements references the uncertain times we are in, much like the tumultous 60s and 70s when free love, the Vietnam War and  Watergate all happened. 

Vasarely

 

Yayoi Kusama 

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama

http://agatharuizdelaprada-com.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=8

Historical Artistic Style: Gothic

Jean Paul Gaultier

Fall 2009 RTW

Photo 1: Wool coat with corset

Photo 2: Black Satin dress with Organza

Gaultier relies heavily on Gothic references for his Fall 09 Collection.  Many of his outfits mix tight fitting garments like the corset layered overtop of more loose garments like this brown wool coat.  The black satin and organza dress's areas of opacity and transparency mirror the light and shadow that is captured in Gothic Cathedrals. The color palette of dark tones is inspired by the opacity of the stained glass windows. 

source: www. style.com

Historical Artistic Style: Egyptian

Yves Saint Laurent

Spring 2009 RTW

Fabric: Satin

In their artwork Egyptians used scale to denote the importance of the figure.  Gods were the largest, while slaves were the smallest.  Gods, priests and royalty were represented in stiff poses.  All of their clothing was white and much of it draped like this Yves Saint Laurent dress.  The ridigity of the model also echoes the stiffness of the goddess and gods. 

Historical Artistic Style: Renaissance

Roman Courtesan

by Parmingianino

c. 1535

This painting by Parmingianino from the 1500s shows the influence of Renaissance masters on fashion.  During this era, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael's works were based on mathematics. They strove to produce art that reproduced every detail of the human form and emphasized the beauty of the figure. Thus, garments became more revealing to show the humanity and perfection of the human form. This is shown in the low necklines, as seen in this painting. Renaissance artists also worked with color to make each depiction as life-like as possible. In garments this meant that they  were designed with carefully chosen colors and textures that complimented each other. In the Roman Courtesan we see the use of fur mixed with different brocade fabrics. 

Sources:Wikipedia: Parmingianino 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parmigianino_004.jpg

La Couturiere Parisienne: Medieval and Renaissance

http://www.marquise.de/en/1500/index.shtml

Historical Artistic Style: Baroque

Susanna Pellicorne with Daughter

by a student of Rembrandt

1632/3

Wallace Collection, London

This painting by one of Rembrandt's students shows influences of the Baroque artistic style on dress.  The Baroque period was a tumultous period filled with political and religious violence. The violence and uncertainty of the time was expressed in art by exaggerated poses, dramatic backgrounds and overwhelming compositions.  This drama in art translated into fashion by way of extreme silhouettes, including outrageous collars like the one seen in this painting.  The inclusion of oversized elements in the silhouette destablized the figure mirroring the distress of the time.  

Source: La Couturiere Parisienne: 1600s

http://www.marquise.de/en/1600/pics/1600b.shtml

Healthy Corsets 1880s and 1890s

In the 1860s and 70s corsets were blamed for many health ailments so designers and manufactuers decided to start exploring and marketing new "healthy" corsets.  Starting in the 1880s there was also a new interest in sports, physical wellness and comfort. 

I have attached images of a few of my personal favorites. 

In 1878 Dr. Gustave Jaeger began marketing the idea that undyed wool next to the skin promoted good health. His corset is reinforced with heavy cording to produce a more comfortable and healthier corset. Adjustable shoulder straps and front buttoned created a practical rather than attractive silhouette. First produced by the Artex Company in 1888 wool is still used today to keep the body warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  

The image I have attached is one of his corsets from the 1890s made of wool and reinforced with cording.  

Another interesting corset from this period is the electric corset which came from the metallic composition of the garment. 

Finally, the ventilated corset was designed for summer and sports wear. It had spaces between the whalebone and cotton tapers, that allowed the air to circulate and let the wearer sweat. This British corset dates from 1890-1900 and is made of cotton and whalebone and trimmed with broderie anglaise and silk ribbon and steel center back supports. 

Victorian Era Corsets

During the Victorian Era the function of the corset was primarily the narrowing of the waist.  It is rumored that some women laced their corsets so tightly that they were able to achieve 12-14" waists.  This is probably hearsay. Most fashionable women had roughly 24-26" waists but would buy smaller corsets and leave a gap in the back. The corsets of the 1840s were cut from separate pieces to give roundness and fullness to the bust and shape the hips. A broad busk made of wood or steel was inserted up the center front of the corset to give a clean line to the bodice.  Strips of whalebone were inserted in the back and sometimes the sides to give further structure. Often leather was also used to reinforce the corset.  The corsets of this time had to be stiff to conceal the many layers of underwear.  During this period corsets also became longer to narrow the waist. 

In the 1860s steam-moulding was developed and helped create a more voluptuous silhouette. Once the corset was finished it was heavily starched and then dried and shaped on a mannequin mould that was fed steam. 

I have attached three images. 

The first is the front view of a British corset from 1878.  It is made of white silk satin with lace trim and whalebone with a steel spoon-shaped busk.  

The second image is the back view of  this corset. 

The third image is of the ideal wasp shaped waist from the Victorian Era. The photographic retouchers have cut off and curved the woman's waist to create the exaggerated silhouette. 

Late 18th to Early 19th C.

Stays became less constricting as the empire waist became fashionable around 1796. These corsets were called shorts stays, which ended just below the breast. By the 1800s the corsets primarily supported the breast and trimmed the waist. I have attached an a drawing  and woodcut of short stays from the  1780s.

16th to 18th Century

The corsets of the 16th century were called "payre of bodies" and her worn usually with a farthingale.  They turned the upper torso into a cone or cylinder which mirrored the conical shape of the skirt produced by the farthingale. They flattened the waist and pushed up the bust. By the middle of the 16th century corset were commonly worn by women. They were made of made of stiff layers of linen with wooden busks or shafts were inserted in a pocket  to keep the silhouette straight. Corsets were made in this way until the 1860s.  The image I have atttached is from the 1720s. 

Geneology of the Corset

The origins of the corset are unknown but some say that the are derived from the corset shaped iron cages from the 16th century. Theories are that these cages were either used for orthopaedics or fetishes.  Judging portraits from the 1530s women began wearing stiff bodices then.  This can be surmised by the straight conical line of the torso seen in the paintings such as Eleanora di Toledo and her Son from 1545. Eleanora married Cosimo I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Firenze in 1539.  The neckline is relatively high and the chest pressed flat instead of up as seen in later stays and corsets. 

Eleanora di Toledo and her Son

by Agnolo Bronzino, 1545

Galeria degli Uffizi, Firenze