May 21, 2014
The Future of Fashion…
… from a Victorian perspective.
A prediction of 1926 menswear. Hardly the sober 3-piece suit of actuality
In 1893 The Strand Magazine published a bizarre article by W. Cade Gall. It claimed to record the dream of a snoozing gentleman in which he read a history of fashion written in 1993. This mock history explored the absurdities of fashion’s evolutions, complete with zany illustrations (all featured in the article).
Fashions of 1893 – perfectly ‘normal’ for their time
The true delight of the piece isn’t so much in the flamboyant costumes depicted. Nor is it quite in the squirm of superior knowledge a modern reader might feel comparing predictions with reality. The real pleasure is in turning the spotlight on our own preconceptions.
Any culture struggles to see outside its own social and technological norms. We assume that what we wear and how we wear it are ‘natural’ and inevitable even. There are strong often-unexamined beliefs about the ‘correct’ gender of clothes, and also what’s appropriate for a certain status, profession or religion.
Take trousers. The imaginary 1993 fashion history recorded women actually breaking with convention to wear breeches of many forms – ‘In 1897 the divided skirt threatened to spread universally. But it passed off, and nothing of a radical order was attempted in this direction until the revolution which brought in trousers for women in 1942.’ Given the rise of women cyclists in bloomer suits in the 1890s, and the adoption of trousers by women in World War Two, this isn’t too far off the mark. However, it is clearly inserted as a joke. A sort of cosy ‘women in trousers… whatever next! Harrumph!’
In 1893 it was inconceivable that men would leave off neckties, shirts and jackets. Or that anyone could go out hatless. That clothes would fit sleek to the body. That legs would become a new erogenous zone. That corsets would shrink first to girdles, then bras; that women’s drawers would become so scanty they disappear between the rump cheeks.
Female fashion of 1989 (left) and male peacocking from 1993. More suited to a couture catwalk fantasy than reality…
As for fabrics, the late nineteenth century saw early developments in cellulose fabrics leading next to rayons – ‘art silks.’ Until DuPont’s work with fully artificial fabrics in the 1930s and the invention of nylon, the only way to form-fit fabric was through rubber elastic, or clever bias-cutting.
The late 20th century has seen a dazzling surge in textile innovations. Garments made of Kevlar, Gore-Tex, PVC, Mylar etc have expanded the range of enviroments and scenarios in which humans can survive and thrive. All very Space Age.
…although these genuine outfits from the 1980s might well look outlandish to future costume historians. (As featured in the History Wardrobe presentation ‘Frocks on Parade’)
But I can’t help wondering what a fashion history of our lifetimes would reveal about our clothes. Will we be admired for wearing digital prints, spray-on fibres and ‘intelligent’ weaves… or will we be ridiculed for our conventionality, impracticality, informality and over-consumption?
I look forward to finding out in the future.
History Wardrobe 