Fashion Book Friday: Goddess: the Classical Mode

     The last months and especially weeks have been soo caotical and strange...

So, what could be better than try and come back to what I enjoy, writing these reviews, and do so with one of my favourites: The Metropolitan Museum`s Goddess: the Classical Mode.

    Originally published in 2003, as part of an exposition of the same name, it is currently not available online, like many other titles, but it is absolutely worth owning and/or hunting for.

      While it does contain a short general introduction that outlines some principles of Antique

clothing and how they have been used in modern (well, post-1800, anyway) fashion, the bulk of the book is structured more like a gallery, an image with an accompanying text, as in the image on the left. It is, of course, Isadora Duncan in one of her groundbreaking, body-liberating, Grecian dancing outfits.

     Included are paintings, historical or fashion photographies like that of of Isadora Duncan and pictores of dresses in the exposition. The majority of designs are either from the 1930s or around 2000, but examples from the Antiquity to the early 21. century are included.

    Some of the designers features are: Fortuny, Vionnet, Madame Grès, Halston, Versace, Claire McCardell, Alexander McQueen, Armani, Balenciaga....

 

It´s a stunning array of beautiful, technically often immensely challenging pieces that all give different views of what "Classical Beauty" is or should be (some, as the dress by McQueen on the right, rather subvert the conventional idea of prettiness, but retain a strong sense of drama). 

    There are chapters, ordered around topics like draperies, the use of harnesses in clothing, motifs like laurels or Greek key, but otherwise it is an endless flow of beautiful images and astonishing craftsmanship.

It is, as a book, less methodical than, say Barbara Baines (already reviewed on the blog) and does not go terrible in-depth about clothing in Antiquity, but as a visual collection of antique revivals, it cannot be beaten for width, depth and sheer beauty of the included objects (so, yes, I´m a fan of all  things "Grecian").

Fashion Book Friday: Chinese Clothing by Hua Mei

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

I own several books on "Oriental" influence on Western clothing, but books from Asian countries seem much harder to come by. Chinese Clothing by Hua Mei, published by Chinese Intercontinental Press and Cambridge University Press, as part of Introductions to Chinese Culture, is a rare exeption. A slim volume (a tad over 160 pages), it still manages to pack quite a lot on content, as the chapters are: Ancient Clothing, Clothes and Hierarchy, Silk, the Silk Road and the Art of Embroidery, Regional/Folk Clothing and Modern Dress.

In order to achieve this, the style is very concise and methodical, there are lots of charts and graphs (on the left, a chart to explain the art of Tang-era make up). They explain the evolution of pieces of clothing, make up styles, hierarchical badges etc. All in all, it manages to cover well over two thousand years, at least from the Warring States period to the present day (a helpful chart at the back of the book helps to identify each period in Chinese history), each chapter is concise and clear, illustrations for historical garments, such as the queen from the Five Dynasties Period (10th century) below, are mostly taken from Lady Garments and Adornments of Chinese Past Dynasties by Zhou Xun and Gao Chunming. (This book was edited in the 80s in several occidental languages, and is absolutely brilliant as a source on historical Chinese clothing, with great attention to detail and many different, visual and literary sources. It is also practically impossible to find, I managed to consult it once in a university library. But, Chinese Clothing picks up quite a 

bit of its content and makes it easily accessible).   There is also a short chapter on the Cheong-sam - the "Chinese Dress" on the cover, which, contrary to an opinion currently popular on the internet, is not a "traditional" garment, but rather a fashion style from the 1920s and 30s that fusioned Chinese and Western elements (and has since become a classic).
A lenghty chapter is dedicated to hierarchies, that is, how clothing reflects social structures, and includes court, military and state functionaries´ dress. The unspoken idea behind this is that "fashion" is also reflective of society as a whole, of the underlying order and structures, which contradicts  the popularWestern concept that "fashion" is first and foremost change and things like uniforms are outside of it by definition (But... what do we do if uniforms become "fashionable" or when designers create uniforms? Tricky, tricky...)     

