Women have spent a large amount of time throughout the 20th century fighting for liberation from a patriarchal form that told them that they must be quiet and loyal to their husbands and fathers. For the duration of this essay, I will be discussing how the “Modern Woman” image that appeared through the Art Deco style — that emulated ideas such as the femme fatale and masqueraded woman, and presented new styles to enhance women’s comfortability and freedom — is still prevalent and has grown in contemporary art and design since. Overall I will describing to you how fashion, sexuality, and the newly emerged ‘female gaze’, and how these tie in together — in both periods of time — to produce what can be described as powerful femininity. As the …show more content…
Today we can see items of clothing that are commonly worn that have grown out of this initial innovation of freeing a woman’s body. This can be seen in clothing from the Spring 2017 New York Fashion week (see Figure 2), as the model’s bodies are freed by the more minimal use of material. The lowering of necklines and the increase in skin shown in haute couture over the decades is owed to Art Deco fashion and is symbolic of the rise of women’s rights over the years, as the physical discomfort and restrictions that the tight corsets of previous eras could be considered of women’s place in society. The new style being a stance against the oppression. It dictates that a persons own comfort and style is to the upmost importance, not to contort one’s body into something it is not meant to. Today it is shown in loose and cropped pants, shorts, low necklines, cropped tops, and various other clothing that reveals skin that was once covered. Art Deco fashion is also seen today through “chic garçonne” ideal that emerged out of early feminism that made women want to do the same things that men could, and so adopted smoking, sport, an interest in vehicles, a flirty sense of …show more content…
While a lot of her common work was depicting the wealthy, she also had other projects of artwork that showed various anonymous women that were posed erotically and often portrayed an exaggerated form of femininity. Lempicka was openly bisexual and was very proud of her sexual endeavours, especially with women — as present in her work. Due to the nature of her work, it has often been misinterpreted as a piece created by a man, and so seen as “[an] icon of women's disempowered status as the object of the male gaze.” However, due to her style and use of irony and exaggeration actually creates a sense of artificiality that protects the women in her pieces, rather than exploit. Lempicka’s openness about her affairs and sexual encounters has made a large impact on western culture today, as we see sex become a common place issue that everyone talks about. It is taught about in school, and it has become more accessible than ever through the emergence of the internet and cinema (porn and sex scenes in movies being easily found and seen by a lot of people). The sex culture has even grow to the extent where events such as Sexpo have become popular for both men and women, and are heavily publicised. Nothing is as taboo as it was in Lempicka’s time and before, in which everything was taboo regarding sex due to the repression that was instilled during the Victorian era. I believe this is owed
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
From the conventional Victorian dresses of the 1800’s to the rock-and-roll tee shirts of the 1980’s, American culture has experienced incredibly diverse trends in clothing. This ever changing timeline of fashion provokes the question: what is the cause of such differing styles? By considering the state of society throughout the eras, it can be seen that clothing directly correlates with the current way of life. Specifically, American women’s fashion of the 1920’s and 1930’s proves to not simply be a meaningless trend – rather an accurate reflection of the specific era.
In her, “Modernity and the Spaces of Feminity,” Griselda Pollock questions the representations and myths of modernity in Paris during the nineteenth century. The Impressionist movement, dominated by a masculine perspective, represent Paris as being the new place for recreation, leisure and unrestrained pleasure. But, what about Impressionist women painters? what was their point of view? Pollock argues that a historical asymmetry, which is a social and economical difference produced by a social structuration of sexual difference, determined both what and how men and women painted. Therefore, in order to analyze female Impressionist, we must take into consideration that they share the same social system produced by a sexual differentiation, hence,
Art Deco was a style that flourished throughout 1910 to around 1935. Known for its advancements in the art of advertising, the style had begun to prosper around the start of World War I (1914 – 1919), and had further developed to become a combination of various styles, as well as a rebellion against the concepts of Art Nouveau. Originally known to be referred to as the Art Moderne style, the name was changed only after the period had already passed its peak. The origin of the name involved the idea of decorative arts, hence the shortened name Art Deco, but previously the style had taken root within the time period of Modernism. Modernists sought to abstract the form and move away from the naturalistic curves found within the Art Nouveau period,
Historically the idea of feminine beauty has reflected the standard and values of that era, “from the Rebenesque women of the 17th century to the contemporary symbols of fashion, different body shapes have been selected for, and associated with, desirable socia...
Art Deco as an art mover has had a lot of influence in the history of arts and was under the influence of the past art movements and different cultures, the present lifestyle and the societies of the life changing World War I and II. In design Art Deco was glamorous and in style it was luxurious. Major influences were the styles of art and the French crafts of high standards, different cultures and avant-grade art. It wasn’t just a normal style that reflected adventure, entertainment and leisure but a highly enjoyed taste by all classes of people with different minds after Second World War. It handed down its concepts of design and traditional and modern visual styles to younger generations while at the same time its styles influencing many present-day designers (Hillier & Escritt, 2004).
Werle, Simone. Fashionista A Century of Style Icons. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. Print.
