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fashion & design unit 2

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Victorian Era Research

Aesthetic Movement pt2

This period emphasised beauty over politics and social movements. Aesthetes were able to draw inspiration from Renaissance arts, Greece's ancient sculptures and Western designs (Japanese prints). The objective behind the art was to provoke emotion and feeling towards the paintings as well as other layered sensations such as a certain smell or memory so the viewer could interpret the artwork in a way a more personal way.

Architecture & Decoration

The House Beautiful by Clarence Cook, 1878

The House Beautiful illustration martyred a revolution that considered interior and exterior designs and how necessary this was in day-to-day life. The 1858 foreign trade with Japan gave Britain the opportunity to immortalize Asian ceramics and details into their home whether that be through an entire renovation or by adding smaller pieces on a mantelpiece.

Red House, England 1859 (Victoria & Albert Museum).

This was the architectural plan for William Morris's Red House, designed by Philip Webb and described by Rossetti as 'more of a poem than a house'. Morris established that his home was a place that highlighted simple beauty and comfort through quality workmanship and time.

Furnishings

A large part of this movement impacted the domestic setting such as the furnishing or appliances in a middle-class home. Chairs, tables and ornaments would be made to resemble 'art furniture' as they were unlike the traditional items.

Mahogany Chest, England, c.1870 (Lost Art Press, 2016).

Common themes featured throughout this movement were nature such as small animals and trees, ebonized wood which was often carved, and hints of blue, yellow and green hues. Japanese influence and artefacts showcased asymmetry, simplified form, elegance and flat patterns.

Eventually the aesthetic movement was discredited due to the conviction and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde for crimes of homosexuality in 1895. Due to other artists and the British public not wanting to be associated with Wilde and his crimes, the style fell apart but was still able to pave the way for other artistic and social movements. Wilde's time in prison showed the true nature of how suspected homosexuals were treat by their surrounding people. He was once considered the darling of the Victorian Era for his novels and literary pieces before he was sent to trial and abandoned in the 1844 Reading Gaol prison built by George Gilbert Scott and William Bonythorn Moffatt where he was subjugated to cruelty, confinement and hard labour.

Trailer: De Profundis live - YouTube

At first he was denied paper and a pen or even a sufficient amount of books to occupy his mind until he became very sick and was no longer able to work so he was granted his wishes and he was able to write 'De Profundis'; a heartfelt letter he wrote to his former lover Lord Alfred Douglas (Mendelsshon, 2019).

De Profundis can be accessed here: De profundis : Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

References:

Artangel (2016). Trailer: De Profundis live [online]. Available at: Trailer: De Profundis live - YouTube [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Internet Archive (2007). De Profundis [online]. Available at: De profundis : Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Lost Art Press (2016). A Sampling of Aesthetic Movement Furniture [online]. Available at: A Sampling of Aesthetic Movement Furniture – Lost Art Press [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Mendelsshon. M (2019). Oscar Wilde in Prison [online]. Available at: Oscar Wilde in prison (Michèle Mendelssohn, English) | Mansfield College (ox.ac.uk) [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Victoria & Albert Museum (n.d.). An Introduction to the Aesthetic Movement [online]. Available at: V&A · An Introduction To The Aesthetic Movement (vam.ac.uk) [accessed: 28th November 2022].

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Victorian Research

Aesthetic Movement pt1

'Beauty is the symbol of symbols. Beauty reveals nothing, because it expresses everything. When it shows itself, it shows us the whole fiery-coloured world', Oscar Wilde (1980)

The aesthetic movement can be summed up as 'Art for Art's sake' meaning that people would create beautiful pieces to escape the materialism of the Industrial Era. As a result, some of the most elegant and sophisticated items of work were created while simultaneously remodeling the domestic aesthetic.

William Holman Hunt founded the Pre-Raphealite Brotherhood in 1848 which essentially inspired artists to create pieces inspired by nature and rejected the Industrial Revolution. There were many aesthetes that ranged from artists to sculptors, one of the most famous being Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Beata Beatrix c. 1864-70 (Tate)

After Rosetti's wife died in 1862, he painted an intensely spiritual picture as a tribute. Throughout the painting, there are multiple references to his late wife, for instance, the bird perched on her arm is the messenger of death who carries a poppy, another significant symbol for death. The sundial in the background reads 9 o' clock, the hour of her death and the two luring figures represent Rossetti and love.

This portrait was of Fanny Cornforth, Rossetti's mistress and muse for a variety of his paintings. When Dante Gabriel Rossetti died in 1882, Fanny was forgotten about, so much in fact that her date and place of death were unknown, as she was placed in a workhouse before being taken to an asylum as her health began to decline. Cornforth was listed with senile mania, weak-mindedness, poor memory and the inability to sustain a conversation (Kennedy, 2015). She identified the cause of her mental state to be being taken against her will to the workhouse.

