There is a very inspiring lecture (click here to see it) by Caroline Evans, Professor of Fashion History and Theory at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, on the AA School of Architecture site.
The lecture, entitled "The Ontology of the Model" took place last week, and looks at the origins of fashion modelling from different perspectives and at the dichotomies model/mannequin and model dress/model.
Moving from the etymology of the word (“model” actually comes from the Latin modulus, diminutive of modus, meaning "measure"), the lecture starts with a focus on early French fashion dolls (including the famous "poupee de France" I mentioned in a previous post), analyses the role of male “mannequins” and looks at Worth’s professionalisation of the modelling job.
Wicker, metal, canvas and wood mannequins are juxtaposed to living models and the negative connotations attached to the word "model" are also explored.
Models were indeed considered as dehumanised or mechanical beings even in the early days (check out for example in the lecture the bit about models being dehumanised by the black garment called "furreau").
Evans also tackles the comparison between fashion and artist’s models and looks at Freud’s double as applied to fashion. Films also get a mention when Evans looks at robotic/mechanical designs mentioning Viktor & Rolf’s creations from their Autumn/Winter 2006-07 collection in connection with Metropolis.
The best thing about this lecture are actually the very inspiring quotes from different books: one of my favourite novels mentioned by Evans is Symbolist science fiction story Eve of the Future by Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, a tale about the creation of a female android by a fictionalised Thomas Edison.
Looking forward to seeing where Evans will take her research about the history of early fashion shows and modernism in the future. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the lecture.
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Cool blog as for me. It would be great to read a bit more about that topic. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: hostess a milano | July 25, 2011 at 11:13 AM