THE FLIRT OF FASHION AND ARCHITECTURE

Industrialism made people think about their appearance and the concept of fashion was born when people –especially women– has the urge to take care about their wardrobe. The basic instinct of covering the body became one of the main things in human life with developing technologies, and urbanization. In years, while the boundaries of cities were expanding, fashion and architecture developed and influenced each other and they have been growing up together. Fashion and architecture, they both have a feminine approach to design and have in common the aesthetic worry. Let’s look at their common past through the historical exhibition, which was held last month (December 2013), Moscow’s central shopping centre GUM. In honour of its 120th anniversary, GUM started a new exhibition examining the history of fashion on Red Square through out 20’s, 50’s, 70’s and 90’s. All the costumes on mannequins were chosen from a well-known TV presenter Alexander Vasiliev’s private collection.

LA BELLE EPOQUE

At the end of 1800’s, the elegance of woman body was shown with Art Nouveau pictures, thin laces, and orientalist ornaments influenced by Far-East Orient. One of the best architectural examples in Moscow to this period of time is the Metropole Hotel’s façade. These ornaments may look like over embellishment both in fashion and architecture area but it paved the way to successor movements and made both to be accepted as important disciplines in human life.

FIRST YEARS OF WAR

This period of time was remembered as years of War. The First World War decreased social contacts and the economic crisis put a stop to the embellishment in every areas. Women became more masculine, started to wear suits and ties. Forms in architecture turned to be more virile. This is when Coco Chanel appears in fashion history. In architectural side, there are few examples in Moscow to be shown. Neo-Classical Aratsky House of Vesnin Brothers, built between 1912-1914 is one of them: Straightforward for its time with less embellishment.

NEW LOOK

Post-War period after 1945 were hosting big designers such as Salvatore Ferragamo or big Hollywood stars like Greta Garbo… Sparkling jewelleries, furs and sequined nightdresses were on the scene. Equivalent to this stream in fashion, we can show Stalin’s high rises in Moscow: Big, tall and spectacular.

HIPPIES

In contrast with the last appearance the end of 1960’s saw hippies. While names like Yves Saint Laurent, Mondrian, Warhol and Balmain came out with outrageous discourses in fashion and art world, young generation put it-self with flower patterns, sleeveless shirts and mini skirts. Architecture also had its freedom in its hands and opened it self to new ideas. In 2011, Frederic Chaubin, Editor in chief of French fashion and lifestyle magazine Citizen K, gathered 90 outstanding “Soviet Architecture” in his book called “Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed”. Best describing Russian works in this period of time can be found in this book. In his own words, Stalinist neo-classical style was broken with “an unexpected rebirth of imagination, an unknown burgeoning that took place from 1970 until 1990.”

What is next?

It is true that “Soviet Architecture” influenced contemporary architects like Rem Koolhaas or Jean Nouvel and we are living in a period of time, which is not named yet. 1990’s and millennium years are in the back but we have to wait few years more to make the distinction between designs which has recently made. Meantime fashion and architecture would probably be flirting for quite long time…

by Zeynep Kun Dundar