The Thread, Special Issue

DEC 2021 | SPECIAL ISSUE

Understand the genuine

CYCLICAL ESSENCE OF FASHION

A TRAVEL THROUGH from the TIME Roaring Twenties to

the end of the Glorious Thirties to realize the importance of clothing as a social object in France; as way to support feminist revendications.

REDISCOVER THE MYTHS and icons that contributed to shifting interpretations and representations of women, and discover the different narratives on the subject.

whose codes were and still are constantly reinterpreted.

IN EXCLUSIVITY

RECOUNT THE FEMINITY'S PARADOX OF THE XX th CENTURY ONLINE SPECIAL ISSUE FOR FREE

CREDITS

Editors & Graphic designers: Baldjiyski Yoanna Daury Clémence Lebihen Charlotte

Contributor: Lecamus Martine

Special thanks to: Bitaud Marguerite-Marie Lebihen Mireille Meynard Marie-lise

The Editors' Note Interested in the emancipation of women which occurred through cultural means during the XXth century, we wanted to propose a project related to women’s fashion, which, from a constraint to a tool of emancipation, reinvented itself; becoming part of a 20th century of economic and social upheavals. As it has established itself as a means of demonstrating a desire for independence and freedom, we asked ourselves the following question : To what extent can women’s clothing be used as a way to understand women’s emancipation in France from another perspective?

As a consequence this magazine will endeavor to show how fashion and its constantly re-interpreted codes broke away from bourgeois codes to explore the idea of a new femininity, clothes

being used as a way to convey new

ideas, opinions, narratives about women’s place in society.

It will thus call your attention to reflect on parallels that could be drawn between the past and the present, as we aim at immersing you in history and question fashion transformations and related depictions of women’s shifting interpretation perceived by some as heroes and by others as coarse and unsuitable.

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Table of content

Introducing fashion as a social object

p. 6

01

The 1920s; a reaction to the end of 1WW during which women took men's place in the everyday life

p. 8

From the 1930s to the beginning of WW2; the paradox of the "rediscovered classical femininity"

p.24

03

WW2; a fashion penury period that permitted an emancipation of women

p.34

04

From 1945 to the 1960s; the extravagance of the opposition.

p.44

From the 1960s to 1968; a genuine breath enabling a youth’s femininity: the real revolution

p.56

02

05 06

The 1968-1975; fashion as a tool to express a singular identity not always related to feminity

Ending editors' note; giving our thoughts about this virtual exhibition

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p.70

p.80

Introducing fashion as a social "The male short clothes versus the female long dress; the insensible difference between the man confronted with work, and the woman confronted with the scenery"

Georges Vigarello

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l object.

The long dress has long been the garment of choice for women, the upper body being generally compressed because of a corset and lacing, while the lower part

was very wide and long, limiting movements. It

corresponded to a desire to relegate women to the background, judged to be inferior to the male gender, who has always been provided with clothes that allowed him to be active in society.

Thus clothings have always been studied in society, but it also appears interesting to delve, precisely, into the representations of society throughout clothings.

Allowing to highlight the dialectic between society and individual, fashion, just like language, they fascinate at the same time by its universality, by the extreme diversity of the forms they can take from one time to another, and by a polysemy both emphasizing or contrasting a phenomenon.

Although in different manners and to different extents, women of every social classes were affected by the time they were living in with regards to their clothings.

Thus the evolution and great events of society have been reflected through the material used for the clothings, their shape and even their colour. Indeed, fashion can be a tool to study both the patriarchal gaze imposed on female bodies and the desire of women to emancipate from the unequal gender norms of the society.

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01.

The 1920s; a reaction to th women took men's place i

T

he First World War marked a turning point in the emancipation of women. While they had only a role as housewives whose main activity was to take care of the home and children, the world conflict completely disrupted this trend. On August 7,

1914, the President of the Council René Viviani called for women’s mobilization: “Standing, French women, young children, sons and daughters of the homeland! Replace those on the battlefield on the field of work. Prepare to show them, tomorrow, the cultivated land, the harvests returned, the sown fields! There is no minute labor in these grave hours. Everything is great that serves the country.

Stand up! In action! In action! Tomorrow there will be glory for everyone!"

The war effort was supported by women replacing men in the fields, factories, offices, liberal professions.... In 1918, there were nearly 400,000 “munitionnettes” working in arms factories.

This active role of women in times of war has given rise to a new perspective on women’s work and the status of women within the family and society.

This first emancipation gave women a taste of freedom that was however slowed down at the end of the war. Indeed, while they fulfilled many tasks traditionally assigned to men and contributed to the war effort, most women had to return to their traditional role of mother and wife, breaking the beginning of the independence they had acquired for four long years. As a consequence the quest for women’s emancipation seemed to be feasible only through fashion. This is at least what the fashion magazines of the times evoked, presenting this quest for beauty as an opportunity for women to free themselves from their traditional status.

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he end of 1WW during which in the everyday life.

The Roaring Twenties: The Golden Age of Fashion Designers The watchword: modernity

Women’s fashion of the 1920s was oriented towards modernity and was inspired by an art deco style with clean geometric shapes. Many experts believe that fashion as we understand it today was really born at that time… indeed the 1920s marked the Golden Age of the couturiers. About 2/3 of the French dressed with made-to-measure clothes, and for the less wealthy classes, small shops in neighborhoods reproduced the models of designers whose patterns could be found in the newspapers.

The so-called “modern” femininity was characterized by the simplification of the feminine wardrobe under the influence of great designers such as Coco Chanel, Patou or Lanvin for instance.

The fashion of the 1920s opened up the possibility for women to redefine themselves and by doing so, trying to express themselves in the public space that was until then exclusively reserved for men.

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The Jersey by Coco Chanel The daily outfits of the 1920s were for women practical and comfortable. After having discovered an unused stock of jersey in the French house Rodier (house specialized in knitting), Gabrielle Chanel decided in 1915 to introduce jersey, an non-iron material. She then used it for feminine day sets for the post war years. This was the first time in the history of fashion that the idea of using a jersey for feminine outfits emerged! Indeed, the jersey hitherto was worn mainly by men in the form of boxers, bodysuits, sweaters for sports occupations. At the time, this fabric was considered basic or vulgar since it was used for men’s underwear. However, when Chanel decided to use it for the design of the feminine garment. By doing so, she gave another image, representation of this fabric by making it elegant.

"When I invented jersey, I freed the body, I gave up my waist, I pictured a new silhouette Gabrielle Chanel The skirts, dresses, sweaters and cardigans in jersey have allowed a certain liberation of women from the conventions dictating the ways to dress properly during the day. The small black jersey dress was proposed by Chanel in 1926 and became a fashion classic of the 1920s. The black color that was previously reserved for funerals, was now detached from this dark connotation during the 1920s.

Moreover, the new use of the jersey for women also participated in their emancipation from the uncomfortable materials of their dress in favour of more fluid ones. This allowed them more freedom in their movement.

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An androgynous allure breaking with pre-war traditionalism The woman freed from the shackles of the corset

The silhouette of the woman of the 20s was characterized by a slender and straight cut where the chest and the size were no longer marked; it was straight and flat. It is what was commonly called the “breadboard silhouette”.The woman adopted this androgynous silhouette and wore dresses with a very low waist, highligting another representation of women, who, by liberating herself from the traditional fashion codes, began to be more independent regarding her choices of beauty. Symbol of their enslavement until the beginning of the XXth century, the corset was finally abandoned in the 1920s thanks to the couturier Paul Poiret who literally freed the woman from this instrument of torture. The corset was replaced by the bodice highlighting the size and the neckline or the jacket.

