Fashion and Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fashion and Art - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and Art" discusses the connection between art and fashion. Due to the pressure that Paris faced during this time, it lost its position as the world’s top fashion hub. In the meantime the United States shifted its reliance on France for clothing and fashion designs and developed its own industry using homegrown cotton. As a result of these efforts, the United Sates managed to become the top nation in fashion, a position it maintained until sometime after the Second World War. This changed in the 1940s when Paris began to recover its position as the world’s acclaimed fashion hub. By the 1950s Paris had almost regained back its position and by the 1970s, the nation had fully regained its international fashion acclamation. Today, both the United Sates and Paris continue to compete in the world’s fashion although Paris continues to outdo the United States. The connection between art and fashion gained exceptional closeness in the 1920s. In order to gain ideas and encouragement, designers hooked up with artists. As a result of new developments in art such as Art Deco, Futurism, and Surrealism, art and clothing were blended into fashion. Original artistic designs were brought to clothing, mainly due to the influence of Futurism and Surrealism, and cooperation with innovative artists. Suoh points out that â€Å"the decorative accessories and textiles of Art Deco emerged from this rich collaboration, which included the adaptation of a number of artistic techniques such as Oriental lacquering†.... Wealthy customers of haute couture fashion suddenly lost their wealth, as homeless people crowded the streets. Some people in the middle class society managed to survive the Great Depression, but they preferred to do their sewing from home. As a result of the economic hardship, more natural forms of clothing and fashion replaced the ideal and strong silhouette that was popular in the 1920s (Suoh, 2002). For evening wear, the culture of long dresses was revived, while hair regained a soft curl and a more conventional feminine length. â€Å"The slim line of clothing remained, but the bosom was reasserted and the waistline was once again nipped into a standard position† (Suoh, 2002, p. 335). However, fashion for casual activities gradually gained importance, as people wore favored sports items and clothing and regular dresses with short skirts. Female and male designers acclaimed in the 1920s began to experiment and exploit new materials, while new designers expanded their clothi ng lines to include outfits for different occasions. These styles remained dominant until the beginning of the Second World War. Fashion and Art and the Second World War The Second World War which broke out in 1939 brought serious damage to art and fashion (Suoh, 2002). Many couture houses and salons in Paris closed, while the few that remained suffered from the departure of clients and scarcity of materials. The Germans intended to move the whole fashion industry from Paris to Vienna or Berlin. In Paris, the fashion industry suffered a lot of pressure, â€Å"and Lucien Lelong, the President of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, went to great pains to try to maintain the status quo of Parisian