Mode and Modernity

Mode and Modernity

EXHIBITIONEXTRASABOUT
Intro Twenties Nostalgia Dreams and Discontent Obsession with Youth Music Mania Cultural Appropriation Mode and Modernity
Timeline Curator Walkthrough Jazz and Twenties Black Glamour One Hour Dress Vintage Style, not Vintage Values The Plus Pattern Project Educational Material
Student Bios Credits Process
Mode and Modernity
Modern art and technology inspired designers of the 1920s and 1960s to clothe fashionable women in symbols of invigorating modernity. The short, straight, tubular silhouettes of these times were an ideal canvas for modern art movements like abstract art, Cubism, Op Art, and Pop Art. Fascination with advancements in technology also influenced fashion by way of Art Deco style during the 1920s and Space Age style during the 1960s. Embracing modernity, novelty, and change in fashion also acted as a metaphor for youth. The new “modern woman” of both eras eschewed the fashions of their parents.
Front view of 1924 Callor Soeurs sleeveless black silk crepe de chine and tulle evening dress with a shorter flounce above the the dress hem. A wide gold band at the collar bones and just before the hem of the flounce and dress.
Callot Soeurs evening dress
Black silk crepe de chine, gold lamé, and tulle,
c. 1924,
France
Front view of a 1968 Pierre Cardin sleeveless black wool crepe minidress with a large triangular cutout at the front that is filled with evenly spaced curvilinear, polished steel plates
Pierre Cardin dress
Black wool crepe and polished steel plates,
1968,
France
Heinz Schulz-Neudamm poster for Metropolis
Lithograph,
81 × 36.5 in (205.7 × 92.7 cm),
1926,
Germany
1963 model of an early Apollo lunar lander concept
Photograph,
1963,
USA
The gold bands in this circa 1924 Callot Soeurs dress reflect the Art Deco aesthetics of the Machine Age, a style also illustrated in the poster for the 1927 film Metropolis. In a similar vein, the polished steel plates of the 1968 Pierre Cardin dress represent the cultural fascination with the Space Race, mirroring the look of a 1963 NASA model of a moon lander.
Sonia Delaunay painting
Simultaneous Dresses (Three Women, Forms, Colours),
Oil on canvas,
57.48 x 44.88 in (146 x 114 cm),
1925,
France
Front view of a circa 1960 Emilio Pucci sleeveless multicolored minidress. White, orange, yellow, brown, and black colors are used to create an energetic print using swirly and geometric elements.
Emilio Pucci dress
Multicolor cotton velveteen,
c. 1960s,
Italy
Sonia Delaunay captured the acceleration and mechanization of the modern world in her art and transposed her style onto textiles and fashion designs. Emilio Pucci embraced Op Art through an explosion of colors and kaleidoscope prints. Pucci’s circa 1960s dress echoes the same visual elements and silhouettes as the figures in Delaunay’s painting.
Front view of a 1929 ensemble by an unknown artist containing a hat, scarf, V neck top, and longsleeve cardigan made of the same grey wool knit fabric with a blue band at the edgs and turquoise rectangle motif. They are paired with a navy wool crepe skirt.
Ensemble
Blue, grey and turquoise wool knit and navy wool crepe,
c. 1929,
France
Front view of 1968 Mila Schön set containing a long sleeve, above the knee blue double faced wool coat and dress set. The coat has large concentric circles in two complimentary shades of blue.
Mila Schön dress and coat
Blue double-faced wool,
1968,
Italy
These blue wool ensembles exemplify fashion designers’ embrace of modern art and technology during the 1920s and 1960s. The circa 1929 sportswear ensemble features the angular motifs of Art Deco and Cubism, and the concentric circles on the 1968 Mila Schön coat draw upon 1960s Pop and Op art.
A 1928 fashion illustration of an abstract black, white, and gray geometric print dress with a handkerchief hem skirt in the center of the page
Cheney Brothers fashion plate
“Woman in Dress with Abstract Geometric Pattern,”
1928,
USA
Front view of a 1969 Pierrie Cardin short sleeve black wool mini-dress with rectangular cutouts at the dress hem and center front, revelaing white vinyl rectangles. The hems of the sleeves and collar are finished with white vinyl strips.
Pierre Cardin,
Black wool and white vinyl,
1969,
France
The 1920s Cheney Brothers fashion illustration shows Cubist motifs, and the textile print appears to be made entirely out of geometric shapes. The 1969 Pierre Cardin dress with rectangular vinyl motifs similarly uses geometry, but looks to the Space Age and Op Art. Both designs embrace youth, modernity, and change through technology and art.
Conclusion
The revolutionary spirit of the 1920s and 1960s transformed modernity and fashion. Major changes in women's fashion during these decades were influenced by changing gender roles, social unrest and progress, and advancements in technology, art, music, and culture. The Roaring Twenties and The Swinging Sixties invites you to consider fashion and culture of the 1920s and 1960s, but also contemplate the impact that current events may have on fashion of the 2020s. The beginning of this decade began with a similar atmosphere of crisis, demonstrated in gender equality movements, the Black Lives Matter movement, political turmoil, and the COVID-19 pandemic. How might the resulting designs compare to those of the 1920s and 1960s?
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