 The chapter of Folk clothes is dedicated mainly to clothing and jewelry worn by numerous minorities in Chinese, and another chapter looks at the importance of the silk trade and the development of the art of embroidery (below is an example of Miao - an ethnic minority in Southern China - embroidery, which the authors consider an example of "a sense of primitive simplicity". Huh. I guess we have different ideas about "simplicity" then)



 

 

All in all, this little book will probably not be enough if you, say, want to write a book on Ancient China , but if you need a concise overview or introduction, it probably can´t be beaten. However, if you can get your hands on Lady Garments... , definitely do, it´s superb.

 Fashion Book Friday: The Origins of Italian Fashion. 1900-1945  by Sofia Gnoli

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

                 Italian fashion really burst on the international scene after 1945 (and boy, do I have books about that!) but this particular little album is all about the decades that preceded it, 1900-1945.

   The first chapter looks at early, rather timid attempts to establish an Italian fashion, independent of Paris, often using motifs from Italian art and history. A lovely early example is the dress  on the left by Rosa Genoni, (Milan, 1906). While it keeps many elements of mainstream fashions of its time: the overall silhouette, the delicate colours, its main inspiration in mood, decoration and details is Boticelli's Primavera, one of the most famous Italian paintings of all time. Genoni tried to both capture a specific "Italian spirit" and establish an independence form Paris.  But for many decades, such designs remained a minority.
 

But much of the early Italian fashion was, in fact, anti-fashion, avangarde that sought to make the idea of fashion change itself superfluous (that´s not how Sofia Gnoli puts it, but hear me out). Both Spanish-born, Venice-working Mariano Fortuny and Roman Maria Monaci Gallenga were highly fashionable, especially among the elites, but their creations did not necessary follow or even take part in current fashion trends. Fortuny found inspiration in the elegant pleats and draperies of Antiquity, while Gallengo recalled Renaissance splendour in her work (opera coat on the right). Both were highly influencial, maybe precisely because they were not actually part of the of the fashion world - rather on the borders between art and fashion.
Similarly, many futurists collaborated whith theatres and fashion designers  - and this books dedicates a whole chapter to these collaborations, with designs by Hiacomo Balla or Thayaht´s illustrations of Vionnet´s dresses. However the most radically piece of futurist "fashion" was Thayaht´s TuTa, a kind of jumpsuit that was first and foremost practical, easy to make and easy to wear, appropriate for all sexes and types of work, and should, therefore , replace the superficial vanity fair of fashion. (The TuTa itself is not in the book, the image below is taken from the Museo del tessuto in Prato).

    Other major influences are the incomparable Elsa Schiaparelli (left) and Salvatore Ferragamo. While both spend large and most important part of their carreers outside of Italy (Schiaparelli worked in Paris and Ferragamo - inventor of the wedge heel - started out as a "shoemaker to the stars" in Hollywood), their fame and creativity helped to create a positive image of Italian fashion long before the local industry was capable of fully backing up that claim. The book looks at their work in quite some detail.


      A very important part of the book is dedicated to fashion within the political context of that time. Some aspects include the fascist regime´s attitude towards not just fashion, but feminity in general - an attitude not free from contradictions, as it propagated both a conservative, catholic worldview and the fascist ideal of a strong, physically active, sporty woman at the same time. 
     Quite another topic was self-sufficiency in terms of textile production (many of the countries involved in WWII had similar problems). This problem was in part solved by a strong rise in the artificial fibres production, but still, rationing had to be introduced by 1941. The image below shows a detail of a wartime dress: made with artificial "silk" fibres and with dressmaker´s skill in elegant details compensating for the limited fabric availability. Many companies that later achived worldwide fame started out in this atmosphere of limited means and a hightened need for creativity- Gucci, Fendi...

 

 Fashion Book Friday: El hilo conductor. Tradición y moda en el Perú (The Guiding Thread. Tradition and Fashion in Peru) by Olga Zaferson Aranzaens

 

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

I found this little jewel in a random bookshop, and felt quite lucky, as fashion in Peru doesn't seem to be a big topic (and I'm always interested in fashion outside of the big centres of the industry). 
Encontré esta pequeña joya en una librería cualquiera y me sentí bastante afortunada, ya que la moda en el Perú no parece ser un gran tema (y siempre me interesa la moda alejada de los grandes centros de la industria). 

