Haute Couture: A 25‐Year Perspective of Fashion Influences, 1900 to 1925

Abstract

This historical study was formulated to explain what influenced fashion between 1900 and 1925; specifically, to examine haute couture in a systematic way, to analyze the changes that occurred, and to determine what influenced the changes. Information for the study came from 17 French periodicals and books of the period. Designs published in the French periodi cals from couture houses and from artist/illustrators were photographed and analyzed. A total of 822 slides was analyzed as representative of the 25‐year period. The change that took place in women's fashions prior to World War I was influenced by the artist/illustrators of the period who were trained in the fine arts. Illustrations by Paul Iribe had a strong influence on haute couture, as did Georges Lepape's illustrations published in 1911. Between 1909 and 1914, Léon Bakst's designs for the theater were important sources of design inspiration for couturiers and Bakst also designed for some of the important couture houses. Between 1914 and the early twenties, the designs by Erté were an important influence on haute couture.