Historical Research and Planning Project

Running Head: ART DECO FASHION EXHIBIT 1
Art Deco Fashion Exhibition
Rebecca Altman, Patricia Lin, Nicole Musick, Kassie Osburn & Imelda Perales
University of North Texas

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Interior Discussion
Art Deco as an art movement originated from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des
Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes, an exhibition aimed at promoting a new creative style
that combined artistic excellence and luxurious materials and stayed the preferred style of the
day until the late thirties (Kalinsky, 2007). The exhibition featured new and original pieces from
designers all over the world, but mainly focused on home furnishings, art, and illustrations of
architecture (Art Deco: Introduction, 2003). Although the focus of this exhibition invited
designers and artists from all over the world to participate, it was really a way for France, Paris
especially, to re-establish itself as the most luxurious and fashionable city in the world
(Kalinsky, 2007). The movement drew inspiration from many sources including the art genres
cubism, art nouveau, neoclassicism and much more (Pacitti, 2014). The general theme of all the
pieces featured was flora, fauna, and human figures mixed with angular and geometric patterns
such as zigzags and chevrons (Art Deco: Introduction, 2003). From the innovations and
revolutionary designs of the exhibition grew the fashion movement Art Deco, which was
considered very theatrical with designs that reflected a spirit of revival (Beltron-Rubio, 2016;
Pacitti, 2014). It combined synthetic materials, such as plastic (Vitrolite, Lucite, Bakelite) and
metal (wrought iron, chrome, aluminum), with a toned down color scheme of black, white, gold,
and silver (Fischer, 2001). Due to the variety and affordability of the materials used, Art Deco
housewares, interior decorations, fashion, and jewelry were accessible to the general public, not
just the extremely wealthy, unlike other modernists of the time (Winokur, 1996). Although Art
Deco was popular throughout the twenties and thirties the term ‘Art Deco’ was not coined until
the sixties, during its peak Deco was just called modernism (Fischer, 2003). Although Deco
embraced the innovations of the times, the movement itself had a nostalgic fixation on the past

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(Fischer, 2001). In 1922, King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered and Egypt and Art Deco
embraced Egyptian imagery that was made popular due to the find, including scarabs, cats, and
sphinx heads. Additionally, Art Deco drew inspiration from ‘exotic’ places and people, such as
the Orient and Africa, which was seen mainly in the patterns and fabrics and other materials
used in upholstery, clothing, and jewelry (Fischer, 2001). Another major theme seen throughout
Art Deco is a fixation with the figure of Woman. Through architecture, sculptures, and art of the
times, the figure of Woman transforms from the traditional, soft, and curvilinear shape, to a
more boyish and elongated silhouette (McClinton, 1986). This transformation in body
expectations of women caused a shift in fashion and how clothing draped on the body.
New Woman
After WWI and the return of soldiers to the United States, the economy boomed. Most
lived to excess and had the means to support themselves. This included not only men but for the
first time women. During the war, women were needed to fill the jobs in factories and offices
that were normally occupied by men. Women at these jobs were allowed to wear men’s clothing
while working and grew to accept pants and trousers on women. When the war ended, not all
women were so keen to go back to life as homemakers and housewives, so many continued
working. Although most women continued doing secretarial work and some doing switchboard
operations, some chose to get a higher education. This mass of working women coined the term
the “New Woman”, who is an independent and self-reliant type that did not rely on a husband to
take care of her (Winokur, 1996). The “New Woman” becomes her own independent consumer
and the social and cultural worlds took notice. While the average “New Woman” was notably
different from her elders and more traditional counterparts, she was not nearly as modern and
trailblazing as the flappers.

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Flappers
After World War I, because of a perfect storm of postwar materialism and consumer
capitalism, flapperdom rose to popularity (Park, 2014). A typical flapper applied heavy rouge
and lipstick and wore her hair in a short bob. Their dresses had low waistlines and short skirts
which gave women a waif-like, boyish figure. Additionally, she participated in many activities
not associated with ‘good girl’ behavior such as smoking in public, consuming copious amounts
of alcohol during prohibition, and spending nights out at jazz clubs dancing the Shimmy and the
Charleston (Reinsch, 2012). Although the older generations of the time looked down on the
flappers’ frivolous and wild lifestyle, in hindsight the flapper embodied cultural and social
progress. After WWI, many of the same young unmarried women who would make up the
flappers were working women with their own income and could then act as consumers in their
own right and defined themselves through their consumerism even more so than the average
“New Woman” of the times (Reinsch, 2012). Because they made their own money, these
women were not looking to marry and settle down, they did not need to. They were self-reliant
and had liberated themselves from the paternalistic Victorian Era (Park, 2012).
Technological Advances in Fashion
The Industrial Revolution happened along the Art Deco movement, and overlap is seen
in fashion, furniture, and art of the time. Many home decor and features in architectural
buildings looked more like machine parts than actual home furnishings (Fischer, 2003). This
style was prevalent in the fashion industry during the Art Deco movement with technological
advances that improved the speed and production of mainstream fashion. With advances in
technology came the portable sewing machine in the 1930s, a new feature for its time. It would
eventually popularize home sewing for women, making it easier to produce their own clothing

