This has been a month of celebrations for the LGBT community with marches and events all over the world to mark the 50th anniversary of the uprising at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 that sparked the modern gay rights movement. Celebrations will culminate tomorrow in two large events in New York – the official annual Pride (Heritage of Pride Parade) march with floats and dancers and the Reclaim Pride Coalition event, dubbed Queer Liberation March, a more political rally that will follow the route of the original march for queer rights that evolved from the Stonewall uprising.
Rainbow-coloured clothes and accessories have therefore been rather trendy in the last few weeks, with some companies just jumping on the bandwagon to produce commemorative designs. Yet, if you like rainbows and fashion and would like to be inspired by something a little bit more original for the Pride parade festivities, check out this Paul Poiret gown. Designed in the mid-'20s, the dress with its vivid shades called to mind the colours of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes' costumes, often designed by Léon Bakst.
This short evening dress with a zigzag pattern from the Met Museum archive combined Near and Middle Eastern costume in its details, while referencing a costume designed by Bakst for Nijinsky for his role as the Hindu prince in Diaghilev's "Le festin" (1909) that consisted in a fitted tunic with cap sleeves worn over tight trousers (View this photo).
The gold- lamé plastron-shaped insert at center front was a direct reference to Bakst's drawing; Poiret modified that original costume, though, giving his design a more relaxed silhouette and adding a rainbow-patterned lamé that pointed at Indian textiles and styles and gave his design a glamorously luminous radiance.
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