BA1 CLASS READNG FOR 17/10/13 - PAUL POIRET AND ORIENTALISM

HISTORICAL & TECHNICAL (THE EASY BIT) - ORIENTALISM 

In its broadest sense, Orientalism is the fanciful depiction and adoption, in the West, of styles from the imagined Near, Middle and Far East. It had a palpable influence upon the fashion in the years before the First World War and the designs of Paul Poiret best represent this aesthetic. ...


This style had its origins within the arts. In Paris the 1905 exhibition by 'Les Fauves', which utilised violent and non-naturalistic colours ignited an interest in the exotic. However, the catalyst that transformed this trend into a craze was the 1910 production of 'Scherezade' by Diaghilev's Ballet Russes. The sets and costumes designed by Leon Bakst transformed traditional ballet into a theatrical explosion which utilised dazzling colour within the revolutionary stage sets and extraordinary costumes. ...


The Parisian couturier Paul Poiret was at the centre of this, ... He designed harem pantaloons; models wore jewel-coloured turbans decorated with exotic plumes and heavy ornamentation; and rich fabrics were imported from the East. Poiret revived the use of luxurious Byzantine textiles and commissioned the Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy to design prints for him. He promoted a linear and somewhat tubular silhouette inspired by the Japanese kimono, the Greek chiton and the Middle Eastern kaftan, and boosted demand for these styles by hosting extravagant oriental costume balls-come-fashion shows. ...


With his linear designs, Poiret paved the way for the garconne style emblematic of Modernism and favoured by Chanel. (Mackenzie, 2009, pp.70-71).

SOCIAL & THEORETICAL (THE DIFFICULT BIT) - FASHION AS A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

fashion became theatre in the auditoriums and theatrettes of major department stores. Often these venues seated between 100 and 1,500 people. This was particularly prevalent in America, where ... couture garments fashioned for the American market were promoted as part of a public cultural experience. Stores such as Macy's, Gimbel's and Wanamaker's attempted to blur the distinction between professional theatrical productions and department store fashion shows in order to create a pseudo-intellectual atmosphere. ... The success of these ventures suggests that theatricality was used as a clever tool in bridging the gap between culture and commerce. (English, 2013, p23).

REFERENCES

English, B. (2013) A cultural history of fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury.

Mackenzie, M. (2009) …Isms understanding fashion. New York: Universe.