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When Fine Art Becomes Decorative Art
| Article
# : |
12363 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1987 |
1,491 Words |
| Author
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Rochelle Larkin
Rochelle Larkin is the author of more than forty books and
writes a column for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She
resides in New York City. |
We have become so used to seeing designer's names on everything from bed linens to chocolates that even expensive imported spaghetti can justify its existence and its price by being called designer pasta. Most people have stopped noticing it, so ubiquitous has the practice become; those who still find it annoying attribute it to the overcommercialization of our all too commercial, status-seeking age. The practice, however, goes back farther than the last few decades, and some of the earlier participants in the name-for hire game may surprise even the more jaded among us.
One of the most influential and enterprising of all couturiers was Paul Poiret, whose advanced designs in women's fashion did as much to liberate the post-Edwardian female as the music, the mores, and the aftermath of World War I. Poiret is celebrated now (like many originators, he died in poverty after sensational success) as one of the two or three greatest and most influential designers of all time. His freeing of the body led to the abandonment of bustles and stays, long trailing gowns, and other encumbrances of the time. It also led to the wild abandon of the flapper age and what many see as its excesses - shorter skirts, lower necklines, lighter morals, and later curfews.
It is, however, Poiret at the flush of his success that concerns us here. He pioneered not only a new look for women but also a new role for the fashion designer. Poiret spread his ideas outside of the strictly delineated world of the French haute couture. He wanted his stamp on everything - children's clothes, wallpapers, textiles, everything. Sound familiar?
But his system was different than
... (1996 of 8995 Characters)
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