The first pants Women’s fashion in the 1920s turned to a more masculine style, borrowing outfits from the boys' locker room like trousers. This new style was perceived as provocative and as a real revolution! During the war, women took literally the place of men and experienced what freedom was. Getting closer in terms of clothes to men after the war, was for women a means to achieve once again their emancipation. The first women’s pants were born in the 1920s, despite the 1800 ordinance prohibiting women from wearing this masculine garment. The introduction and diffusion of the trousers in womens’ wardrobe really began with Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), an actress and singer who allowed the triumph of the glamorous tuxedo and an androgynous style. It was not until the 1960s that the trousers, which finally became feminine, appeared in haute couture collections like Yves Saint Laurent,a phenomenon covered in later sections

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The “coupe à la garçonne”: between audacity and provocation It was Antoine Cierplikowski, nicknamed «Monsieur Antoine», who invented the “coupe à la garconne”.

This new short cut was inspired by the controversial novel La garçonne written in 1922 by Victor Marguerite which told the adventures of a woman who, after being deceived, decided to lead a free sex life. This woman, Monique, was the symbol of the liberated, completely emancipated and rebellious woman who broke with the pre-war codes to allow herself autonomy regarding her sexual choices.

At the time, this novel was inevitably scandalous as it depicted a new femininity that wanted to free itself from the ultra-sexual codes that characterized the prewar society. In other words, the “coupe à la garçonne” was part of a process of emancipation of women and of demands for gender equality. It reflected a change in the representation of women. The women who wore it were called “boys”, because they decided to give themselves the rights that only men had until then.

To take this trend even further, some women decided to bandage their breasts or have them reduced, trying to hide any trace of femininity.

In 1925, it was estimated that 1/3 of women wore short hair. For outings, the woman hid this cut under an elegant bell hat.

This novelty created controversy on the part of the more conservative, considering these women to be outrageous and wanton.

Two narratives therefore coexisted.

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"Hair well cut with a razor, A flat throat; Like a corsage she wears a jacket, An apple-shaped felt hat, The skirt sticks like pants, She has everything about man"

(Extract from a song written

by Georgel in 1923)

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The heritage of short hair: interpretations and recep

«Here comes the woman without hair» announced an o The boys' cup of the 1920s was omnipresent in so concerned women of the world as well as artists and «m

However, this emblematic haircut associated with the 1900s. It was in reality an individual and marginal in collective practice throughout the decades.

At the beginning of the century, while the dominant began to cut their hair early. Among them were Mistin goal? It was mainly to be noticed by the public by exa visibility of short hair. Thanks to their great notoriety, th general public but also revolved around an image ofte women considered “out of the ordinary” wore short ha Their haircuts were associated with a very masculine claim.

During the First World War, the practice of short hair s associated with a notion of patriotic decency. In addi introducing a discourse based on the notions of simp beginning of the century, the reception of this new fash the century when short hair worn by actresses went ha operated only in a few years!

At the end of the war, several women, such as Coco Ch their profession and/or their environment and were pe they had on their contemporaries. They were prominen

In the early 1920s, there was thus a genuine democr collective practice.This new fashion imposed an always A magazine in 1924 wrote: “The women who get the scissors of men’s hairdressers quite frequently”.

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ptions according to the ages

opponent of short haircuts in 1925. ongs, literature, the press, Music-hall magazines and midinettes» (young parisian dressmakers)

e Roaring Twenties actually found its origin in the early nitiative that had gradually been transformed into a

fashion favoured abundant hairstyles, some actresses nguett, Polaire and Eve Lavallière. What was the main aggerating an allure. Theatre gave rise to the very first he diffusion of this new haircut was very visible by the en linked to frivolity. Along with these actresses, other air such as Jane Dieulafoy, Missy or Madeleine Pelletier. e look, which, symbolically, had a social and political

spread widely within women’s fashion. Short hair was ition, this new cut appeared in the women’s press by plicity, practicality and modernity. Thus, unlike at the hion was much more positive than at the beginning of and in hand with frivolity… in reversal of narratives that

hanel or Kiki de Montparnasse, were true references in erceived as modellers of thought, due to the influence nt figures in the “coupe à la garconne”.

ratization of the short hairs, which quickly became a s shorter and more casual hairstyle.

eir hair cut are not afraid to indulge in the devouring

HREAD /15 -

Criticisms, difficulties, and paradoxes of this new femininity

The diffusion of the “coupe à la garçonne” generated criticism, resistance and reprobation.

The spread of this new style was perceived as a challenge or even a threat to the traditional role of women. Short hair was interpreted for many as a way to physically and psychologically virilise women. Trials were even held against hairdressers that cut women’s hair very short, and scandals erupted, in particular the one caused by the novel La Garçonne, considered as a «breviary of immorality».

The new figures of the liberated woman also came up against the traditionalist vision of eternal femininity defended by secular authorities, doctors in aesthetics, hygiene and medicine. Some fashion magazines explained that long hair was essential to protect the scalp from microbe invasions.

In order to soften the conflict, women’s press established a normative discourse to balance the excesses, setting new canons of beauty. New female dikats appeared such as having to be «thin», having «beautiful legs», which our current society has inherited.

As Madeleine Vionnet told Madeleine Chapsal, “You have to realize yourself”. This quote epitomizes the femnist current of the 1920’s attempting to give women more autonomy.

However, women's emancipation and the right to be fulfilled was hampered by the appearance of this new injunction.

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In addition, women's press consecrated specific times for the expression of femininity. For instance, the representation of the woman going out for the evening was well dresses with many ornaments. Women’s day and night lifestyles were in complete contradiction at that time. Indeed, while women dressed in a very masculine and sober way during the day, in the evening they brought out their elegance with beautiful dresses and totally extravagant jewels. It was in some ways a compromise, and made it possible to legitimize the cutting of short hair, which no longer assumed such a symbolic charge but was the incarnation of the modern woman accompanied by new practices and relationships to the body, to oneself and to others.

The representation of women in the society: re-use of the past and non- understanding of present days Whereas the woman tried by all means to achieve a beginning of emancipation, the representation of the woman in the society held back this desire, putting forward a pre-war narrative of the woman that was not coherent with the mentality of the “avant-gardist” woman of the Roaring Twenties. French women in the 1920s were exalted in the magazines as “housewives” or “home angels”. The 1920s and more generally the period between the two wars presented an image of the woman who dedicated herself entirely to her home, attentive to the education and happiness of her children and a wife who had to contribute to the development of the couple. Specialized magazines in the domestic arts were created and the first Salon des Arts ménagers was organized in 1923. In addition, young girls received domestic education in high schools.

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Fashion in line with women’s new way of life Enjoying life

The post-war years were characterized by a desire to free oneself from the terrifying memories of the war that still haunted the spirits, and enjoying life! Thus the lifestyle became bolder. Women finally revealed their legs! Skirts became shorter and the cuts less strict, synonymous with rejection of common conventions. In order to provide for themselves and their families, many women worked during the day (because most of the men died during the war), but when evening came, it was time for distraction, laughter and dancing. Dancing clubs and jazz bars were very popular at the time.

New dances such as the Charleston, originally from the United States, were introduced in France in 1925 by the «Revu Nègre» which was performed at the Champs Elysées theatre and by the revolutionary American dancer Josephine Baker. This dance required new types of clothing: longer and shorter dresses enabling the legs to move in all directions. Charleston’s outfits were very chic and luxurious, shone with a thousand lights and were generally accompanied by a profusion of accessories including feathers, rhinestones, jewellery, fluid fabrics, beaded bands, round-toe pumps…

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Indeed the Charleston dress was considered as the absolute musthave of the evenings and was composed of a long blouse bodice with a vague skirt either pleated or fringed with quills or cut in the bias. The waistline was not curved and was placed relatively low on the hips. The moving line was very convenient to dance the Charleston.

Women put on makeup, crunched life to the fullest and did not deprive themselves of any freedom.

It was unprecedented in the history of women's fashion

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Democratization of sports: the wardrobe became comfortable

The emergence of a new femininity also took place through women’s sport, with outfits adapted to sports practice. The Roaring Twenties was thus somehow a form of liberation from morals as well as a bodily liberation.