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due to the economic crisis of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (Stitches in Time, 2010). Spanish
designer Mariano Fortuny developed his own version of pleating and created his heated pleating
device in 1909 that began his multiple fabrications of patents, all which related to garment and
printing methods until the mid-1930s (Carrara, 2010). A stencil-based crafting technique called
“pochoir” was a major enhancement made by avant-garde artists in fashion to enhance the vivid
colors and prints used on garments (Ginsberg, 2010; Majer, 2010). With these pochoir prints,
Paul Poiret commissioned artists to create fashions for his books Le Robes de Paul Poiret
(1908) and Gazette du Bon Ton that revolutionized fashion illustration paving the way for Art
Deco’s new aesthetic (Stabb, 2010).
Garments
The exhibit will display vintage garments of the Art Deco movement as well as modern-
day counterparts inspired by Art Deco. The exhibit will feature thirty ensembles, with a focus
on women’s garments and a brief component of men’s style discussed by the curators’ speaker,
Drew Todd.
One of the garments included in the exhibit is a dress designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and
Salvador Dali, who were two of the major designers in the Surrealist movement using geometric
patterns and sleek lines in their garments (See figure 1) (Evans, 2010). The dress was made in
1937 of printed silk organza and synthetic horsehair by Wallis Simpson who purchased the
dress before she married the Duke of Windsor (Schiaparelli, n.d.). The garment will be
borrowed from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This garment was chosen to be in the exhibit
because of the cut and silhouette of the dress, the plain color palette, and the unusual surface
decoration that reflects the Art Deco movement.

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The next garment for the exhibit is a coat that was made in Paris by an unknown artist in
1925 (See figure 2). The coat is made of black and gold satin with velvet trimming, a black
front button closure, with a deep shawl collar that is used as a hood. The coat gets its abstract
motifs from a burnout technique process known as devoré, which is applied on the velvet. This
coat, modeled after the evening coats of Paul Poiret previous to World War I, makes use of the
geometric designs, muted color palette, and tubular silhouette so popular through Art Deco
(“Unknown Coat,” n.d.). This garment would have been worn by an upper class or upper-
middle-class women on a cool night out on the town. The coat will be borrowed from the
Victoria and Albert Museum collection.
The exhibit will include a man’s tuxedo that is designed by the design house Wood
Carlson Co. (See figure 3). The tuxedo features a vest with a tailcoat, matching pants, and a
wool scarf with fringe details. The ensemble was made in the United States in 1935 and was
worn as evening wear for men (Wood, n.d.). This tuxedo will be featured as a visual after our
speaker’s lecture over the Hollywood male ideal during the Art Deco period. This will allow
visitors to see that men’s clothing was also inspired by the sharp lines and minimalist color
palette of the Deco movement. Because the tuxedo was never fully accepted as formal wear in
Europe, this ensemble would have been worn by a man in the United States to a formal event,
such as an evening party or ball. The tuxedo will be borrowed from The Museum at FIT.
The curators chose to add a modern garment piece that will represent the effect of the
Art Deco movement on modern-day fashion (See figure 4). The featured Missoni dress made in
2007 uses multi-colored geometric shapes, beading, and sequins that were present in many Art
Deco styles and was made in Italy (Missoni, 2007). This garment, inspired by the block
patterns, intricate beading, and the tubular silhouette of the Art Deco period, represents today’s

