OUGD601: Vogue by the decades (1920s)

Short film created by Laird Borrelli-Presson, edited by Jesse Threatt and narrated by SJP.

The temp of the 20’s was set by the first world war and the need for release and light within society. The modern aesthetic was all centred around machinery and the industrial revolution, the introduction of the printing press and the automobile helped transform the world at the time, making travel easier and production quicker. The shillouette of a woman changed to the flapper style dress, showing a bit of leg but generally hanging romantically following the shape of the body, unlike all of the exaggerated and uncomfortable shillouettes which predated this; there was even a sense of romance in the fuller skirts which were popular within most of society. The war had created jobs (for women or just men??)  and the opportunity of an active life for ‘former women of leisure’.  The designers of the time were Chanel, Lanvin and Collot Soeurs who embraced modernity and the changing roles of gender, creating more functional clothes for women than ever before. “Speed, movement and escapism defined the Jazz Age” says Vogue, however I can’t help but wonder if this only applies to the class in which Vogue was aware? Was life this optimistic for others outside of the Vogue bubble? Wealthy American ex-pats such as Ernest Hemmingway and Gerald Murphies were drawn to Paris and the French Riviera, the newest playground of the post-war rich. Vogue described the smart world as a ‘nomadic tribe’ who’s migrations followed the sun, booze and positivity of the time. Naturally prohibition was a big complication for revellers in the 1920’s and Vogue advertised ‘Bimini Bay’ a resort in the Bahamas as “Just 45 Minutes from Prohibition”. Furthermore, prior to this era being sunkissed or tanned was a taboo, however Coco Chanel made tanning a trend which was heavily backed by Vogue, so became a status symbol in a similar way to paleness in the 18th century monarchy. The hair cut of the 1920’s was practical, elegant and fitted the flapper silouhette to perfectly show off the modern, light weight feminine form; this cut was actually inspired by Irene Castle, famous dancer of the times, who debuted the trim 9 years prior to Vogue dubbing it the “cut of the decade”.  The topic of hair (like most things) filtered into popular culture, with a short story being written about it by F. Scott Fitzgerald called ‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’, as well as influencing many editorials in Vogue (and other magazines) throughout the decade. Vogue aligned the short contemporary cut with ‘the new craze’ for hats- “the cloche hat and the bob did seem to be made for each other”, yet looking back on this objectively, was this just a subconscious marketing act? The magazine was very critical on how a woman should look and present themselves, even giving ‘Don’t…’ lists to ‘educate’ viewers about how they should be looking or working this look. Ultimately, this is all contributing to Vogue’s authoritarian voice within the female fashion market, establishing them as trend setters as the magazine gained post-war traction and wider household recognition. It was aligning society with ‘vogue girls’ and possibly even enhancing the social divides of the time, especially between women.

Covers

Vogue covers of the 1920s were more resembellant of art than a magazine cover, combining illustration and typography to uniquely place their unique stamp on the news stands of the day. (Harpers Bazaar also featured illustrated covers, as did the New Yorker, what I need to find out is who was first…). Vogue says the intention of the covers were to convey “charm, chic and luxury”, yet considering the rest of society could not afford this elegance we must question if onlookers saw this as utopianism, which would actually enhance Vogue’s intentions at the time (?). The covers always featured beautifully detailed couture gowns or symbols of 1920’s idealism, such as the cropped hair cut and in staged in exotic or unusual settings. Many of the covers were created by young Parisian illustrators who Conde Nast had first admired in the Gazette du Bon Ton, a small but influential French fashion journal. George Lepape, Charles Martin, Paul Ribe and Pierre Brissaud were employed and breaking even Vogue set conventions, moving away from the look of the 1910’s covers. Collectively, they were promoting fashion as art, narrating a story through imagery and promoting the desire of the magazine, which was ‘to promote all things art’.

Also, the suggestion that the magazine wanted to pursue this direction highlighted three things about the magazine: a desire to promote couture (Paris is the home of couture and all Parisian illustrators), admiration/influence for the pre-dating and influential (Conde Nasts inspiration in the Gazette Du Bon Ton) and support for a global connection of collaborative success, giving young artists a wider platform to showcase their work. Looking at newer editions of Vogue, we can see this became a huge influence to the content featured as photographers were given the same creative platform (to convey their fantasy and feelings about fashion to the world.)

The illustrated covers of the 1920’s conjured fairy-tale like fantasies and ideal world for people to escape to (or even just take pleasure in); Edward Steichen was utilising the new technology of the time and started experimenting with the early stages of fashion photography, shooting black and white film (which format film?). According to Vogue, in the words of one critic his job was “to enhance the look of the clothes, while retaining a sense of real life”, or as Conde Nast requested to Steichen “every woman [photographed should look] like a model. You make every model look like a woman”.