Art undoubtedly provided some of the most interesting inspirations for many fashion designers.
In a previous post I highlighted for example the connections between Renaissance paintings and early Italian fashion.
Throughout the decades, Renaissance was indeed used as an excellent point of reference for many people involved in the fashion industry, from designers to stylists and photographers.
During the Renaissance artists chronicled the changes costumes and accessories, and therefore fashion trends and styles, went through in their work.
In Italy, for example, there was a major shift for what regarded silhouettes.
The bizarre and at times almost grotesque Medieval shapes were abandoned in favour of elegant lines and quality fabrics that included luxurious damask or satin and brocades woven with silvery and gold threads.
White shirts, worn under the main garments, became also very important especially to create contrasts with such elaborate or vividly coloured fabrics.
The paintings of Domenico Bigordi, nicknamed Ghirlandaio, perfectly allow you to spot specific references to Renaissance fashion, especially in the silhouettes of the sleeves, the rich colours and the elaborate details of the garments worn by some of the characters portrayed in his most famous paintings such as La Visitazione (Visitation), La nascita di Maria (Birth of St Mary) and Nascita di San Giovanni Battista (Birth of St John the Baptist).
It was interesting to note how some Renaissance hints were included in Araisara’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection.
The Japanese inspirations in Sara Arai’s new designs – that was clear in the immaculate white deconstructed padded kimono jackets and classic fur muffs turned into a minimalist padded satin accessory – were indeed mixed with some details that seemed to be directly borrowed from the Renaissance.
The collection included for example long evening dresses in black, burgundy and purple that recalled in their silhouette the smooth and elegant forms of Renaissance costumes.
But there were Renaissance hints also in the golden yellow shirts that evoked the nuances of Ghirlandaio’s Visitation and in the trouser suits and one shoulder dresses in a petroleum green shade that was a crossover between the colour of the dress in Titian’s La Bella and in Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Domenico’s son)’s portrait of Lucrezia Sommaria.
Besides, oversized capes wouldn’t have looked out of place in one of the many Renaissance representations of the Virgin Mary and the same could be said about the neat hairstyles decorated with padded fabric braids.
While the lace elements incorporated in jackets and coats allowed the designer to experiment a bit with surface elaboration, the most interesting effects were provided by the thick dark paint brush strokes on sleeveless shifts and coats.
They may not have looked strictly Renaissance-like, but they certainly looked striking.
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