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fashion style through its use of vibrant color blocking. This dress will come from the Texas
Fashion Collection.
This garment, called a cloche, was created by Jeanne Lanvin in 1925 and displays the
extravagant, and detailed surface decoration prevalent through the Art Deco period featured
women's accessories (See figure 5)(House of Lanvin, 1925). The main headdress that was worn
by flappers was a cloche. Most cloches worn by flappers were worn low on the head and made
of silk or felt with embellishments of metals, pearls, beads, feathers, and sequins. This one in
particular is made of sheer silk with intricate beading and embroidery all throughout the hat.
This cloche will be borrowed from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Paired with the cloche mentioned above is a French evening dress created in 1925 by an
unknown designer (See figure 6). This knee-length silk dress takes on a tubular shape with
beaded and sequin details that dominated the 1920s flapper style during the Art Deco period.
The upper bodice of the dress is a sheer silk material with scalloped beadwork crossing in the
front with a detailed scalloped beaded design. This dress would have been worn by a flapper or
vamp on a night out at a speakeasy, dancing the Charleston and listening to jazz. This dress will
come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
To represent modern garments inspired by the Art Deco movement, an evening dress
designed by Holly Fulton in 2011 will also be on display (See figure 7). Holly Fulton is known
for her textile prints inspired by Art Deco and this piece is no exception. The gown is made of
silk with a leather collar. The geometric design of the collar and the vertical silhouette of the
dress honor the geometric shapes and lines of the Art Deco period, while the pattern of the silk
adds something unique and modern to the garment. This gown shows that although the Art

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Deco movement started over ninety years ago, designers and artist in modern times can still
draw inspiration from the revolutionary styles of the period.
Interior Flap Discussion
On the opening night of the exhibit, Drew Todd will come and speak to viewers about
Hollywood’s impact on the public during the Art Deco period. Drew Todd specializes in film
history, costumes, settings, and aesthetics of the Art Deco period (Streamlining Desire: The
selling of style, modernity, and ideology in Art Deco Hollywood, 2004; Selected Works of
Drew Todd, n.d.). He is the author of Decadent Heroes: Dandyism and Masculinity of Art Deco
Hollywood which talks about the Hollywood industry and how actors associate with the
Depression: gritty and tough, whose resilience and transgressions seem a fitting response to the
social climate of the times (Todd, 2005). He also published Marked Woman (1937) and the
Dialectics of Art Deco in the Classical Gangster Genre which gives the audience an insight on
how movies, like “Marked Woman by Warner Bros, associate high-style Art Deco with excess
and the criminal underworld during the prohibition (Todd, 2012).” Drew Todd will discuss the
style of Art Deco, specifically the impact that Hollywood culture had on society during the time
period. An example of this would be Marked Woman and how it captured the modern-day
leisure and consumption ideals and Art Deco designs portrayed in architecture and fashion.
Todd has done multiple case studies over Hollywood films between the 1920s-1930s which will
be beneficial for the viewers in order for them to fully understand the zeitgeist of the Art Deco
period.
Back Discussion

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In the gift shop, customers will be able to purchase copies of Art Deco paintings in the
form of posters and mini canvases. Calendars, journals, magnets, and postcards (See figure 13)
will be made with multiple images of the most popular Art Deco paintings and famous
architectural venues. Other merchandise that will be shown at the gift shop includes a variety of
products, such as Art Deco picture books, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Virginia
Woolf’s classic novel, Mrs. Dalloway. These books are reminiscent of the Art Deco period due
to its elegance and timeless fashions during the 1920’s. Other products featured include vintage
candle holders and incandescent lamps made of ceramic and glass. Essential decorative
accessories include elaborate vintage brooch pins and classic French metal tins.
Props, Film, Music Discussion
Props that are accurately incorporated throughout the Art Deco period include the
introduction of the 1920 Model T Ford vehicle, the 1920’s Jones sewing machine, the Leica 35-
millimeter camera, the stool, and the Bicyclism poster. Each of these objects was heavily
influenced by economic events that occurred during the Art Deco era.
The invention of the sewing machine in the late nineteenth century made ready-to-wear
clothing much more accessible for everyone into the early twentieth century. The 1920s Jones
sewing machine was a straight stitcher that produced several accessories, such as leather
handbags, leather gloves, and coats (Sewing Machine - Straight Stitcher, Jones, 1920s). It was
made by Jones, England and is painted black with gold surface decorations featured on it (See
figure 8). Portable sewing machines during this time were heavy and quite expensive. The
Model T Ford, created in 1920, changed many consumers’ perceptions of the world (See figure
9) due to its affordable price and the accelerated necessity of cars in America (Tweeten & Ford,
2008). Americans no longer had to rely on riding horses to travel from one place to the other,

