Historical and Artistic Styles

Surrealism 

Moschino captures a sense of surrealism in the spring 2008 RTW collection.  A sense of shock hits as we see the draped coat over a bathing suit like collared outfit.  The giant bows and bold shapes lead the audience to see the almost revolutionary style Moschino presents in this collection.

Romantacism

This is an art form that focus’ on expanding beyond the “norm”.  Romanticism seeks new and creative forms of thinking and being which at the same time connect us to nature.  Aesthetic pleasure is a main focal point of Romanticism and all of these elements can be seen in the creations of Givenchy in his spring 2006 RTW collection.

Renaissance

Renaissance art springs from the era of reform from tradition and a society that became more refined and aware of detail.  Art changed during the renaissance era as people became more educated and art itself became more structured. In this fall 2008 couture collection by Elie Saab we see the essence of this time. A time of sophistication, and linear beauty. 

Futurism

Futurism focus’ on the up and coming. A bigger, better, faster and stronger tomorrow.  This is exactly what Karl Lagerfeld captured in his spring 2009 RTW collection.  It is illustrated through the new shapes and materials used to create this collection.

Art Nouveau

In these photos from Anna Sui’s fall 2008 RTW collection the essence of Art Nouveau is captured.  These garments adorn the classic flowing lines, styling and floral motifs of Art Nouveau.

Abstract

Comme des Garçons spring 2007 RTW collection graced the runway with a touch of abstract art.  This is seen through the construction in his garments as pieces are broken up and meet at overlapping and varying points on the outfit.  A single outfit finds unity through the disconnected artwork of abstract by Garçons. 

The Strapless Dress

The beginnings of the strapless dress began with the beginning of people wearing clothing.  As we can see in the hieroglyphics from around the 15th century BC women would wear dresses in the made of lightweight and transparent material.  Some of their dresses only had one strap holding them on.  As time progressed so did fashions.  Dresses evolved becoming more modest around the meridian of time, covering women from neck to toe, and then once again fashions became more and more revealing.  In the portrait of A Charlotte from the 17th century AD we see a tight fitted, corset like dress, with a broad neckline that almost falls off the shoulders.  Her chest is raised and the dress had puffy sleeves coming up to her shoulders.  Fashions continued to shift from modest to more revealing.  In the 19th century AD we see a portrait of a woman who's dress also is tight fitting and broad necked but her sleeves are very short showing off almost all of her arms and shoulders.  This style was very popular during this era.  By the 20th century AD the sleeveless dress had made it's debut and was wore by the fashion icon of the 1960's Jacqueline Kennedy.  Today the strapless dress continues to grace runways and gain in popularity.  

This is a mural taken from a tomb dating back to the 15th century BC.  The popular clothing styles of the time can be seen here.

This is a painting of Charlotte von Hessen-Kassel around 1650.

In this painting from 1883 by Toulmouche, we see the broad neckline and short sleeve style of that time.

This is a photo from 1962 of Jacqueline Kennedy wearing a strapless dress made by Guy Douvier.  

This is a contemporary version of the strapless dress.  It is a Cynthia Steffe dress made for her spring 2009 RTW collection.