With the First World War, women gained their independence, earned money and wanted to be free of their bodies. They claimed the possibility of practicing sports and of joining forces between women to organize sports events.

From 1919 on, women’s sport in France was institutionalized, this included the creation of the women’s sports federation. During the 1920s, women participated in sports that were previously culturally reserved for men, including athletics, rugby, cycling, boxing...

Because they were muscular and generally dressed with shorts and short haircuts, the image of the sporty woman was perceived as very close to the man, too much, for some.

Indeed, the reception of this new femininity associated with male sports by French society was quite negative. The boxer, for example, reflected the image of a woman who did not respect herself.

In literature, these women were compared to the Amazons of Greek mythology. “A young Diane who passed tall, muscular, with her hair raised to the Greek, her cheeks fresh and pink, from the legs of a hunter with a high calf, to the fine ankle” (description of a skier in 1923

by Henry Bordeaux).

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At the same time and paradoxically, the “society woman” (femme mondaine) was the one who practiced sports with elegance like tennis.

Often dressed in white, they played in the respect of good manners.

A great player and internationally known in her time, Suzanne Lenglen took a keen interest in fashion by cultivating a model image.

While the players used to wear long models up to the ankle, Suzanne decided to shorten her skirt. Her myth was reinforced by her staging for a fashion film where she could be perceived playing tennis with graceful steps.

From the moment the woman was able to free herself physically, she managed to free herself physically and socially.

This is what has characterized this new femininity. Fashion and sport contributed to this liberation, or at least contributed to the liberation of the bourgeois and aristocratic women.

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Gabrielle Chanel

Meet the hero of an era!

Fashion designe founder of the Ch for the emancipa of the century modernity to fem

Gabrielle Chanel fighting against shortening the s something new, and casual silhou Chanel imposed a for women.

If we were to retain one single name of fashion's couturiers of the Roaring Twenties, it would undoubtedly be Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel (1883-1971) also commonly called Coco Chanel.

Starting from scratch, Chanel succeeded in establishing herself in the French and international scene among one of the most emblematic designers of her time.

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er, French businesswoman and hanel brand, she paved the way ation of women at the beginning y by bringing audacity and minine clothing.

created the modern woman by corsets, removing the waist, skirts, etc… in order to propose something unique: new sleek uettes. a fashion created by women and

Orphaned at 12, Gabrielle Chanel was placed in an orphanage. Later, she learned sewing from her aunt and began her career in 1903 in a factory making « trousseaux » and « layettes ». In 1910, she created her own hat shop, located at 21 Rue Cambon. Soon, Chanel decided to bring a masculine touch in her drawings, trying to free the movements of the woman and modernize her outfits. She popularized jersey and short hair, transcribing her will to change the uptight representations of the woman by giving her an androgynous look. Between the two wars, Chanel designed the clothes of Parisian artists and, in 1932, she became the first designer to launch a line of Haute Joaillerie. When the Second World War broke out, Chanel closed the doors of her couture house and devoted herself to perfumes. At the end of the conflict when Dior’s New Look was at its peak, Chanel settled in Switzerland and did not return to France until 1954. Her fame was assured with the tweed suit and the twotone ballerinas. From the 1960s on, Gabrielle Chanel gradually faded away… and died in 1971.

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02.

From the 1930s to the paradox of the "rediscove

D

ue to the Great Depression, families saw their purchasing power be cut off during the 1930’s, allowing women to only be dressed in a very simple and classical manner.

While extravagance was celebrated during the last decade, the women who refused this simplicity were considered as selfish, represented as not participating in the well-being of France…

Modest and sober outfits keeping the austere atmosphere of the stock market crash With history constantly evolving, the different contexts have always affected the changing view of society. With the economic crisis plunging France into a cold atmosphere, the 1930s were no longer conducive to extravagance; it was the return of a modest and conventional women's fashion, becoming again somehow conservative. Indeed, a step backwards was taken. The woman's body lost its fluidity. The style was quared, skirts were fitted so that women were no longer "lost" in loose fabrics which were a metaphor for a depraved mental state, necklines were high to cover the necks, hems were longer…

The fringes were sacrificed for very simple and practical cotton clothes, and the buttons for zips (which were much cheaper). It was decided that the time had come for women to stop playing the "game" they had experienced during the Roaring Twenties....

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beginning of WW2; the ered classical femininity" A need to forget the freedom instilled a few years earlier In such a context, the ideal woman was no longer tall and androgynous as in the 1920s, this was now frowned upon. The ideal woman of the 1930s had a very small waist and narrow hips.

Keeping up with the time, a reversal of women's representation occured. Conservatives reclaimed the representation of a woman whose tight-fitting clothes underlined the return of the corset, carrying in its essence the idea of a necessary heritage to be regained.

There was this assumption that simplicity was linked to the societal stability of yesteryear. In fact, the outfits that allowed for women's emancipation in the 1920s became a collective means to stigmatize them and to incriminate behaviors perceived as going against the country's current needs.

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The rise of the « prêt-à-porter »

Nevertheless women who had tasted a kind of emancipation a few years earlier, even if they did not have the financial means to visit tailors, still had this desire to continue dressing 'a little more freely' than before. Namely, they wished for clothing that allowed more freedom than at the beginning of the twentieth century when corsets, crinolines and petticoats stifled and prevented women's movements.

And this was well understood by the manufacturers of the time. Indeed, following the stock market crash, women's prêt-à-porter boomed. The clothes worn by the majority of French women were manufactured in large numbers in factories. This mass-production of clothes was thus both much more profitable for companies and for women, allowing them to continue to have a modular wardrobe, even if it had to be in accordance with the conceptions of the "good woman of the time".

The representation of the "good woman" of the time

During the 1930s, women's wisdom was judged by the purchases she made. This representation was part of the social reality.... Will the woman ruin her family, or manage her home well?

Indeed, knowing how to manage the household money was considered as a high quality for women who had to consume intelligently, an act perceived as civic reinforcing the unity of the country. In fact the women who went against these conventions were seen as weakening the French social cohesion.

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The democratization of women's fashion magazines supporting this vision of th

In addition to a government encouraging women to take up their place as 'wome democratization of fashion magazines, which appeared in the mid 20's, such a traditional woman. Although they contributed to the democratization of women's woman of the time'. This idea went against the freedoms that women had been ab Indeed, they reflected the perfect image of the devoted mother, the same vision independent woman. The devoted woman could be seen in photographs fussing home from work.

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he devoted woman

en' and to reassume the tasks related to the proper functioning of the home, the as Vogue, Marie-Claire or Harper's Bazaar reaffirmed this representation of the s fashion for women, they paradoxically helped to establish the idea of the 'good ble to enjoy before. n that had been abandoned after the First World War in favour of the modern, g in the kitchen, educating her children while waiting for her husband to return

The paradox of magazines, creators of a desire for emancipation Nevertheless, women's fashion magazines also contributed to feeding women's fantasies. Through them, women could dream of other possibilities and follow the example of film stars and other celebrities. Indeed, the stars at that time were not suffering as much from the economic crisis and could afford long, tight satin and velvet dresses with deep V-shaped necklines that contrasted sharply with the sober clothes of the working classes.

Clothing was then a means of exacerbating women’s social condition, of making it seem as if one was living a life outside of time. Thus, facing this desire to continue to live and move in their environment, some French couturiers adopted new fashion techniques, such as Madeleine Vionnet, who introduced the bias cut in dresses, which avoided the compression of seams. To find out more, the pages 32 and 33 are dedicated to this woman who is considered as a precursor and a hero by many of her successors, as she worked so much for liberating women's fashion and also for social progress advancements for her workers.