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and the Model T Ford made it quick and effortless to arrive at one's destination. The Bicyclism
poster (See figure 11) is one of the most significant props for the Art Deco period because
riding one's bicycle was one of the main forms of transportation and was also used as a
recreational activity when people had more time on their hands due to technological advances in
the home. The stool epitomizes the geometric and symmetrical shapes that were made popular
during the Art Deco with an upward arch featured seat to keep the piece modern (See figure 10).
This demonstrates the impact that Art Deco has on modern furniture and designs when it comes
to abstract shapes and features. The Leica 35-millimeter camera (See figure 12) is a hand-held
camera created in Germany and designed by Oscar Barnack in 1928 (Leica Camera, n.d.) This
camera popularized 35-millimeter film photography which was prevalent during the 1920s
when motion films began to thrive in the film industry.
The background music that will be playing during the exhibit will include artists such as
Parov Stelar and Caravan Palace. Parov Stelar, an Austrian composer, is known for sampling
both jazz and swing music in his compilations and then implementing electronic dance music to
modernize them. This genre of music is known as “Electro Swing”, an innovative style of music
in the twenty-first century (C. Inglis, 2014). These pieces will be playing in the exhibit because
they incorporate jazz music, which was heavily influenced during the 1920’s era. Because it
was so popular, the genre effectively fits the Art Deco theme. The addition of the electronic
genre in Stelar’s music keeps the music modern at the same time. Songs that will be played
include “Booty Swing” and “Catgroove”. Caravan Palace is another Electro Swing band that
emerged in Paris, France during the twenty-first century. Songs featured by the band will
include “Dramophone” and “Julie Coquine”.

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The film that will be shown on opening night is Jean Vigo’s first silent film A propos de
Nice that he introduced in Paris at the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier in 1930 (Levin, 2013). The
social documentary focuses on the differences between the lower class and upper class in the
French city of Nice where most people shown in the film were not aware of the fact that they
were being recorded in order to obtain unrestrained footage (Hooker, 2017). Vigo compared
both upper and lower social classes in a comical way by showing the average day in the life of
each woman. For example, a shoe shine of a leisurely woman leads to a completely bare foot of
someone who is less fortunate. This film will be able to give viewers a visual representation of
both classes and how contrasting their lifestyles were during this time period while also
showing the iconic styles of the Art Deco period.

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References
Art Deco: Introduction. (2003). In J. Miller (Ed.), Miller's antiques encyclopedia (2nd ed.).
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Beltron-Rubio, L. (2016, December). Exploring Art Deco Textile and Fashion Designs.
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of Popular Film & Television, 32(4), 168-181. Retrieved from
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Elsa Schiaparelli, French. Woman's Dinner Dress [Original work found in Philadelphia
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of Art, PA]. Retrieved April 11 2017, from https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/

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products/berg-fashion-library/museum/philadelphia-museum-of-art/womans-dinner-
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and Albert Museum, London]. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
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Ginsberg, M. (2010). Fashion Plates. In V. Steele (Ed.). The Berg Companion to Fashion.
library/encyclopedia/the-berg-companion-to-fashion/fashion-plates

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Hooker C. Jean Vigo's A Propos de Nice: Documentary Film and Cinematic Poem. Literature
Film Quarterly [serial online]. Summer76 1976;4(3):251. Available from: Literary
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Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]. Retrieved April 19
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/museum/costume-institute-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art/evening-hat-cloche-1
(Original work created in ca. 1925)
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&keywords=art%2Bdeco%2Bposter
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Selected Works of Drew Todd. (n.d.). In San José State University. Retrieved from
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Sewing Machines in the 20th Century. (2004, September 26). Stitches in Time: 100 Years of
Machines and Sewing. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
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genre. Film, Fashion & Consumption, 1(3), 305-323. doi:10.1386/ffc.1.3.305_1
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Wood Carlson Co.. Man's tuxedo [Original work found in The Museum at FIT, New York].
Retrieved April 11 2017, from
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the-museum-at-fit/mans-tuxedo (Original work created in 1935)
Appendix

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Figure 1. Lobster Dress Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali. Courtesy of Philadelphia Museum
of Art
Figure 2. Evening Coat. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Figure 3. Men’s tuxedo Carlson Co. Courtesy of the Museum at FIT.

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Figure 4. Evening gown Missoni. Courtesy of the Texas Fashion Collection.

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Figure 5. Cloche hat House of Lanvin. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Figure 6. French Evening Dress. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Figure 7. Evening dress Holly Fulton. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

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Figure 8. Sewing Machine. Courtesy of the Museum Victoria.
Figure 9. 1920 Model T Ford. Courtesy of the Swope Auto Museum.

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Figure 10. Stool. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Figure 11. Bicyclism Poster. Courtesy of the Bicyclism the Art of Wheeling Science Museum.

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Figure 12. Leica 35mm Camera. Courtesy of the National Museum of American History.

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