Today fashion trends are a must, and often taken for granted.

However, history shows us that every change affecting costume over time is closely connected to economic development and relevant social changes.

Therefore, times of rapid change and significant flow of people travelling the world have always influenced the choice of textiles and styles; moreover they have also consistently reflected the social position and status of those who embraced them.

SUMPTUOUS RENAISSANCE

The concept of fashion trends, as we perceive it today, can be traced back to 14th century Europe.

Yet, for the longest time, weaving, embroidery, cutting and stitching was done by hand and exclusively by highly skilled craftsmen and seamstresses.

Furthermore, the most exquisite fabrics such as the invaluable silk, first produced in China, along with the elaborate damask, originating in Syria, and the Italian fine brocades, very popular during the Renaissance are only some examples of priceless textiles that could be affordable only by monarchs, the aristocracy and the clergy.

In fact, until the mid-nineteenth century most clothing was still custom-made by highly specialised professionals, therefore following fashion trends was an extremely costly affair.

It is also interesting to note that, just as it is today, even in the past fashion was a maker of public image.

The shrewd Queen Elizabeth I used fashion and art to assert her political power.

Her portraits were carefully designed to establish a distinctive image of herself that has outlived her since, contributing to fixing her role as one of the most clever monarchs in history.

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The advent of mechanisation, in the 20th Century, drastically changed the way fabrics and clothing were produced. Industrial textile plants, which first developed in England, and the invention of the sewing machine made fashion much more accessible to the general public.

At the very beginning of this revolution fashion was still a dream world reserved to the more affluent. But, eventually, haute couture, catering celebrities and a very exlusive clientele, paved the way to a cheaper manufacture, and gradually mass production allowed more and more people to afford fashionable clothes worldwide.

FASHION, ART AND LITERATURE

As outlined above fashion has also had a great impact on the arts in general and literary figures, whether characters, genres, or even authors have undeniably been affected by the power of the visual response it draws from the onlooker.

It is then not surprising at all if writers too have used fashion to make strong statements.

So, centuries after Queen Elizabeth I time, perhaps one of the most renowned British writers to have brilliantly employed fashion as a life style is Oscar Wilde, indeed a dandy .

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel, centred on the great influence of beauty, which brought to its extremes backlashes into corruption and evil.

Wilde joined the Aesthetic Art Movement criticising all that the Victorian Age stood for while supporting “art for art’s sake”.

Wilde was also a brilliant socialite who made his fortune through innumerable conferences; in 1882 he toured the US and Canada, he was acclaimed as a star.

He meticulously chose every single piece of clothing and accessory to produce just the right represensation of himself to leave behind through photographs.

Oscar Wilde was also ahead of his times on many issues and everonmentally friendly even before the notion existed. He condmned fast fashion for its waste and its use of synthetic materials and dyes, today proven, beyond doubt, to be extremely harmful.

His photographs were skilfully constructed to reflect the image of himself he wanted to portray to the public.

A true social media manager of his time.

WRITERS’ SARTORIAL IDENTITY

Many other writers after Wilde, celebrated for the subtle depth of their prose, have also shaped a clear identity through their stylish choices making them their signature brands.

Abroad, on the other side of the Atlantic, we come across another influential figure of his times.

Mark Twain (1835-1910), is not only a prominent writer who, according to William Faulkner – another esteemed United States writer – was to be considered as the father of US literature, but he also became famous for his white suits.

Twain was unconventional and outspoken, never bothered with criticism and an independent thinker who chose to wear white suits late in life and despite them being frowned upon by his contemporaries.

It appears that he decided to wear a light coloured during a Congress hearing on copyright, at the age of 71.

He explained that at his age dark suits had a depressing effect on him and he also felt that black suits resembled a “flock of crows” and found them uninspiring.

His approach to fashion was bold and individualistic.

Much later, another popular US novelist chose a white suit as a unique brand, Tom Wolfe.

Francis S. Fitzgerald (1896-1940), was the author of the literary masterpiece The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, he was among those writers whose lifestyle and attire mirrored his character and the jazz world he wrote about.

From his hairstyle to his choice of fabric for his suits and all the accessories he matched with them, Fitzgerald underscored his style, at times unconventional yet worn with unparelleled class.

Late 50s and 60s, years of widespread well being and the beginning of consumerism .

Joan Didion (1934-2021) a style paradigm and a literary legend in her own right, Didion artfully combined the laid-back California ease with Parisian chic blending a unique sophisticated, yet simple look.

In 2015 she posed for Jurgen Teller as a testionial for a Céline ad that Vogue describes “It’s so good it hurts, really”.

Her minimalist outfits complement and enhance her raw, incisive prose.

POP ART AND FASHION

Taking its name from the abbreviated form of “popular”, POP Art broke loose from all previous artistic movements taking inspiration from mass culture rather than being a showcase for the élites.

Andy Warhol

Warhol’s eclectic personality made a strong and wide-ranging impact on the cultural scene of the Sixties and Seventies; he and his art soon became archetypal.

© L. R. Capuana

Images taken from Google Search