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A decade marked by an economic crisis but also by social advances Indeed, the 1930s in France were also a time of great social revolutions. The Matignon Agreements signed in June 1936 announced a reduction in working hours and the acquisition of paid holidays leave each year, meaning that men and women could indulge in new activities and leisure activities.

Adapting women's clothing to activities and leisure; a big step for women Facing new activities and leisures, women took the opportunity to diversify their wardrobes.

The multiplication of clothes, even modest ones, according to the occasion was a big step for women.

Indeed, society's act of accepting this new mode of consumption was a concrete testimony of the implicit understanding of the need to challenge and revise the narrative of the decade.

Moreover, having different clothes for different activities showed another side of the woman; she was no longer just at home, she was able to do other things, which contributed to the making of the 'active woman'

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A new typology of clothing The various clothes thus contributed to this gradual emancipation of the status of women.

Publicly, women were allowed to wear the famous beach pyjamas: very wide trousers which looked like a skirt from a distance when not in motion, highwaisted, belted. Even if it was only worn in very specific cases (at the beach, when skiing or hiking...), it was actually a real breakthrough as pants were until then very uncommon and not officially accepted, being mostly assimilated to the marginalized women of society.

In addition to beach pyjamas, women were able to wear swimwear made of wool with a jersey or cotton lining, allowing them to tan easily.

Indeed to tan no longer emphasized the precariousness and work in the fields as it had been depicted earlier in history, but meant that women had enough money for a holiday and enough time to devote to themselves.

Thus, despite the austere interwar period, it was possible to inject some novelty into this half-mast fashion with the quest for a certain form of pragmatism.

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Madeleine Vionnet

Meet the hero of an era!

"Proportion, movement, balance, truth: these are acco Vionnet the four pillars that characterize her school."

Marie Madeleine Valentine Vionnet (1876-1975) was a great French couturier who had a major influence on 20th century fashion. Understanding the need to challenge and revise the narratives of women's fashion, making it more easy to wear for women in their daily lives, she explored the art of draping...

Thus, claiming herself to be a feminist, Madeleine Vionnet decided to eliminate the thick seams synonymous with oppression, and cut bias cuts to facilitate movements.

Inspired by classicism and the long straight Roman gowns and Greek drapes; it was a real liberation of materials, the corsets being re-abandoned.

"Madeleine Vionnet, to whom I have a real cult, embodied modernity in her time".

AZZEDINE ALAÏA

Faced with an ever-increasing desire of women to "feel like women" like film stars, she was the first in the thirties to create affordable evening dresses that highlighted the female body.

Not really concerned with the variations of fashion, she focused on the structure of dresses, revolutionizing their principles. It was no longer just about clothes, it was about sculpting appearances, about standing out by claiming diversity in her creations aiming to highlight all women's bodies

"I affirm the need for as many fashions as there are different categories of women".

MADELEINE VIONNET

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ording to Madeleine Vogue, March 1932.

However, while this vision is celebrated today, it was not at all the case at the time.

Indeed, this conception represented in his designs was so offensive that many of her dresses were refused to be shown to customers in department stores.

Concerned about the well-being of her employees, Madeleine Vionnet was also one of the first to put chairs for the workers instead of stools in her ateliers. She also created a refectory, a nursery and employed a doctor and a dentist for her employees. She even offered them holidays as early as 1930; well before the law on paid holidays.

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03.

WW2, a fashion penury p emancipation of women

D

uring the Second World War and especially the German Occupation, the life of and also textiles. Materials such as wool, cotton, silk or leather became impossi clothing and luxury items. In addition to this was the numerous German requisition Couture and thus held a know-how particularly coveted by the enemy. In 1941, a t allowing to control and regulate the purchases of every French citizens. Moreover, mos day in line to get food supplies so we can only imagine how much time they spent to

Between shortages, rationing and requisitions: how to save the feminine elegance?

Fashion had to adapt itself. New artificial materials started to develop to replace natural materials. People quickly realized that rayon and fibranne could be used to replace wool, that vegetable fiber (rabane, panama, ot raffia for example) could replace silk or felt, and that canvas could take the place of leather.

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period that permitted an n

of the French people was punctuated by periods of shortages concerning food ible to find or were rationed. Hence, French women no longer had access to most of the ns affecting especially the textile industry. Paris, was considered as the capital of Haute textile card, modelled on food rationing tickets, was introduced by the Nazi occupier ost of the silks were looted by the occupier. In 1942, women spent an average of 4 hours a get clothes...

“A resourceful woman is an elegant woman” (MarieClaire) Due to the shortage of materials, worsened by the German ratings and requisitions, the women had to adapt and redoubled their ingenuity to make their own clothes in order to preserve their elegance. Creativity and recycling were means to save fashion. Women switched to resourcefulness. Dresses were created from curtains or tablecloths. «My sisters were very well dressed but we no longer had curtains on the windows» (brother of the author Jeanne Guilin). Since fabric was missing, fashion switched from long to the short skirts, just under the knees. The cut of the dresses becomes straight and devoid of frills. The outfits were sober, simple and without ostentation. Women were taught to turn men's trousers into skirts, to fill clothes with newspaper to make them warmer, to patch up shoes with bits of cloth or braided straw. Shoe soles were now made from wood, cork, boiled cardboard, or braided rope, inexpensive materials. It was also the beginning of the wedge shoe that lengthened the feminine silhouette, the rubber of old tires being indeed also re-used.

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The reign of resourcefulness was accentuated by the sewing courses offered to girls from primary school.

Newspapers and magazines also gave daily advice to housewives to recycle their clothes as much as possible while embellishing their toilets. The Parisian newspaper Marie-Claire, created in 1937, moved to Lyon in 1940 and regularly published knitting patterns, giving advices on how to use the fabrics as little as possible. Thus women had to be resourceful to be considered as elegant.

New Accessories brightening women’s outfits New accessories such as hoods, hats, gloves and gaiters were developed and allowed to be protected from the bad weather. Fur was also used during cold weather and raincoats were created from oiled canvas to protect from rain. Indeed in times of war, women had to be more often outside. outside. Without realizing it, women’s place in society was implicitly shifting.

Accessories such as turbans, hats, bags and shoes allowed the French woman to embellish her outfit and retain her elegance. Flexible and easily accessible, the turban was used as a «hide-and-seek» to cover the hair that women no longer had time to style or even wash! The turban allowed to bring a touch of colour in the feminine outfits and was very appreciated in winter because it warmed the ears. It was a versatile garment that could be used both indoors and outdoors, day and night. Fashion was therefore intended to be practical.

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This period of Occupation was an important turning point in the process of emancipation of the woman because by becoming her own stylist on her domestic sewing machine, the woman was freed somehow from the diktats of the designers.

A revolutionary lotion Silk, requisitioned for the manufacture of parachutes, made stockings not available anymore. The huge problem was that stockings were undoubtedly the essential accessory of the feminine wardrobe of the 1940s. Consequently came the idea of dyeing women’s legs with tea to give the impression of wearing silk tights, at the risk that everything drips in case of rain! Ingenious, isn’t it? In the United States, Elisabeth Arden invented a revolutionary product: a colouring lotion for the legs. And to perfect the illusion, she decided to associate this product with a black pencil that she used to draw a false seam on the back of the calf. This invention was a success! In France, these so-called «liquid lows» quickly became very popular.

The unlikely solution that women found during the war to preserve their silk tights embodied the “great feminine trick” that this period of crisis created.

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A more «practical» wardrobe During the war time period, women usually travelled by foot or bicycle and sometimes even had to run. It was therefore necessary to make the garment practical and comfortable. The context of the Second World War led to a redefinition of fashion itself, a fashion that adapted to the new difficult and austere living conditions. The pencil skirt and the panty skirt were born, being much more practical for women. The pockets multiplied and the handbags were replaced by shoulder bags. These more functional containers allowed women to

have their hands free when riding a bicycle. Even the wedge soles were convenient for the use of the bicycle because they did not catch the pedals.