During the year of 1943, it is said that nearly 65% of women made up the industrial workforce. The image is illustrating woman empowerment and the ability to be seen as equal as men. This specific propaganda poster, led to many changes in the workforce and societal alterations for women. Gender had a lot to do with this specific change in the workforce, it became the main focus of discussion. Many were shocked by the way women could perform in these industrialized settings. The whole purpose of the “We Can Do IT” phrase, was aimed at the women of the 1940s and would be left as remembrance of all that is achievable. As stated by J.V. Peluchette in his “Dressing to Impress” article, “It is likely that there are individual differences in attire-related beliefs and behaviors. Gender differences have received some research attention with regard to attire but results have been mixed”(J.V.PELUCHETTE). His research proves that the workplace certainly looked closer at what women are wearing rather than keeping clothing goals equal. Another interesting facet of this time period was the research that was done behind the articles of clothing that was worn. Although, it was mainly gender based around women, there was a time where researchers began to look carefully at the trends of clothing. In a very interesting article written by Nancy Parezo, she focused on a very specific style of clothing, which was
Gendered bodies in the West are bodies of contrasts. A masculine, sharp, inverted triangular body is contrasted to the feminine, soft, hourglass shape. Humans, throughout history, have resorted to drastic measures to meet and exemplify gendered ideals of body form. One such measure that has been in place since the Victoria era is the wearing of corsets. In attempting this research, I thought that wearing a corset would provide an insight into the ways feminine bodily ideals are appropriated by women in a Western context. Putting on the corset proved to be a challenge; only with the assistance of my roommate could I put it on. She laced the back up to as tight as it went and I wore it underneath my normal daily clothes. My first thought when wearing it was that it felt like a hug, when your body is encapsulated within something; it was quite pleasant and had an almost motherly feeling about it. As soon as I wore it, I immediately realized that I had to learn to control my breathing because the corset would feel extremely tight every time I exhaled. Travelling in the car and on the train proved to be a challenge because the corset forced my body to arch my back and sit up straight, which is not the way I normally sit. When I slouched or moved in a way that the corset did not allow, it would dig into my stomach and ribs in a painful way. While walking, I realized that I was pushing my chest out and standing very straight. This made me feel like I was embodying the typical ‘empowered woman’ image that shows a woman as sexy, confidently striding along an urban landscape, independent and beautiful. However, as the day went on, the uncomfortable sweatiness that it brought me made me loath wearing it. Coming home, I took it off and wonder...
The future of women’s fashion is uncertain—in that shock value is harder to come by with each passing year. There is a concept in fashion that nothing is new, everything has been done before. This theory is coming closer to obvious reality, as fashion shows of recent years have visual throwbacks as late as the Victorian era. Although the direction is not yet decided, it is almost definite that women will use fashion as an important tool for expression and freedom in the future.
Objectification of women, specifically in the media, is a significant cultural issue with dire consequences. The subtleness of the act makes it challenging to detect, yet the effects make lasting impacts on daily life. The ideology is hidden in the composition details of the piece. How the light falls on the women’s body, the contrast in texture of her hair and skin, or the color and cut of her dress are communicating a dogma to the surveyor. Because it is impossible to escape these surrounding images, men and women alike internalize them. Most often women are reduced to an object to sell a product and function as a source of pleasure for the male viewer, while the man
Paul Poiret was born on April 20th, 1879 in Paris, France. His contributions to twentieth-century fashion has earned him the title in many people’s eyes as the “King of Fashion”, because he established the principle of modern dress and created the blueprint of the modern fashion industry. Poiret’s designs and ideas led the direction of modern design history. He was born into a working class family and his natural charisma eventually gained him entry into some of the most exclusive ateliers of the Belle Époque. Jacques Doucet, one of the capital’s most prominent couturiers, hired him after seeing promising sketches he had sold to other dressmakers. Furthermore, he was hired by the House of Worth and was put to work to create less glamorous and more practical, simple items because his out of the ordinary designs were not welcomed in open arms by opulent clientele. Despite this experience he was still confident in his ideas and ventured out on his own with money barrowed from his parents and opened a storefront. Moreover, he wanted to promote of the concept of a "total lifestyle” was seen as the first couturier to merge fashion with interior design. His independent work broke the normal conventions of dressmaking, and overturned their underlying presumptions. He liberated the woman’s body from the petticoat and the corset to allow clothing to follow woman’s natural form. Poiret also radically revolutionized dressmaking to switch from the emphasis surrounding the skills of tailoring towards those based on the skills of draping and began to use bright colors. Furthermore, Poiret was apart of the art deco movement, which was surrounded by a period of immense social upheaval, particularly for women, and emergence of technol...
Becoming sick with the old rules and a conservative society, the young people of the 60’s sought out to find something new, and this was the decade of optimism. During the post-war period, people had time to re-build, both financially and socially. People had more money and the young people often earned money on their own as well as allowance from their parents. Therefore, the young people could create their own identity, separate from those of their parents. For the first time ever in any fashion era, the young became the leaders of fashion. This, along with sexual revolution, the space race, curiosity for other cultures, The Vietnam War and Woman’s Liberation Movement was some of the happenings, ideas and thoughts that changed fashion forever.
The female body has been a subject of wonder throughout art history, but present day the media has made a woman’s body an object for sexual gratification. For example in the image of Sports Illustrated, Kate Upton is shown wearing a skimpy bikini. By revealing almost every part of her anatomy, it completely eliminates any trace of modesty, and undermines her respect from the viewer. Her red bikini connotes sexuality and passion; and the use of direct eye contact implies that Upton is in a position of power, and is able to influence the response of men due to her sex ...
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.