    The accent here is very much on tradition, as it seems to be the author's expertise. There are chapters on prehispanic technique of spinning, weaving and dyeing and their survival in Colonial times. Quipus (left), the still undeciphered Inca "recording device", made with knots on series of strings and some spectacular jewelry are also featured. Her sources here are Colonial age- texts and illustrations, contemporary photos of women working with traditional techniques and  arqueological finds.
El acento aquí está claramente en la tradición, la que también parece ser el área de especialización de la autora. Hay capítulos sobre las técnicas prehispánicas de hilado, tejido y teñido y su supervivencia en la época colonial. También hay textos sobre los quipus (arriba), el "dispositivo de grabación" Inca y que está aún sin descifrar, ralizado con nudos en grupos de cuerdas, y alguna que otra joya espectaculare. Sus fuentes en esos capítulos son textos e ilustraciones de la época colonial, fotos contemporáneas de mujeres que trabajan con técnicas tradicionales y hallazgos arqueológicos.

 Other chapters are dedicated to garments and traditional styles, the most famous being, without a doubt, the "tapada limeña", the "covered women from Lima": women in Peru, especially in Lima, wore until the early 19th century a long, dense, black veil (see the statue on the right). As bizarre as that may look, the resulting anonymity actually meant greater freedom of movement for women, as it also meant they were free from social control and vigilance. This particular style only disappeared after the Independence and arrival of French fashions.
   
Otros capítulos están dedicados a prendas y estilos tradicionales, siendo el más famoso, sin lugar a dudas, la "tapada limeña": las mujeres en Perú, especialmente en Lima, usaron hasta principios del siglo XIX velos negros y tupidos(ver la estatua a la derecha). Por extraño que parezca, el anonimato resultante en realidad significó una mayor libertad de movimiento para las mujeres, ya que también significaba que estaban libres de control social y vigilancia. Este estilo particular solo desapareció después de la Independencia y llegada de las modas francesas.

 Then she looks at the survival of traditional garments and techniques in the different parts of Peru, a colourful array of amazing shawls, hats, skirts, ponchos... (on the left an amazing example of shipiba embroidery) . A glossary completes the description and helps to avoid confusion.
    Luego, observa la supervivencia de las prendas y técnicas tradicionales en las diferentes partes del Perú, una lluvia colorida de increíbles chales, sombreros, faldas, ponchos ... (a la izquierda, un impresionante ejemplo de bordado shipiba). Un glosario completa la descripción y ayuda a evitar confusiones.
 

The last chapter, Fashion, is also the weakest, for several reasons. The author seems to understand "Peruvian Fashion" mainly as "Folk Fashion", which of course must end up a bit lop-sided and incomplete... There is an interesting selection of what seem to be runway photos (left) but sadly she fails to identify the respective designers. A pity, because the use of traditional techinques in those garments is often innovative and visually attractive. Oh, and John Galliano's name is misspelled, an error that slipped past all editors...

 El último capítulo, La moda, es también el más débil, por varias razones. La autora parece entender "Moda peruana" principalmente como "Moda folklórica", que por supuesto debe resultar un poco incompleto ... Hay una interesante selección de lo que parecen ser fotos de pasarela (izquierda), pero lamentablemente la autora no nombra a los respectivos diseñadores. Una pena, porque el uso de técnicas tradicionales en esas prendas es a menudo innovador y visualmente atractivo. Ah, y el nombre de John Galliano está mal escrito, un error que se escapó a todos los editores ...



