\u201cThe Paris openings have really opened something. They have opened a desire in the feminine heart for more beauty, more elegance, and more luxury. They have suddenly awakened the Sleeping Beauty slumbering in all of us, turning every woman into a fairy-tale princess. It is so easy to imagine what such a princess would do!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u2013Vogue<\/em>, October 1, 1933<\/p>\nThe term \u201cfairy tale\u201d is often used to describe clothing that is especially lavish, beautiful, and seemingly unattainable. Yet in spite of its ubiquity within the fashion lexicon, connections are rarely made between our perception of a \u201cfairy tale\u201d gown in fashion editorials or on the runways, and the texts of classic fairy tales. The significance of Cinderella\u2019s glass slippers is widely known, but they represent only a fraction of the references to clothing in these stories. Each of the 15 tales included in Fairy Tale Fashion<\/em>\u2014based on the work of prominent writers such as Charles Perrault, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Lewis Carroll\u2014was selected for its direct references to clothing or its mention of important recurring motifs, such as blonde hair or red roses.<\/p>\nSince fairy tales are rarely set in a specific time period or place, the stories in the exhibition are illustrated using garments and accessories that date from the 18th century to the present\u2014with particular emphasis on extraordinary 21st-century fashions by designers from around the world.<\/p>\n
While fairy tales have a long history within fashion, the arts, and popular culture, they have proven in recent years to be more pervasive than ever. In her 2014 publication Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale<\/em>, the mythographer Marina Warner wrote that people of various professions, including couturiers, performance artists, photographers, and even therapists \u201care losing themselves in the forest of fairy tale in order to come back with baskets of strawberries picked in the snow.\u201d But why is this? And why have fairy tales been so important to fashion in particular? Some theorists believe that designers are creating fantastical and escapist clothing in an attempt to counteract an increasing emphasis on technology, functionalism, and globalization.<\/p>\nNot all the imaginative designs in Fairy Tale Fashion<\/em> were inspired directly by the tales they represent, but they can be easily linked to the stories\u2019 texts. A pristine, white fur cape by J. Mendel is used to fashion \u201cThe Snow Queen,\u201d Dolce and Gabbana\u2019s lavish ball gown with hand-painted roses illustrates \u201cSnow White and Rose Red,\u201d and a pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos, crafted in the shape of a bear\u2019s paw, signifies \u201cBeauty and the Beast.\u201d This is an imaginative and subjective approach to organizing an exhibition, but it mirrors our experience of fairy tales. Beyond its basic written description, the appearance of clothing in fairy tales is entirely up to our imaginations. Perrault\u2019s Cinderella wears a gold and silver dress, dotted with jewels, but we will all envision this dress differently. Even Little Red Riding Hood\u2019s cloak\u2014seemingly the most straightforward of all fairy tale fashions\u2014has been subjected to countless variations. Observing the myriad ways in which illustrators have drawn fairy tales over the centuries underscores that fairy tale characters, and the clothes they wear, need not be defined by a single image.<\/p>\nDepictions of sartorial splendor serve to enhance the sense of wonder and fantasy that is integral to the fairy tale genre, but fashion within these tales often holds a deeper meaning. It can be symbolic of a character\u2019s vanity, power, privilege, or transformation. In real life, we are frequently encouraged to believe that with the acquisition of the right wardrobe, we will lead better lives\u2014a \u201cfairy tale\u201d\u2013like existence. We hope that a change in the way we dress can act as a means to reinvent and reimagine ourselves, as it works in fairy tales. Perhaps we can truly fashion our happily ever after.<\/p>\n
Colleen Hill, curator
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Fairy Tale Fashion<\/em><\/a> by Colleen Hill, Yale University Press, 2016.<\/p>\n
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