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to a fable, a play, a military episode or a country scene,
transmitting symbols and messages. It might also sport
a saying embroidered under the pockets, like "L’habit ne
fait pas le moine" (clothes don't make the man) or
"Honni soit qui mal y pense" (evil be to him who evil
thinks). As the subliminal judgement of its owner, the
former maxim indicated his approval of the dissolution
of the Church, while the latter advocated a constitutional
monarchy, like the British system – which,
incidentally, contained the Order of the Garter. And to
those who knew how to read it, a pattern could
represent codes, symbols or secrets embodying history
in general or a seasonal chronicle.
Fashion, modernism and modernity
Literally and figuratively embracing the movements of
people and their times, fashion in every epoch focuses
on one part of the body – for example by changing the
position of the waist or the garment length (for women),
or the colour (for men). In the 19th century, when the
world was rapidly becoming modernised and the
industrial revolution was mechanising techniques and
processes, the feminine silhouette changed dramatically,
its aesthetic canons constantly to-ing and fro-ing
between nostalgic inspiration and practical innovation.
Forms were sculpted by the cut, stitching, padding and
relief of materials. The silhouette became wider, then
narrower, then filled out before finally escaping from its
shackles. So, while women of the First Empire
abandoned their hoop petticoats for the fluid lines of
Antiquity, the Romantic generation had to force
themselves into an "hour-glass" silhouette created
through voluminous sleeves, bell-shaped skirts and a
close-fitting waist accentuated by the corset. The
crinoline in turn finally narrowed down in favour of the
relative comfort of the bustle - and then Pre-Raphaelite
painters, with their liking for the Middle Ages, introduced
a lighter, more flowing and graceful look again.
In discovering shared leisure activities – bathing and
sports like lawn tennis, croquet and riding – men and
women continued to seek new freedom in clothing,
motivated by the desire to move. Haute couture fitted
women's bodies closely, and its label appeared under
Frederick Worth in 1858. His follower Paul Poiret finally
© Musée des Arts Décoratifs
EXHIBITIONS THE MAGAZINE
abandoned the corset, flinging the gates of Paris wide
open to the East, the "Thousand and One Nights" and
the Ballets Russes, which all influenced his lines. For their
part, the Callot sisters attempted to introduce trousers
into the female wardrobe with their celebrated
"pyjamas". The 20th century established them for all
time. A supple, slender modernity began to imbue looks:
signs of a budding freedom. Did the First World War put
an end to all this? Not really: in 1915, Gabrielle Chanel
opened her very first couture company in Biarritz.
The invention of fashions is perhaps due to a subtle,
historical combination of art, techniques, ideas and a
heightened awareness of our times. Christophe Averty
I
"Fashioning fashion: two centuries of European fashion ,
1700-1915", Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107, Rue de Rivoli,
Paris. Until 14 April. Catalogue: €55. www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
Views of the exhibition.
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