"For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air, we notice in people's gestures, their glances give them away. We find ourselves afraid and lost," Pope Francis stated yesterday afternoon during a special "Urbi et Orbi" blessing and prayer service on the steps of St Peter's Basilica for the end of the Coronavirus pandemic. It was a surreal and moving moment, especially when the camera framed the empty square.
Fans of the fashion and religion connection who worshipped at the altar of the Costume Institute's Spring 2018 Exhibition "Heavenly Bodies" and followed the prayer service, may have spotted something interesting - the humeral (from the Latin "humerus" – shoulder) veil donned by the Pope.
This is a liturgical vestment, a fabric rectangle (2.50 m or 2.75 m long and 60 cm or 90 cm wide), used by the Catholic and Anglican churches (and in some Lutheran churches). The vestment is mainly white (though red and purple may be used only for Good Friday), it is draped over the shoulders and down the front and features pockets at the ends that allow the wearer to hold items without touching them with the hands.
The veil is indeed often seen during the liturgy of the Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: priests or deacons bless the people with the monstrance and cover their hands with the ends of the veil so that they don't touch the monstrance in sign of respect for the sacred vessel that contains the Eucharist in which Jesus is present.
The garment is usually covered with intricate embroideries representing the blessed sacrament surrounded by rays (like the one we saw yesterday during the Pope's special service), the cross or other Eucharistic emblems (the letters IHS, contraction of the name Jesus, the lamb, ears of corn or bunches of grapes).
Somehow, the more you looked at the garment donned by the Pope, the more you thought about iconic designs covered with embroideries of rays such as Schiaparelli's "Phoebus" cape ("Cosmique" Winter Collection 1938-39). A constant inspiration for other designers and an item that often reappeared in runway shows in more recent years, the shocking pink cape featured on the back a sequinned embroidery by Lesage with a sunray mask of tinsel and gold thread. The cape was called "Phoebus" as in classical mythology this title referred to Apollo, the sun god, and therefore to a personification of the sun.
You could argue that both these garments have a great theatrical effect as they are characterised by a dichotomy between simplicity (the rectangle of fabric or the minimalist cape) and the rich embroidery on the back. Schiaparelli was somehow also inspired by religion and in particular by St. Peter's Square as she embroidered Saint Peter's keys on an evening suit in 1939.
The rich embroideries on these two garments should make us stop and think about all the craftspeople who may not be working at the moment because of Coronavirus.
The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode that regulates fashion in France has officially cancelled the men's June shows and Haute Couture fashion week in July, while the Italian Camera Nazionale della Moda rescheduled the men's shows to September (they will take place together with the womenswear runways), so these will be complex times for many categories working in the fashion industry, especially highly skilled artisans.
Comments