Overall, and in spite of one weakish chapter, an amazing, very informative book and a great addition to any costume library. 
En general, y a pesar de un capítulo algo débil, un libro asombroso, muy informativo y una gran adición a cualquier biblioteca de historia de traje.
ISBN is 978-9972-894-67-1






 

Fashion Book Friday: El traje. Transformaciones de una segunda piel. (Dress. Transformations of a Second Skin) by Isabel Cruz Amenábar

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

      Fashion in Chile, part II. This book concentrates on an epoch and place rarely seen in fashion study: Colonial Latin America, particularly Chile. European presence in Chile dates from the XVIth century, and by the XVIIth, an unique baroque culture developed in Latin America. Isabel Cruz Amenábar studies the textile aspects of this culture roughly until the Independence, ca 1820.

La moda en Chile, parte II. Este libro se centra en una época y un lugar muy poco estudiados en la historia de la moda: Latinoamérica en la época colonial, particularmente Chile. La presencia europea en Chile data del siglo XVI, y hacia el XVII, una cultura barroca única se desarrolla en Sudamérica. Isabel Cruz Amenábar estudia los aspectos textiles de esta cultura, hasta aproximadamente la Independencia, ca 1820.

       Her sources are images, documents and some - few - preserved original garments. The image above shows the originality of Chilean fashions in the mid-XVIIIth century: while the wide skirts are universal in Western fashion of the age, Chilean styles are very short, between the knee and the ankle, and the presence of wide, shawl- or poncho-like garments belong to an indigenous, American tradition. Hairstyles for women are also unique. The author looks at these styles in great detail,

 studying their evolution, origins, connections to other countries in Europe and America.
 Sus fuentes son imágenes, documentos y algunas - pocas - prendas originales conservadas. La imagen de arriba muestra la originalidad de la moda chilena a mediados del siglo XVIII: mientras que las faldas anchas son universales en la moda occidental de la época, las en el  estilo chileno son muy cortas, caen entre la rodilla y el tobillo, y la presencia de prendas de tipo chal o  poncho pertenecen a una tradición auténticamente americana. Los peinados de mujeres también son únicos.La autora analiza estos estilos con gran detalle, estudiando su evolución, orígenes y conexiones con otros países de Europa y América.
        
        Always tied to the idea of clothing as a "second skin", the expression of individual and group identities, chapters are dedicated to religious dress, military dress and uniforms, the clothing of the lower classes and indigenous peoples and underclothes. It is a popular anecdote that "earlier" (actually in the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries) people didn´t wash very often, as too much contact with water was believed to be harmful. Cruz Amenábar studies extensively this very baroque luxury: clean, white underclothes, changed several times a day to provide cleanliness (and symbolise spiritual purity).
      
       Siempre ligados al concepto de la ropa como una "segunda piel", la expresión de  identidades individuales y grupales, hay capítulos dedicados a la vestimenta religiosa, prendas y uniformes militares, ropas de las clases bajas y pueblos indígenas, y la ropa interior. Es una anécdota muy difundida que las personas "antes" (en realidad en los siglos XVII y XVIII) no se lavaban muy a menudo, ya que se creía que el contacto excesivo con el agua era perjudicial. Cruz Amenábar estudia entonces extensivamente este lujo muy barroco: ropa interior blanca y limpia, cambiada varias veces al día para proporcionar limpieza física (y simbolizar la pureza espiritual).


  It is richly illustrated (an XVIIIth century rural gentleman on the right),

with images spanning over two centuries and all social classes, as well as the occasional close-up of an original garment - there aren´t too many original garments from the Colonial Age, and those that still exist, belong to the luxury category. So, no everyday or working clothes (and no realistic impression of what you would have seen on the streets in say, 1780), but the skill on display in those garments, with their laces and embroideries, is simply breathtaking. A good example is the embroidered poncho below, that combines elegantly different cultural influences that existed in South America at the time: an indigenous garment embroidered with European motives (knight, mermaid) while the large, colourful bird in the centre also suggests Chinese influences (which would have been known through trade via Mexico and the Philippines). 


