The Changes In Fashion Design In The 20th Century

Introduction

The 20th century holds a strong significance in history as a decade of new beginnings and attitudes towards design. The importance of design is illustrated throughout this decade, as we see moments in time that are defined by the clothes people wear or the designs that are created. Fashion especially changed throughout the century, as fashions became difficult to establish in hard times such as the Second World War, and became ostentatious in the celebratory times after the war. Revolutions and opinions sparked a new fashion more than anything, with Hippies rejecting tight fitting conventional clothes and Punks sending a message to the government. Political turmoil throughout Europe in the Twentieth both inspired and killed design, as the Bauhaus and it’s beliefs were threatened and ultimately discontinued by the Nazis, however the government during the late 1900’s caused an uproar so large, it inspired a whole new culture of music and art.

Dior and the ‘New Look’

The war period marked a time that women undertook a huge new role in society. Due to the men leaving to fight the war, there was no longer anyone to carry out their jobs. Before the war, it was expected for a man to have the job and earn the wages whilst the woman would stay at home and look after affairs there. This meant that the men usually dominated the public sphere and women were expected to stay within the public sphere. For the first time, women had to come out of their private spheres to deal with the affairs the men had left behind. This meant for most women that some type of work outside the home would be incorporated in their daily routines. Because of this, the clothes they wore also had to change. The wartime fashion was made to be practical and hardwearing, with a lot of things being mended as they wore down. Norman Hartnell, who was a designer during the time came up with a line of clothes ‘that were suitable for mass-production and at the same time hard wearing.’ This set of designs were created so that the least amount of fabric was used. Women used to have to dye their legs a darker colour and draw a line down the back as to emulate wearing tights. Luxuries such as double breasted Jackets were scrapped and collars had to be measured to be a certain size. This rationing carried on throughout and even after the end of the war, so fashion was unable to prosper in such hard times.

In 1949, Christian Dior revolutionised the fashion world by creating the ‘new look.’ His first collection contrasted everything war rationing stood for. His decadent designs were a symbol of overindulgence with metres of fabric being used for his designs. Women constantly faced constrictions when it came to clothing, with America introducing swimwear that covered bellybuttons and skirts that were made to be a certain length. (Corinne Redfern, September 2016) Dior saw the end of the war as an opportunity to revive femininity through fashion and break the rules. His extravagant designs were created to emphasise the female anatomy. He created full skirts with lavish materials which would accentuate women’s hips and busts. “Dior’s ‘New Look’collection was a repudiation of the styles of the 1920s and 1930s, and it was also clearly indebted to the styles and body-shapers of the late 19th century.” (Google Arts and Culture, ND)

Many people opposed Dior’s ideas for the ‘new look’ and its extravagance because of how much material he used. Rationing had only just come to an end when Dior released his collection and many people disapproved of the waste it brought. “The government response to the New Look was to try to deny it existed – Alison Settle, then editor of Vogue, was forbidden by the Board of Trade, under its president, future prime minister Harold Wilson, to mention Dior in her pages.” (Linda Grant, September 2007). The only way Dior managed to slip through the fingers of the Board of Trade was through royalty- as “Princess Margaret was shown Dior’s creations. Her – and her sister’s – need for society clothes for state events played a large part in stimulating Britain’s own fashion industry.”

Vivienne Westwood and the punk era

As a complete rejection of Dior’s reformed designs that restricted and accentuated the body, the late 1960’s saw the hippie lifestyle and fashion become popular. Women became a lot more independent and rejected the norms that they would marry and become housewives- instead they rebelled and wore mini skirts. A lot of trends during this time contradicted each other as new designers brought new opinions to the fashion industry. Whilst the hippie movement was heavily influenced by flowers and nature, Vivienne Westwood was beginning a Punk Revolution.

Punk relates to a type of heavy metal music that became popular in the late 1970’s. Though Westwood was selling her clothes in London before the 70’s- it was her punk collection that she because renowned for. Before this however, her shop was named ‘sex’ and she was known for creating controversial pieces of clothing such as Fetish Clothing and selling them to all varieties of people.(Iliana Deligiorgi , ND) Her take on fashion was one of disregard for beauty, as creating a message of disregarding normality became the main priority in her work. “Broadly-speaking, the punk movement happened due to the successive governments’ failings of the young working class in the decades after the war. Bored of strikes and limited job prospects, and disenchanted with the stiff and accepted ways of doing things, young people found their voice by adopting a DIY ethic in what they wore and the music they played. Loud, anti-establishment, iconoclastic and angry, the punks wanted to shake society from the ground up” (James Hall, May 2017) In 1976, the Sex Pistols released a single called ‘God save the queen’ which was a nod in the direction to the anger the working class felt towards the monarchy and government. This single then became banned all over the country, as it coincided with the Queens Jubilee and was anti-monarchy. It was theorised that although the BBC banned it from being played, the amount of copies sold by far surpassed the amount the number one at the time, yet Rod Steward remained number one. Westwood took on this ‘DIY Aesthetic’ within her own designs and began to create unique styles inspired by Punk. Her clothes and shoes usually held a meaningful aspect to them, such as spikes, safety pins or the trademark orb.

The safety pins used to be used as a way of holding clothes together, as this emphasised the ‘DIY’ aspect of creating the punk-like fashion, which then made the safety pin an emblem of Punk fashion. As Westwood created these clothes, for the Sex pistols with the manager of the band Malcom McLaren, her designs were seen during some of the most controversial times such as when the band played on a boat along the River Thames two days before the queen was due to do this. As her career progressed she began taking on even more adventurous types of fashion such as her Pirate Collection. Her foundations in fashion are what makes her one of the most popular designers even today.

Conclusion

All these objects were created as a result of the environments the designers faced around them at the time. Even though they are years apart, they all hold a strong significance in design today and influenced a free reign on design that gives it versatility in the modern day. Annie Albers teaching at the Bauhaus influenced her to create textiles into serious discipline that is able to echo other disciplines such as architecture. Her exploration of other materials that wouldn’t conventionally be used meant that people could be inspired to reach outside their own professions to incorporate new thoughts into design such as psychology or chemistry. Christian Dior brought Europe out of a depression with fashion by freeing the female figure and making clothing something to play with- he later inspired many other designers such as Issey Miyake to manipulate the body in different ways with collections such as ‘Pleats Please.’ Vivienne Westwood created clothing that inspired a whole movement that spoke politically to people around the world and asked them to take a stand. Her clothes gave a voice to people who were unable to speak and changed how people viewed politics forever. Her work still continues today and remains a central brand that voices a particular attitude.