2012 01 Real Weddings Amelia Robert Georgia

Some artists-turned-fashion creators were inspired by the past. Others, spread around Europe and in post-revolutionary Russia, looked toward a variety of futures and created clothes for the new world. Aleksandr Rodchenko in Russia and Thayaht in Italy developed an early form of the functional overall, and Hungarian Laszlo Moholy-Nagy customized existing work wear. The Italian Futurists‘ love of speed and movement found expression not only in their art, but also in bright, one-off clothes with abstract patterns.

 

Varvara Stepanova and Lyubov Popova designed textiles based on universal shapes to rationalize mass production in Russia. In Paris the Russian-born Sonia Delaunay also used geometric forms in bright colors but in the service of the moneyed few. That the straight silhouette of the 1920s lent itself to decoration with regular lines and shapes occurred to creative people besides artists, and similar designs could be found outside elite fashion.

 

FROM GLAMOUR TO UTILITY 1929–1946. The Wall Street Crash in the fall of 1929 brought the Roaring Twenties to an abrupt halt. Hemlines dropped suddenly while waistlines rose to a little above the natural waist—the reign of the youthful flapper was truly over. “Austerity day wear” for women was angled and slim fitting, with wide shoulder pads and calf-length skirts. During the day, the slimline silhouette was broken up and softened with clever seaming, belts, novelty buttons, deep cuffs, and pussy bows.

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