Está ricamente ilustrado (un caballero rural del siglo XVIII a la derecha), con imágenes que abarcan más de dos siglos y todas las clases sociales, así como también una foto ocasional de gran aumento de una prenda original. No existen demasiadas prendas originales de la época colonial, y las que se conservaron pertenecen en general a la categoría de lujo. Entonces, no hay ropa de todos los días o de trabajo (y ninguna idea realista de lo que se habría visto por las calles en, digamos, 1780), pero la habilidad artística  exhibida en estas prendas, con sus encajes y bordados, es sencillamente asombrosa. Un buen ejemplo es el poncho bordado (abajo), que combina elegantemente influencias culturales  diferentes que co-existían en Sudamérica en ese momento: una prenda indígena bordada con motivos europeos (caballero, sirena) mientras que el pájaro grande y colorido en el centro también sugiere influencias chinas ( que se conocían a través del comercio mediante México y las Filipinas).

    
       An absolutely wonderful book, on a little explored topic, that should be a fascinating read for anyone interested in the material culture of Colonial (South) America.
  
   Un libro absolutamente maravilloso, sobre un tema poco explorado, que debe ser una lectura fascinante para cualquier persona interesada en la cultura material de  (Sud)América colonial.










The ISBN is: 956-14-0386-2

  Fashion Book Friday: Morir un poco. Moda y sociedad en Chile 1960-1976. (To Die a Little. Fashion and Society in Chile 1960-1976) by Pía Montalvo

     This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...


    I´ve started collecting fashion books as a teenager, but lately I have become very interested in fashion "on the margins", far from Paris or New York, both in terms of how the industry works there and how individuals relate to fashion. Chile is far from being a fashion hub - in Latin America, the centres are in Argentina, Brasil or Colombia. The author of Morir un poco... looks at fashion as a cultural and social phenomenon in a key moment of the country´s history - the relative prosperity of the 60s, Allende´s leftist government and the first few years after the military coup d´etat in 1973. Not particularly picture heavy - and the ones that are there are small and black and white, the analysis is brilliant, well researched and quite detailed.
    Empecé a coleccionar libros de moda cuando era adolescente, pero últimamente me  he interesado mucho por la moda " en los márgenes", lejos de París o Nueva York, tanto en términos de cómo funciona la industria y cómo las personas se relacionan con la moda. Chile, desde luego, está lejos de ser un centro de la moda: en América Latina, estos se encuentran en Argentina, Brasil o Colombia. La autora de Morir un poco... considera la moda como un fenómeno cultural y social en un momento clave de la historia del país: la relativa prosperidad de los años 60, el gobierno izquierdista de Allende y los primeros años posteriores al golpe militar de 1973. No destaca por tener muchas ilustraciones, y las que están son pequeñas y en blanco y negro, pero el análisis es brillante, cuidadosamente investigado y muy detallado.
      The first three chapters describe the mechanisms  of Chilean fashion and textile industry, their

 activities and possibilities, foreign influences and attempts at establishing an unique "Chilean" style. Local designers, such as Marco Correa (about whom the Santiago Fashion Museum had an exposition recently) or Nelly Alarcón (a dress form 1972 on the left, source: Paula.cl) receive particular attention. Particular attention is paid on the distribution and access to potential customers - press, fashion shows, the emergence of a boutique culture.
  
Los primeros tres capítulos describen los mecanismos de la industria textil y de moda en Chile, sus actividades y posibilidades, las influencias extranjeras e intentos de establecer un estilo únicamente "chileno". Se dedica particularmente a diseñadores locales, como Marco Correa (sobre quien el Museo de la Moda de Santiago realizó una exposición recientemente) o Nelly Alarcón (un vestido de 1972 a la izquierda, fuente: Paula.cl). Presta especial atención a la distribución y el acceso a clientes potenciales: prensa, desfiles de moda, y el surgimiento de una cultura boutique.

