Against
Fashion: Clothing as Art, 1850-1930
By Radu
Stern. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2004.
205 pp., 130 illus. Hardbound, $42.95.
ISBN 0-262-19493-7.
Reviewed
by Roy R. Behrens, Department of Art,
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls,
IA 50614-0362, U.S.A. E-mail: ballast@netins.net.
Near the close of the 19th
century, the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
exhibited his stained-glass window designs
(produced by Tiffany and Company) in Paris
at the famous L'Art Nouveau gallery, the
interior of which had been designed by
Belgian architect and designer Henry van
de Velde. At some point, Toulouse-Lautrec
was invited to visit Bloemenwerf (near
Brussels), the home that van de Velde
designed in 1895, both inside and out.
However, when the diminutive but proper
French artist arrived, he was apparently
greatly offended because Mrs. van de Velde
greeted him dressed in what appeared to
be her house coat (or dressing gown),
a sign, he thought, of disrespect. As
it turns out, she was wearing not a house
coat, but a simple, loose-fitting garment
designed by her husband, who insisted
that his wife (while at home) should dress
in a way that reflected the building's
architectural style, a belief that was
widely referred to in Europe and the U.S.
as Gesamtkunstwerk (or total work of art).
As this book reminds us, the person who
launched this link between clothing and
architecture was probably William Morris,
founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement,
as he was most likely the one who designed
the loose-fitting corsetless gowns that
were worn by his own wife, Jane Morris
(consistent with the spirit of Red House,
their innovative home). Following that
example, van de Velde designed outfits
for the wife of one of his patrons; Frank
Lloyd Wright created dresses for his own
wife, and the wives of two architectural
clients; Wassily Kandinsky made outfits
for a woman companion; Josef Hoffmann
and Koloman Moser designed clothing ensembles;
and of course there's the well-known example
of Gustav Klimt, who designed one of a
kind "art dresses" (called Kunsterkleid)
in collaboration with his companion, Viennese
clothing designer Emilie Floge. By the
turn of the century, a German essayist
could claim that the time was fast approaching
when "shows of women's clothing will take
their place among art exhibitions," with
the result that it may be exhibited "next
to paintings and sculptures." Illustrated
by more than 100 photographs and drawings
(many in full-color), this is an interesting
history of the development of an attitude
that flourished during the eight decades
between 1850 and 1930. The first third
is devoted to an essay on clothing as
"anti-fashion," detailing contributions
by the Wierner Werkstatte, Futurism, Russian
Constructivism, the Omega Workshops, and
others. The remaining portion is an insightful
anthology of thirty historical writings
about clothing and art by Oscar Wilde,
Hoffmann, van de Velde, Giacomo Balla,
Varvara Stepanova, Sonia Delaunay, and
various others. Of particular interest
is a pioneering essay (dated 1868) by
British architect E.W. Godwin on the importance
of clothing design and its relationship
to architecture and archaeology. "As Architecture
is the art and science of building," wrote
Godwin (a friend of Wilde and James A.M.
Whistler), "so Dress is the art and science
of clothing."
(Reprinted by permission
from Ballast Quarterly Review.)