Stonell Walker (2015) claimed Fanny to be:

'The patron saint of overlooked women. She is in the background of so many stories about other people, and she seemed finally to have vanished without trace into the shadows.'

References:

Kennedy. M (2015). From Siren to Asylum [online]. Available at: From siren to asylum: the desperate last days of Fanny Cornforth, Rossetti's muse | The pre-Raphaelites | The Guardian [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Tate (n.d.). Beata Beatrix c. 1964-70 [online]. Available at: ‘Beata Beatrix‘, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, c.1864–70 | Tate [accessed: 28th November 2022].

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Victorian Research

Dress Reform

The public began to recognise the detrimental problems that the cinched corsets were having on women’s bodies. The dress reform was the first successful revolt against oppressive fashion. Women’s fashion consisted of long trains that dragged across the unhygienic street and multiple layers of clothes that weighed at least 6 pounds (Mrs Daffodil, 2018). Not to mention the steel-made corsets that would slowly contort a women’s figure by squashing the organs.

Amelia Bloomer was thought to have created bloomers but in reality she just became associated with the dress reform through the suffragette movement. Her revolutionary idea of trousers for women were quickly dismissed and those who wore them, also.

Women were then introduced to bikes which they were allowed to ride yet they were forced into doing this with a dress. However, it was virtually impossible to ride a bike with 6 pounds of cloth so it soon became impractical and dangerous. A year after Amelia Bloomer passed away, her idea was used by women everywhere for women to wear bloomers as a suitable biking outfit.

Women began to involve themselves more in social events such as sport. Despite the newfound bloomers though, women's sporting outfits had barely changed; slight rise of the skirt and lighter to wear.

Suffragette Movement

Emmeline Pankhurst was the face of the movement as she spoke at rallies and would fasten herself to buildings as an act of protest for women's rights. Women would also be sent to prison for these acts of rebellion where they would be tortured. Not only this, but suffragettes would also refuse to eat as a scare tactic for the government so they would be force fed by tubes in the prison.

Survivors recall brutal force feeding in prison.

Another valued member of the suffragette movement was Emily Davidson, a lady who tried to throw a purple, green and white banner (the colours of a suffragette) over the back of a horse during a betting race but was trampled by a horse. Finally, women were taken seriously after being willing to be sent to prison and even die for this so the government began to listen to them.

During WWW1, men were sent to fight in the war, so women had to overtake the typical male job roles like working in factories, while also balancing their domestic lives. As a result, women began helping Britain fight the Germans before returning to their previous protests.

In 1918, a select number of women were allowed to vote: those over 30; householders; the wives of householders; and those who graduated from a British University. This was a dramatic step towards women's liberty as it allowed women to have a say in democracy however, it did not aid the societal opinion that those who are uneducated and in lower classes are ineligible to vote. Ten years later in 1928, women won suffrage and were able to vote on the same terms as men; 21 and over.

Learnhistory3 (2011). Suffragettes- history [YouTube]. Available at: https://youtu.be/iwEb-mB20sU [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Mrs Daffodil (2018). The Weight of Fashion: 1883 [online]. [accessed: 28th November 2022].

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Victorian Research

Victorian Era

19th Century Fashion

Fashion of the 19th Century consisted of corsets, bustles, petticoats and layering in order to achieve the illusion of perfect curves. Corsetry was a large part of Victorian fashion as they were restrictive and made of steel to accomplish a cinched waist. The idea of a slim waist has been portrayed time and time again during fashion history, for instance, Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ in 1947.

Crinoline was made from stiff fabric in order to give the skirts a fuller and more flared look. These extended hoop skirts could reach up to 6 feet in diameter (Victorian Magazine, 2020).

The crinoline or hoop skirt was a popular undergarment for women ... see where it all began.

An example of the crinoline skirt is the 1866 Evening Dress where the skirt has a circumference measuring at 4.7 metres.

Another dress from the 19th century was the 1894 Land of the Rising Sun which was influenced by Eastern arts. Another dress influenced by foreign designs was the 1895 Tea Gown that featured kimono sleeves and was loose fitting around the waist.

This video shows an accurate representation of how women would get ready in 1898.

Charles Fredrick Worth

Also known as the original Haute Couture designer, Worth would design and create garments for royalty and members of high society. His designs were extraordinary and unique because he used large amounts of silk, velvet and beautiful patterns.

This dress made around 1888 and it was made out of silk velvet, silver strips and was embroidered with clear glass crystals (Newfields, n.d.).

As there were no printed magazines, Worth’s illustrations were his only way to promote his new garments. He was able to draw the new styles for his customers that featured a slender shape and ‘mutton’ shoulder sleeves.

References:

Newfields (n.d.). Imperial Russian court dress [online]. [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Nikita Ivanovsky (2021). Dressing up in a 1898 Worth Ballgown [online]. [accessed: 28th November 2022].

Victorian Magazine (2020). The Crinoline or Hoop Skirt [online]. [accessed: 28th November 2022].