       The next chapters look at the trends and developments between 1968 and 1976 year by year, and once more, the analysis is fascinating and readworthy. She establishes connections between fashion trends and social and political tendencies, when "monastic fashions" (a trend that takes elements from church dresses, and also existed in other hispanic countries, such as Spain) arise at a time when the influence of the Catholic Church on Chilean society begins to wane. Allende´s government showed a strong interest in the development of local fashions and crafts - there was an official encouragement programme, and Pablo Neruda helped Nelly Alarcón to organise a fashion show in Paris. After the coup, more conservative fashions prevailed, pants disappeared from the streets, and the recently released Great Gatsby (right, Movpins) became the biggest, nostalgic new trend. Economic influences, such as the oil crisis, also played their role. The description in these chapters is detailed enough to be a source for writers or artists.
      Los siguientes capítulos estudian las tendencias y eventos entre 1968 y 1976 año por año, y una vez más, el análisis es fascinante y merecedor de se leído detenidamente. Establece conexiones entre las tendencias de la moda y las tendencias sociales y políticas, como cuando la "moda monástica" (una tendencia que adapta elementos de vestimienta eclesiástica y también existía en otros países hispanoparlantes, como España) surge en un momento en el que la influencia de la Iglesia Católica en la sociedad chilena comienza a disminuir. El gobierno de Allende mostró un gran interés en el desarrollo de la moda y la artesanía locales: había una campaña de apoyo oficial, y Pablo Neruda ayudó a Nelly Alarcón a organizar un desfile de moda en París. Después del golpe, prevaleció la moda más conservadora, los pantalones desaparecieron de las calles y la recientemente lanzada The Great Gatsby (arriba, Movpins) se convirtió en la grande, nostálgica tendencia. Influencias económicas, como la crisis del petróleo, también jugaron un papel. La descripción en estos capítulos es lo suficientemente detallada como para servir de fuente para escritores o artistas.

The book is not easy to find, but an excellent read, and a good example of how fashion works "on the margins"
 El libro no es fácil de encontrar, pero es una lectura excelente y un buen ejemplo de cómo funciona la moda "en los márgenes".
ISBN: 978-956-324-370-3       

      Fashion Book Friday: Men in Black by John Harvey

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

    Here is another find from Brazil, so, while it was originally written in English, my edition is in Portuguese.
     Menswear usually takes a backseat in fashion studies, and rarely makes it out of the general introductory type of book. Which makes this little gem all the more special.
     It is almost entirely dedicated to menswear, to the preponderance of black in male clothing, to be

 precise.

   John Harvey looks at how the nineteenth-century gentleman dresses himself almost entirely in black, at a time whe women prefer strong or bright  colours (such as in this scene by Renoir) and follows the "biography" of Black since the Middle Ages (when it meant  renouncing rather than following fashion)  into the Renaissance, when it went mainstream for the first time in different, rather contradictory contexts: at the (very Catholic) Spanish court, where it came to symbolise serenity and sobriety, and among the members of the new Protestant creed, where it came to mean virtue and renouncing of vanity. Both dressed black from head to toe, if from different motivations. Both intellectuals and the new, rising merchant class favour black, to distinguish themselves form courtiers and peasants (below Thomas Cromwell, his fur collar and gold ring hint not-so-subtly that black does not have to be humble at all).

     Richly and extensively sourced and illustrated, Men in Black is actually a cultural history of the colour black in Europe in the last 600 years or so. John Harvey looks at Chaucer, Shakespeare, Ruskin and quite extensively at Dickens, and illustrates his findings with a beautiful collection of images, mostly portraits, but also genre scenes and book illustrations. Othello and Dickens´s Victorian gentleman are followed by twentieth-century wearers of black, who are at least as contradictory as their Renaissance counterparts: Fascist organisations (called Blackshirts for a reason) prefer black (or similar dark colours), but also do countercultures, where the lack of colour, symbolised by black, becomes the essence of rebellion (Marlon Brando in the photo below, illustrates this very well).

   Superbly written, with a great sense of humour, an unique perspective on a little written-about topic, especially outside of academia, it is actually one of my favourites. Only if the pictures where a little clearer. I don´t know if it is a problem of this particular edition, but the otherwise excellent illustrations are relatively small, black and white and slightly blurry... A pity, really.