Another use of the hairstyles Another symbol of women’s rebellion facing restrictions was hairstyles. The hairstyles became very sophisticated and were a tool for women to express their freedom.

One of the main hairstyles of the period was the “Victory Rolls” which were a reminder of how Allied airmen would perform in the event of a victory. Hats became the symbols of the art of creation and were presented as the only authorized dressed part of an outfit.

Consequently it became increasingly eccentric and proposed itself as a way of witnessing insolence towards the Germans. The general idea was that the bigger and better they were, the more dignified French were in the face of the Nazi occupier.

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Fashion, a tool of resistance against the German occupant In February-April 2014, the Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation of Lyon hosted a temporary exhibition, named Pour Vous Mesdames!, which approached the German occupation of France during the Second World War under the perspective of fashion. At the opening of this exhibition, the director of the museum, Isbelle Doré-Rivé, insisted on the fact that fashion was as much a means to exist as an act of resistance.

"Restrictions on clothing were more poorly perceived than those on food or fuel because they affected the intimate, the very freedom to dress as one wishes, according to one’s means, and to mark one’s social affiliation”.

Shortages, ratifications and requisitions concerning textiles were therefore first perceived as an attack on the very freedom to dress and therefore the freedom to assert oneself. However women adapted and did not stop making their own clothes with ever more creativity and boldness. Thus as women did not allow themselves to be subordinated and redoubled their ingenuity to preserve their elegance and dignity, one can consider this as a form of reaction. It was a form of continuous resistance against the Nazi occupier, whose ideology reliedon sexist ideas and assumptions.

A fashion that genuinely adapted itself to the figure of the active woman The 1940s for women were also a period of fashion reenactment for tailors. Jackets were centered and shoulders were square and padded, something that later on during the 1980s was used as an inspiration to give the effect of a male build, but for women.

But why square shoulders? Some evoked the idea of recalling the military uniform.

But it could also be explained by the fact that women borrowed men’s clothes which they patched and readjusted to the female figure. This male build of neowomen had a lot to do with the fact that women replaced men during the war, working in factories, shops, farms, etc…

Many women were also engaged in resistance. In short, women had a more and more active role in the French society and fashion. Clothes by becoming more practical and comfortable adapted to this new lifestyle.

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This role of women during the occupation was extremely important and yet well forgotten from the collective memory…

Dominique Missika, French journalist, writer and historian, wrote an essay entitled Résistans which gives faces and names to exceptional women. This book focuses on all the women who fought against the Nazi occupier and the collaborationist regime of Vichy.

As the historian points out, it is true that even today, history is written on the side of men, we tend to forget women, their contribution, role and point. We only give them a paragraph or two, we quote the most famous ones, and that’s all. But the risk put forward by the historian is revisionism. «Only ignorance leads to revisionism» she concluded.

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Joséphine Baker

Meet the hero of an era!

Resistant, anti-racist activist, artist and modern woman: Jospéhine Baker (1906-1975) was an icon of her time and put her life at the service of others, anti-racism and freedom.

On October 2, 1925, Josephine Baker generated a scandal in Paris.

France had just discovered jazz.

Behind the scenes of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, a 19-year-old black dancer, unknown to the public at the time, was swaying her breasts naked and only dressed in a belt of feathers in front of the audience. After having shocked, Josephine Baker became the star of the Folies Bergères and her memory was insured.

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Jospéhine Baker revealed two totally opposite faces: on the one hand, she represented herself as an exotised body to admire (when she was on stage). Therefore, she epitomized provocation. But on the other hand, she was the perfect symbol of the modern and elegant woman.

Muse of the greatest fashion designers and ambassador of French Couture after the Second World War, Josephine Baker asserted herself in the world of fashion and in this feminist fight of self-expression.

Jospéhine Baker was not only a fashion figure but also an emblematic figure of the resistance, which notably allowed her entry into the Pantheon very recently. During the Second World War, she notably spied on behalf of allied forces, taking advantage of her international tours to pass secret documents, written in invisible ink on scores. She was awarded the French War Cross as well as the Medal of Resistance in 1946 and the Legion of Honour.

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04.

From 1945 to the 1960s, t the opposition

W

hen men returned home after the war, women also came back home as wives, mothers and housewives.

Despite the war years' austerity, returning to this way of life was greeted with enthusiasm by couturiers going back to their ateliers to reinvent a joyful and liberated fashion.

The 1950s were indeed the golden age of Haute Couture, which restored Paris to its status as the fashion capital of the world.

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the extravagance of The return of the ‘housewife’ In fact, women re-took a fundamental place at home after the Second World War. There was a migration to the newly built suburbs where life was supposed to be perfect and traditional.

Society became very conservative and there was an increase in wealth. The use of fashion as a synonymous joie de vivre was indeed a way to boost purchasing power...

This collective imagery was conveyed by the "return to an ideal of civilised happiness" to the very words of Christian Dior, where the woman could finally resume her role as "lady of the house" and take advantage of the new electrohousehold innovations, which allowed her to save time for her coquetry.

A reaction to the Second World War The return of this "model wife" conception may remind you of the phenomenon observed in the 1930s. Indeed, one can observe the cyclical effect of history, just like the 1930's.

Nevertheless after the Second World War, the return of women at home was different as it was generally well received. Indeed, women's taste of liberty was not cut off as they had been in the 1930s, but they were somehow 'given back' after the war period.

Consequently it was not a negative but a positive perception of women's return to their household, understood as a freeing phenomenon after the end of a traumatising war. As a result, in contrast to the war which was marked by a lack of fabrics and dull colors, the creativity of Parisian brokers exploded. The preference for colors of all shades was exacerbated, as it aimed to express the love of life, relegating the dark years of the war to the past!

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The advent of Christian Dior's New Look and of Pierre Balmin's "jolie madame" conception "We were coming out of an era of war, of uniforms, of female soldiers with boxer's builds..."

Christian Dior

Hearing women's demands who were claiming for more femininity, Christian Dior decided in 1947 to design a brand new hourglass silhouette with small, round shoulders, a very slim marked waist and opulent hips highlighted either by a very long pencil skirt evoking, or by a flared skirt, known as the Corolle skirt in reference to the field of botany. This was the New Look.

An exaggerated femininity

elegance

and

Indeed all these new creations with voluminous and luxurious fabrics contributed to and emphasized the idea of a rediscovered femininity, celebrated as indispensable from then on.

As in the 1930s, the post-war years were also those in which women's magazines reasserted their powers and became influencers.

In the latter, the whole society was able to see that outfits became both exuberant and perfectly elegant.

Women's appearance had from then on to be mature, glamorous and very neat. Pierre Balmain was even talking about the look of the "Jolie Madame".

Indeed hard fabrics gave way to soft ones. Dresses became longer, reaching the ankle. Christian Dior used almost 20 meters of fabric to make a dress, whereas before it took only 3.

"After years of put-together, bric-a-brac outfits, fashion will be feminissime" Christian Dior

Accessories and jewelry matching the outfits made their comeback and were sold in abundance.

So while in the 30's young girls were celebrated for their purity, it is now the ladies who are particularly highlighted...

Thus, all these elements genuinely contributed to the creation of the dream of the coquettish woman par excellence, of a woman praised and adulated for her very coquetry.

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Christian Dior

Meet the hero of an era!

After studying at Sciences Po and spending his youth as a gallery ow Dior (1905-1957) made his debut in the world of fashion in the inter Balmain, at Lucien Lelong Maison; one of the leading Parisian fashion h

When Christian Dior organized his first fashion show in 1947, he turned "Corolle" line (the couturier was inspired by the curves of flowers silhouettes he proposed being of a revolutionary conception. The gen assertive architecture and the dancing allure of the New Look express and reconstruction.

In fact, in the aftermath of the Occupation, Christian Dior gave coutu gave women a taste for pleasing and arousing desire. Luxury thus ret long period of insecurity and anguish.

