In yesterday's post we looked at mathematical precision in clothes and also referenced architecture while considering the importance of details. Sometimes, it may be difficult to translate architectural or sculptural elements into soft silhouettes, but paying attention to details can help coming up with genuinely sublime designs.
There is, for example, a Greek-inspired pale pink long, beaded evening gown by Jean Patou (dated around 1932) that was inspired by the "Daughters of Danaus," a series of bronze statues in the Naples National Archaeological Museum that can teach us a few things when it comes to details.
In Greek mythology, the Danaïdes or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. They were to marry the 50 sons of Danaus' twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt.
All but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night and, according to the myth, they were condemned to spend eternity carrying amphorae full of water and pour the contents into a perforated basin that continuously leaked (they came to represent therefore the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed).
Patou's gown was inspired by the peplos (the draped tunic worn by the women of ancient Greece that was fastened at the shoulder by two fibulae) donned by the five bronze statues representing the Danaids that were originally discovered in 1750 in the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. These sculptures have got a very rigid configuration and the peploi they wear seem to be characterised by a vertical fluting motif of the kind you may see on Doric order columns.
Patou recreated a trompe l'oeil draped motif around the bust of the gown that then opened up under the beaded gold belt, forming a three-dimensional draped motif perfectly sculpted also thanks to the beads that made the fabric more solid.
Patou was inspired in his creations by classical designs and Hellenic culture: in February 1918, the designer spent an afternoon in the archaeological site of Delphi, "wandering among ruined temples and stones, the vestiges of an ancient and admirable civilization," as he wrote in a letter to his sister.
In the early 1930s, he created quite a few bejeweled dresses inspired by the peplos, but this was one, that originally belonged to Lady Norton Griffiths, was particularly striking for its details.
If you like designs derived from classical cultures, head to Fortuny's house in Venice – Palazzo Fortuny is reopening at the weekend after being shut for restoration since the 2019 flooding.