Fashion Book Friday: O espiritu das roupas. A moda no século dezenove. (The Spirit of Clothes. Fashion in the Nineteenth Century) by Gilda de Mello e Souza

 

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

I bought this little book on a whim on a holiday in Brazil, and I´m very glad I did. While there are no great names, no celebrities or famous designers on its pages, the concept of fashion it offers is both unique and insightful. The author, a philosophy and literature professor from Brazil, treats fashion as a minor art (one chapter is actually called "Fashion as Art") that reflects and takes part in architectural, social, economical developments of the society it exists in (picture below)

       She looks at how fashion defines divisions of gender and class, always following the newest

technological developments, how fashion effectively becomes an expression of a "female culture" - at the same time as women are expulsed from the public and working spaces, defined by then as exclusively male, and men claim to lose all interest in "fashion" (the slower pace of change in male clothing, loss of all colour from male dress etc - at the same time as technical progress made more and new colours available for the textile industry).  Fashion, or the indulgence in it, functions here also as a signifier of social and economic inequality between the sexes (see illustration on the left). Quotations from contemporary literature, mainly Machado de Assis,  support her theory. 

The book´s focus is mostly on international fashion, but as an uniquely Brazilian example, she looks at rich provincial landowners, and how their attitude to clothes changed: throughout most of the century, wealth was never shown through clothes or furniture (the couple on the left, ca. 1870), even if the fortune, consisting of land, cattle and (until 1888) slaves. The latter couple, ca 1900, belong to a generation that begins to flaunt their wealth through clothing and generally consumption, a general change in attitudes.
Mind you, this by no means a coffee table books. Although there is a whole gallery of pictures at the back, they are all black and white, sometimes even grainy, as if gone through too many photocopiers (first edition was in 1987). In fact, my only peeve are the pictures: while there is an extensive and excellent annotations corpus in the book, I didn´t find a list of illustration, and the captions themselves are unhelpful, especially in the case of painting.
Still, if you like to read an analysis of fashion on the crossroads between aesthetics and social issues, this is the book.  Pity it hasn´t been translated apparently.
The ISBN is 85-85095-24-5

Fashion Book Friday: Schulze-Varell. Architekt der Mode (Schulze-Varell. Architect of Fashion)

This is my archive of fashion related books. Most of them are in English, but many are not. Some are new, but many are real finds. Depends on the topic, really...

Fashion is a curious business. We all participate in it to some extent, as we all need to dress, there are constantly new things in the shops, but this same activity and hectic often implies the memory span of a fruit fly. As soon as something is out of the shops, it might as well as not exist, and former prodigies are completely forgotten. This week´s book is about such a forgotten prodigy, the German Heinz Schulze-Varell.
Mode ist ein kurioses Ding. Wir sind alle zu einem gewissen Grad daran beteiligt, wir brauchen ja alle Kleidung, es gibt ständig neue Dinge in den Läden, aber die gleiche Aktivität und Hektik hat oft das Erinnerungsvermögen einer Fruchtfliege zufolge. Sobald etwas aus den Läden verschwindet, ist es, als ob es nie existiert hätte, und ehemalige Wunderkinder sind völlig in Vergessenheit geraten. Dieses Buch handelt von einem so vergessenen Wunderkind, dem Deutschen Heinz Schulze-Varell.
       Born in Berlin, he started his career at Hermann Gerson, easily the poshest, most exclusive fashion house in Berlin (more books on Berlin in the Twenties to come!), where he also met, and later

the glamourous couple

 married, Margarethe Kickler, called Kiki, granddaughter of architect Ernst Bandel (best known for this ). She was a fashion illustrator, a much more glamorous profession at the time than a model, and became her husbands muse/model/dressform.

       Geboren in Berlin, begann er seine Karriere bei Hermann Gerson, dem wohl vornehmsten und exklusivsten Modehaus in Berlin (weitere Bücher über Berlin in den zwanziger Jahren kommen noch!), wo er auch Margarethe Kickler, genannt Kiki, kennenlernte, die er später heiratete. Enkelin des Architekten Ernst Bandel (am besten bekannt für das Hermannsdenkmal). Sie war eine Modeillustratorin, damals ein viel glamouröserer Beruf als Modeln, und später wurde sie für ihren Mann Muse / Model / Schneiderbüste.