In eleven years, his activity extends to fifteen countries and provide thousand people, being one of the first creators to create franchises and In 1957, his house represented more than half of French couture expor influence of his clothes. That same year, he was also the first couturier Times.

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wner and illustrator, Christian r-war period alongside Pierre houses of the time.

fashion upside down with his s to design his dresses); the erosity of the proportions, the the spirit of an era of renewal

ure back its dreamy side and turned to the forefront after a

es employment for over two d licences. rts, testifying to the worldwide to make the front page of the

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The myth of the « Femme fleur » (flower

Through his New Look, Christian Dior inf cultural heritage, thus testifying to its im Shaping the trends according to whic created a real myth around the Dior Indeed, with the creation of his Coro like flowers".

Impeccably dressed and styled in jewellery, the Flower Woman re

"We've witnessed a revolut

Nevertheless, this meliora the denigration of thos For the latter it was th simultaneously rein

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r woman):

luenced a whole era and inscribed a movement in the French culmportance. h women would be represented in their best light, Christian Dior woman, around the so-called "Femme Fleur" (Flower Woman). olle clothing line, the couturier wanted to make women "beautiful

n public, with colourful hats, coordinated with shoes, bags, gloves, sponded to French women's dreams of femininity.

tion in fashion as well as a revolution in the way femininity is shown." Christian Dior

ative representation of the Flower Woman consequently provoked se who did want to dress according to the imposed standards. hus a celebration of a stereotypical representation of women that nforced the social cohesion of a country united around this myth.

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The bikini, two controversial pieces of fabric...

While in the XIX° century it was unthinkable to reveal any part of women's skin on the beach, fashion in the 1950's understood the genuine need to challenge and revise its own narratives. Indeed, as breasts were emphasized in clothing, a new form of emancipation began to take place from 1946 on, when the bikini attempted to take hold.

At the beginning, the latter was banned on many European beaches, represented as an object that was outrageously breaking the rules. Thus no professional models accepted to wear it, forcing Louis Réard, its creator, to hire a stripper from the Casino de Paris to show his creation!

Because although the two-pieces swimming costume already existed, no one had yet dared to expose her navel!

However, the representation that society made of it progressively shifted in 1953 when Brigitte Bardot was seen at the Cannes Film Festival on the Carlton beach in her red and white flowered bikini. This piece of clothing was later even more accepted thanks to her movie released in 1956; "Et Dieu... créa la femme".

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Increasing glamour through women’s lingerie While the whole planet was looking at Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and Pierre Balmain’s work, being at the forefront of 1950s fashion and dressing the eversexy Hollywood icons, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe all adopted pigeon-holing lingerie to meet the codes of beauty and of seduction.

The 1950's were indeed the decade of a newfound opulence with pointy or balconies bras that aimed at creating larger breasts. Couture stockings and suspenders also encased the thigh.

Comfort was not the priority. Indeed, the 1920s and their flowing outfits synonymous with the breaking of the shackles imposed by the male gaze were forgotten in the 1950s....

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A desired femininity that is paradoxically enslaved to the canons of beauty While the "Flower Woman" enjoyed a meliorative representation in society, this desired femininity paradoxically turned out to be enslaved by numerous constraints, reducing the pseudo emancipatory power of clothing.

Indeed, at the time, the perfect woman had to have an hourglass figure, with girdles, suspenders and waistbands suffocating women who were buried under metres of fabric.

As for stilettos, which were popular because they gave a model's look, they hurt women's backs, who had to suffer to fit the mould of the modern woman of the time.

And this did not improve at the end of the 50' with the marketing of the first Barbie dolls having hourglass silhouettes and the appearance of Weight Watchers diets.

Paradoxes being increasingly highlighted At the end of the 1950s, these paradoxes were increasingly emphasized, particularly by the younger generation who had not actively experienced war.

Housewives for their part began to feel oppressed, even trapped, by this conception of society in which appearance was of predominant importance. This could be seen through the considerable increase of sedatives' and antidepressants' uses in the late 1950s.

Fashion designers such as Coco Chanel, who chose to break openly with the New Look model, questioned this fashion imposing restrictions under the guise of a rediscovered and liberated femininity...

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05.

From the 1960s to provocating the youth’s T

he youth of the 19 obligations and ru the war, or were too y they brought a breat were expressed. dem their husbands or fa

Important laws abou sexuality and reprod

In 1920, a law was p only criminalized repressed what was favour of contracep aimed at encourag aftermath of the Fir quickly became a m unwanted pregnan sexuality much more and unpleasant, wh strains on their partn the 1950’s, politic contraception starte attention, and those c the following deca Neuwirth met with Charles de Gaulle to importance of legal later, a law passed to for women. This legis the will of women to less constraints.

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1968, a genuine breath femininity: the revolution

960's belonged to a generation who wished to get rid of the ules set by their parents. A number of people who never knew young to remember it came into adulthood. Tired of old traditions, h of fresh air into society. In this context new claims for women's rights mands for proper autonomy without being subjected to the authority of thers notably emerged, alongside a willingness for more sexual freedom.

ut female bodies, ductive health

promulgalted that not abortion but also called propaganda in ption. This legislation ging natality in the rst World War, but it moral issue. The fear of ncy made women’s e frightening, stressful hich could also put ners. In the decade of cal debates around ed gaining a lot of conversations lasted for ade. In 1966, Lucien the French President o convince him of the izing the pill. A year legalize contraception lation inscribes itself in o have a sexuality with

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The origin of the mini skirt The origins of the mini skirt are very controversial and it is hard to designate a single creator for this piece of clothing. Very often, the beginning of the mini skirt is said to have been in 1962, when Mary Quant, an English fashion designer, decided to propose a new kind of skirt, one that would go well above the knees. She decided to call it the “mini skirt” after the “mini cooper” car brand.

At the origin motivated by comfort and mobility, this piece of clothing became a must see in the history of women’s fashion. Inspired both by French beach outfits and tennis skirts, Mary Quant wanted women to have freedom in their movement so that they could walk, run or dance with it easily. Furthermore, from the beginning, she also wished to sexualize the body of women with her skirts and allow them to affirm their sexuality. However, it was said later that Mary Quant got her inspiration for her skirt from Lucien Langman, a french designer who created a mini skirt in 1959. Thus there are several contradictory narratives regarding the origins of the mini skirt.

"I didn't think of the mini as sexual but as an instrument of liberation. I wanted to make clothes that you could move in, skirts you could run and dance in, but, of course, wearing clothes like that made you feel and look sexy."

Mary Quant

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The birth of the mini skirt in France

Even though the mini skirt might have been born in France, it was first popularized in the anglo saxon world and came back to Paris later, being spread out thanks to the influence of Parisian couturier André Courrège who designed his mini skirt in 1965. He contributed to making the mini skirt more acceptable, but was not the only one making it popular. Indeed, famous French stars at the height of their career wore the mini skirt and by doing so created new fashion standards. For instance, Brigitte Bardot wore mini skirts with thigh boots and became the incarnation of the free woman.

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The controversial meaning of the mini skirt

At the time when the mini skirt was created, women’s skirts were below the knees. Thus, this new piece of clothing appeared as extremely revealing, something that did not please everyone.

While those in favour of the mini skirt claimed it was an instrument of emancipation that broke free with the bourgeois standards of the time and demanded sexual freedom, its opponents found it indecent and highly vulgar. The mini skirt denoted a generational gap about the place of women in society and their relation to their own sexuality. Many testimonies show that the most virulent opponents to the mini skirt were women who were around 40 or 50 years old. Moreover, in the world of haute couture, everyone was not in favour of mini skirts as well. Famous Coco Chanel said it was “awful to show your knees”, that it was “ indecent”. The mini skirt is the illustration of the difficulty of the emancipation of women who, across the XXth century notably constantly had to go against the previously established standards of femininity to free themselves from contraining customs. It showed that the fight for women emancipation was not linear and the revendations and behaviours were very different depending on generation.

