Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s-1920s
May 19, 2008 | Senay GOKCEN
The world of Artistic dress was short-lived and inhabited only by a daring few, but the impression left on the fashion world has endured.
Started in mid-19th century England, this form of dress was sparked by influential artists subverting societal norms.
They abandoned the traditional clothing of the time for the loose, un-corseted styles of ancient Greece and medieval Europe, which they felt best accentuated the natural beauty of the female body.
These Aesthetes believed that to be in harmony with one's interior was paramount.
In America, Bohemians, a group of hardened poets and intellectuals, were also having an effect on fashion.
Often considered "children of impulse and nature," these artists drifted along the meandering streets of New York City's Greenwich Village, championing the wearing of smocks and the creativity of Far Eastern art.
This inspired radical new possibilities in garment construction and embellishment.
These groups rejected the cheap, mass-produced goods made by machines during the Industrial Revolution, spurring Craftsmen to create handmade garments and accessories based on historic models.
However, competing with the industrial machines proved to be difficult for the artisans and increased costs of materials and labor forced the utopian ideal of Artistic dress to perish after World War I.
more: fidm.edu/resources/museum+galleries/exhibits/artis (385)
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