       Later, he worked for Gerson´s competitor, but after the Nazis came to power, his Jewish boss was forced to give up his business, and Schulze-Varell opened his own salon in Berlin (he had apparently been offered to buy his former employer out for cheap, as the so-called Aryanization, but refused. He said it felt like grave robbing.) He quickly became established as an elegant, does-not-just-copy-Paris address in Berlin, but this in itself brought problems: he was not a Nazi sympathiser, but neither was he prepared to leave everything behind and go in exile. A difficult balance was needed, avoiding demostrations of party loyalty or dressing the

Art Deco chic, 1934

wives of the new Nazi elite, but at the same time not doing anything that might seem provokative. It didn´t always work, he very narrowly avoided being sent off to Stalingrad as a punishment for insubordination, but protection from film stars (who, in turn, were key to the Nazi propaganda machine) helped him stay in Berlin until the end of the war.
       Später arbeitete er für Gersons Konkurrenz, aber nach der Machtergreifung durch die Nazis musste sein jüdischer Chef sein Geschäft aufgeben, und Schulze-Varell eröffnete seinen eigenen Salon in Berlin (anscheinend war ihm das Geschäft seines früheren Arbeitgebers im Rahmen von "Arisierungsmaßnahmen" billig angeboten worden, aber lehnte ab. Er sagte, es käme ihm wie Leichenfledderei vor). Er etablierte sich schnell als eine elegante, Kopiert-nicht-bloß-Paris-Adresse in Berlin, aber das brachte wiederum Probleme: Er war kein Nazisympathisant, aber er war auch nicht bereit, alles hinzuschmeißsen und ins Exil zu gehen. Das erforderte eine schwierige Balance, einerseits, um die Loyalitätsbekundungen zu vermeiden oder den Frauen der neuen Nazi-Elite auszuweichen, aber gleichzeitig nichts zu tun, was die Machthaber zu sehr reizen könnte. Es funktionierte nicht immer, um ein Haar wäre er als Strafe für Ungehorsam nach Stalingrad eingezogen worden, und nur die Protektion von Filmstars (die wiederum eine Schlüsselrolle in der Nazi-Propagandamaschine hatten) half ihm, bis zum Ende des Krieges in Berlin zu bleiben.

  After the war, he re-opened in Munich. The picture on the left is an example of the first post-war collections: warm, and made out of whatever was at hand, in this case, uniforms (uniforms were actually banned by the allies, but seeing the general shortage of clothing and fabrics, they ignored civilian clothing made out of uniforms (or even flags), as long as all Nazi insignia had been removed). He remained in Munich until his death in 1985.

 Nach dem Krieg öffnete er sein Salon in München wieder. Das Bild links ist ein Beispiel für die ersten Nachkriegskollektionen: warm und aus dem gemacht, was gerade zur Hand war, in diesem Fall Uniformen (Uniformen wurden eigentlich von den Alliierten verboten, aber wegen des allgemeinen Mangels an Kleidung und Stoffen  ignorierten sie  aus Uniformen (oder sogar Fahnen) gefertigte Zivilkleidung, solange alle Nazisymbolen entfernt worden waren). Er blieb bis zu seinem Tod 1985 in München.


The book, however, in not particularly heavy on text, it is rather a catalogue of his work from the earliest designs under his own name, such as the dress above, to the sketches for his last collection 1985, the year of his death. Some examples are below. 
 Das Buch  ist  jedoch nicht gerade textlastig, es ist vielmehr ein Katalog seines Werkes, von den frühesten Entwürfen unter seinem eigenen Namen, wie das Kleid oben, bis zu den Skizzen für seine letzte Kollektion 1985, seinem Todesjahr. Ein paar Beispiele unten.

Experimental 50s design: wool fringe cape.

 

evening gown, 1962

 

sketch from his last collection, 1985

flower child, 1972 (the flowers are red plastic)

It is very much out of print (edited in 1991) but if you want to try your luck, the ISBN is 3-925835-86-5.  
Es ist natürlich vergriffen (herausgegeben 1991), aber wer sein Glück versuchen möchte, die ist ISBN 3-925835-86-5.