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The lasting influence of the mini skirt As seen, the most important clothing items of the 60’s was undoubtedly the mini skirt. It has become a symbol and an important component of the narrative of women’s emancipation in the second half of the XXth century. To illustrate the influence of this piece of clothing, it is interesting to know that the mini skirt even has a day dedicated to it: the 6th of June. This initiative was born in Tunisia and the idea was that tunisian women would wear mini skirts on that day to express their support toward oppressed women. Thus, the mini skirt is still today a means to fight for women’s rights !

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The birth of another scandalous item: the monkini Another piece of clothing that has often reflected the perception of women’s sexuality, is the swimsuit. In 1964, Rudi Gernreich invented the monokini, a swimsuit that let women’s breasts uncovered by having a bathing suit bottom with only two thin straps that were attached around the neck. The creator of the monokini believed that women were going to go to the beach topless either way and he wanted to provide a comfortable swimsuit to do so. The monokini quickly became a symbol of women's emancipation.

Controversies around the monokini In the 60’s the monokini was repressed by the law that forbade women from being topless.

Sanctions went from three month to two years of prison and up to a fee of fifteen thousand french francs. For Marcela Iacub, author of Histoire de la pudeur (History of modesty), the monokini constituted the first clash between fashion and law. But the reprobation of the monokini did not occur only through legal means, the media and notably fashion magazines also condemned it at first. For instance, Elle Magazine published an article on it entitled Tempête autour d’un maillot de bain (Storm around a swimsuit) but covered the bare chest of the women in the photo illustrating the article with a black square.

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The monokini as the freedom of women's body

By removing the part of the swimsuit that covered women’s chest, the monokini appeared very sexualizing.

Indeed, women’s breasts have often been hypersexalized notably by the male gaze. However, the monokini offered a shift in the perception of the female body. While before, the naked female body was seen as guilty of indecency and of being a source of temptation for the eyes of innocent men, the monokini înstaured a new order in which the person looking had to exercise self-control and not the opposite.

A symbol that did not pass the test of time ?

Symbol of women’s emancipation in the 60’s and of their control over their bodies, today the monokini does not appeal as much. Indeed, less and less women choose to go topless on the beaches. One of the reasons for that is health related, with the dangers regarding sun exposure on the thin skin of the chest being highlighted in recent years, but many women also say they don’t feel comfortable being topless in front of people. They fear criticism, not only because of their choice to wear the monokini, but also because of their appearance. Thus, it appears that monokini are worn in majority by women that find themselves pretty and whose bodies conform with society’s beauty standards. Today those standards are notbaly spread out through social media or the press.

Finally, in the time of the #metoo movement, it appears that women are afraid to go topless on the beach in fear of being sexually assaulted, insulted or having their pictures taken without their consent. The representation of women is thus an still changing today.

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The "Smoking" instead of a gala dress In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent revolutionized women’s fashion by creating a female “smoking”. This suit with large and long trousers that broke with the tradition of elegant dresses, was designed as an eveningwear. The reaction of the high couture world to the Smoking was not positive. At first, Saint Laurent only sold one item. However, at the opening of his prêt-à-porter shop, the women's “Smoking” became a success.

However some reactions to it were extreme, as some women were refused entrance to restaurants for wearing them.

These controversies can be understood as this outfit shifted quite radically the gender norms of the time that associated female elegance with dresses. The “Smoking” allowed for more freedom and flexibility. Nonetheless, the goal of Saint Laurent was not just to copy men’s style, but to adapt it for women. The “Smoking” thus became an iconic piece of Saint Laurent’s collections but also of women’s wardrobes. In a way it represented how woman could share the power previously detained only by men

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Pantsuits for everyday life A year after the design of his “Smoking”, Yves Saint Laurent once again went against gender norms in fashion by creating the first pantsuit. He followed the tradition of André Courrèges who, in 1965, created a collection with women's trousers for everyday life. With the pantsuit, women abandoned the traditional skirt with jacket to replace it with trousers. It gave them an appearance closer to that of men, although the look created

by Saint Laurent still kept feminine features. For instance, the waist was accentuated which created a different silhouette, and Saint Laurent also gave the models accessories typically worn by women. The will to give women an outfit deemed more masculine could make them seem more professional in the workplace. They were thus not singled out anymore by the skirts they were wearing in the male dominated workplace.

Hence, Yves Saint Laurent worked to democratize trousers for women as the new model of active women needed to feel as comfortable and at ease in her clothes than men.

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"If Gabrielle Chanel brings women to freedom, Yves Saint Laurent gives women freedom, gives them power”.

Pierre Bergé about Yves saint Laurent

The trousers, a real symbol for women's emancipation ?

The history of trousers for women being a symbol of both oppression and then liberation began very early on. In 1800 in France, a ruling was promulgated that stated that women had to ask permission from the police to “dress as a man”. This ruling was only officially abrogated in 2013, although it had been considered to be self-evident that it was not applicable anymore for a long time.

The right of women to wear trousers was notably facilitated by the work of some creators such as Saint Laurent or Courriège, trousers rapidly becoming a daily item. Indeed in 1965, the production of trousers was bigger than the one of skirts!Today trousers have been largely democratized for all, even if in some professions it is still possible to require for women to wear skirts. New contradictory movements, some women revendicated the right to wear skirts without being bothered by men.

"It is about style, not fashion.

Fashions come and go, but style is forever.”

Yves Saint Laurent about the “Smoking” THE THREAD - 66 -

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Yves Saint Laurent

Meet the hero of an era!

The birth of a fashion prodigy Born in Oran in Algeria in 1936, Yves Saint Laurent discovered very early on his passion for fashion. As a child he used to cut the pictures of models in his mother’s magazines and draw entire wardrobes for the cut silhouette. The first time he went to Paris was to retrieve a prize he had received in a fashion contest he participated in. Indeed, he had arrived in third place in the dress category. While he was there, he met Michel de Bruhnof who was editor in chief at the magazine Vogue. Additionally, among the jury of the competition was the famous designer christian Dior. In 1954, he moved to Paris and started studying at the Chambres Syndicale de Haute Couture. One year later, Michel de Bruhnof showed some of the sketches of Saint Laurent to Christian Dior who was so impressed by them, that he decided to hire the young man immediately. Dior taught Saint Laurent a lot before his death in 1957. When his mentor died Saint Laurent took his place at the head of Dior. He became the youngest fashion designer of the world. He created his own fashion house in 1961 with his partner Pierre Bergé.

The Sa

From away w wardro clothe comfo clothin in the total r sexual 1980, h Acadé

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Saint Laurent style

his first collection, Yves Saint Laurent created his own style for his creation. wishing to do with ephemeral fashion, he designed pieces that became indispensable for a woman’s robe, such as the trenchcoat or the pantsuit. The Saint Laurent style consisted in adapting es for men for women. He borrowed the clothes from the men’s wardrobe for their ort and their parctility and added elegance and femininity to it. He reinterpreted men’s ng in an innovative way.From his mentor Christian Dior, he took the precision and rigour e construction of the clothes, but he wished to give more liberty to the female’s body, in rupture with the corsets of his predecessor. In 1966, Saint Laurent participated in the l revolution with the creation of his transparent dress that reveals women’s bare chest. In he designed the uniform of Marguerite Yourcenar who was the first woman to enter the émie Française.

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06.

The 1968-1975: fashion singular identity not alw

M

ay 68 appeared as a real turning point in the French society.

It shaped the 1970's as a decade of permissiveness and sexual freedom away from the constraints of the older generations. Moreover, the decade was marked by the influences from the United States that spread to Europe and France.

The Post May 68 time

The revolution of May 68 opened the way for a new era in France. The youth rebelled against the constraints of the older generation. Nonetheless, even though many women marched on the streets, May 68 was still a movement predominantly remembered as masculine.

Feminist revendications were considered secondary. However, it was an occasion for women to share their claim and it gave birth to future feminist movements such as the MLF (Movement of Female Liberation). Thus, May 68 represented a breaking point in the norms of the time, including the gender norms. The barriers between genders in fashion were blurred. The colours of the clothings were bright and represented the desire of a new generation for freedom and for rebellion.

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as a tool to express a ways related to feminity May 68: feminine clothes under attacks

The May 68 revolution began in the university of Nanterre near Paris. It was a revolt that was both social and political with mainly the youth rebelling against traditional values. This period witnessed particluarly harsh altercations between demonstrators and policemen.

Some acts of violence were performed by the police, among which degrading actions against women. For instance, policemen tore apart the dress of a woman that did not even participate in the demonstration, and then stripped her of all her clothes. By attacking her outfit, they also wished to attack her femininity and make her vulnerable.

Thus May 68 was a movement of liberation for all… but women even if it took some time for its echos to be felt in feminists movements.

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The wrap dress: a compromise between femininity and professionalism The decade of the 70's also marked the continuation of the desire of women to be considered equal to men and be respected in the working space. While the advent of trousers and pantsuit had changed what was considered a professional female outfit, dresses were not completely abandoned either. The wrap dress allowed women to associate traditional symbols of femininity with comfort and professionalism. Created in the 1930’s by Elsa Shiaparelli but not really taken into account, this item was only popularized in 1974 when it was worn by couturier Diane von Fürstenberg. The wrap dress is also plural. With its elegant form, this dress could be derived in several models with different colours and patterns matching the eccentricity of the 70’s. Additionally, this item could be both worn at work or in the evening, and if women prefered to change clothes to go out, it was easy to take off. The wrap dress represented indeed this will of women of the 70’s to balance both professional and personal life.

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Zoom on: The right to abortion: an emancipatory tool for women While the 60’s were marked by legal advancement on contraception, another fight shook the following decade. French women fought for the depenalization of abortion and for the right to have safe procedures to end a pregnancy. In 1971, the manifesto of the “343 salopes” was published in the Nouvelle observateur in which 343 women from the public life recognized having had an abortion.

Clothes also served as a way to express demands as slogans were written on shirts. These initiatives shed light on what was happening in France at the time. While abortion was still illegal, women who had the means could go have the procedure in a foreign country. Among the women who had signed the manifesto were some fashion icons such as Catherine Deneuve.

The diversity of the 1970's The 1970’s saw the explosion of an immense variety of styles. Most of them played on the extrême and were intentionally extravagant.

Between the hippie movement, the punks, the babydoll style or the disco fashion, everything seemed possible. Hence, it is difficult to point out one particular silhouette of the 70’s. However, women’s emancipation led to the rise of a much more unisex fashion. The trousers worn by all, men and women, notably favoured this phenomenon.

Evolution in fashion influenced men and women in a parallel manner.

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The punk style of the rebels Before anything punk was a music genre that was popularized in the 70’s after the success of rock n’ roll in the 60’s. While rock n’ roll was a male dominated industry that advocated for sexual permissiveness while still spreading images of women through the male gaz, punk was an occasion for women to be present on the stage.

They were everywhere, even playing instruments considered manly. Punk became more than just a music but also a lifestyle that of course has its own fashion. The punk fashion went against the traditional beauty standards. For once, ugliness was celebrated. This was a shift in the representation of beauty standards. Instead of trying to glamourize their faces with make up, punk women used it for provocation.

They applied garish colours and drew singular patterns on their faces. Women were extremely provocative, challenging and paroding feminine standards. For instance, they did not hesitate to go out with skirts that were extremely short. Paradoxically, some women appeared as very asexualized. The message was that it was possible for women to wear what they wished without caring about the opinion of others.

This was an extraordinary advancement for women whose condition was so different only a few decades ago.

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Flower power !

The hippie movement is a counterculture coming from the United States that put an emphasis on pacifism, sexual liberation and anti-imperialism. Its echoes were rapidly felt in France. The hippie style was for both men and women. It was an illustration of the sexual liberation movement. The silhouette of women of the 60’s was transformed. After the mini skirts, it was the return of longer ones that were fluid and colourful. The flared jeans were for both genders.

Hairstyles were not complicated, everything was natural and not too much work was put into it. The hippie style was also a way for someone to show their singularity, with a broad range of colours being worn. Hippie style opposed the previous generations and their traditional values, but it was not only true for women and was the case for men as well.

The rise of the blue jean The tendency that saw women wearing more and more trousers in the 60’s confirmed itself in the 70’s. The popularity of the blue jean was very important for both men and women. At the time, fashionable jeans were high waisted and flared, following the hippie style. The blue jean that came from the United States became a symbol of a youth that wanted to liberate itself from the previously established norms. Thus the blue jean represented a double sided emancipation, the one of women from the constraints of patriarchy, and the one of the young generation from the rules followed by their parents.

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A unisex fashion In the fashion of the 70’s, it is possible to observe a rise of unisex styles. After years of strict separation between the clothes of men and that of women, it was less possible to see the difference between the fashion of the two genders. It is particularly visible in the hippie style, but not only. Trousers start to replace skirts for women. Men have long hair. Everyone can wear bright colours and bif patterns of flowers of animals. With the punk style, even men can wear make up. It is in a way the return of the androgyn look of the 20’s.

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The braless revolution The corset, then replaced by bras, has often been seen as a piece of clothing representing the constraints of female fashion. In 1968 in the United States, women decided to get rid of their bras during a demonstration against the contest of Miss America in Atlanta. This movement rapidly spread in Europe and in France, where in the context of the revolts of May 68, women wished to get rid of these items. However, the myth of feminist burning their bras… is a myth !

Actually, women threw their bras in the trash but they did not organize any fire.

Still, the braless movement remains a symbol of a sexual revolution and of women’s freedom from the restrictive fashion dictated by patriarchy’s diktats.

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Vintage fashion: between economical consideration and conservation of femininity Fashion is not a linear phenomenon.

Trends came and went and it can be very fashionable to go back to what the grandmothers were wearing, as well as economically interesting. In the 70’s, the vintage style was very trendy. Its popularity was largely motivated by the will to save money.

Indeed, there was a rise in the number of single women who were supporting themselves. They had emancipated from the authority of a husband. Now going to work and earning their own money, they wished to make economies and could not afford to buy a whole lot of brand new clothing. Thrifting thus appeared as an ideal solution. This is also a sign of the end of the prosperous Glorious Thirties.

Furthermore, wearing vintage clothes was also a way for them to reclaim their femininity. The older items they were finding were more traditional and more feminine. It allowed them to still show their womanhood in the workplace. It was also a powerful statement to wear dresses designed for housework to the office.

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The Ending editors' note

This work on the relation between women's emancipation

and fashion was intellectually stimulating and made it possible to see the social phenomenon of the evolution of women's condition from another point of view.

Fashion influenced the perception of women in society not only by being a vector of demands for change, but also on the contrary by setting standards as to what women should look like to appear acceptable.

Indeed, it would be wrong to assume that fashion is necessarily positively related to women’s emancipation, as for long it also showed the constraints faced by each gender.

Evolutions were not linear, and the returns of some trends regarding clothing showed the difficulty for progress to be made. Working on this subject was also an opportunity to rediscover some narratives and try to find out the truth about some myths.

The topics we dealt with, notably women's rights and freedoms, are actually still relevant today and many examples given through

this

magazine prove that fashion is still a domain of controversies for women; the ambivalent role of clothes, between an emancipatory tool and a constraint being indeed still a reality in our society.

The team of The The Thread Thread would like to thank everyone that participated in that project, notably our teacher Mr Hong, and of course, all our readers who make this work valuable.

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