WW1: The Death of the Corset, the Birth of the Pocket

MagsRags

MagsRags

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I came across this article just now and enjoyed it. It's about an exhibit titled "Silk and Steel: French Fashion, Women, and WW1" that started in NYC and is currently on display at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.

The prediction is that the pandemic will leave us with some permanent changes in fashion as well.
 
mags_rags said:
The prediction is that the pandemic will leave us with some permanent changes in fashion as well.
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I have heard this particular fashion prediction before, and am wondering what changes (other than masks) would be a result of the pandemic? Anyone care to speculate? I come up empty. I might say less business suits and such, but that has already happened before the pandemic.
 
My paper today suggested more blurring of the lines/combination between casual and business wear, altough this has been ongoing already - though probably not the same depending on country and industry. I already work in an industry that doesn't do super formal, and my company is even less so, so I foresee no changes for there really.
 
Just re-read the article. The exhibition looks wonderful.

Exhibition aside, I did see a number of things in the writer's article that I disagree with. The writer incorrectly claims " The War gave Chanel her start". Chanel actually started her millinery career in 1911 (she actually had a small shop in late 1910 if you want to get really picky, and it was on the same Paris street as the Chanel business is today)) and was already established as a fashion designer with her first and very successful clothing shop in 1913, before WWI broke out. She was already making clothing of Jersey (or Tricot) before the War. She did not come up with the idea for Jersey garments as a result of WWI, nor because the fabric was cheap or more widely available (although that was an attraction for her for aesthetic reasons). The fact that she was making comfy draped clothing of new styles and new fabrics for women not seen before just happen to co-incide with the War.

Most women did not throw away their corsets during or after WWI either, so saying WWI was the "death" of the corset is a bit of an overstatement. And tossing a corset was not "new" in WWI, the Dress Reform Movement had tried that a generation earlier.

I do agree with this: I have always wanted MORE pockets in women's clothing too.
 
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.... am wondering what changes (other than masks) would be a result of the pandemic?
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in a weird coincidence, if you get AARP Magazine, this month's issue has a one page interview article with Norma Kamali, who is 75 now. The first 3 of "7 things Norma Kamali says to Do Now" have to do with potential pandemic-related evolution in fashion.
One is to Mask Up "I get allergies in May and September, but I didn't get them last year, because I was wearing a mask. Guess who's going to wear a mask in May and September from now on?
Another - Go Low. "When I started working from home last March, I thought: I really don't want to put shoes on. Now I wear slides and socks to work. This is my uniform."
And finally, Start Over. "To stay relevant, you have to be willing to change. I've just retooled my whole company and even put together a new category of clothing called day pajamas, for people working from home."

But you have to picture her posing in a (stretchy) leopard print jacket and pants, with leopard print oversized cat eye sunglass frames to match.
 
I feel the pandemic has pushed forward how the fashion industry works by a decade more than any particular fashion itself. The biggest changes are how fashion is manufactured, promoted, and sold. The seasons no longer really matter, releases of lines and products as they are created and continue to be made as long as they are selling, more online sales too. Alongside this there is a massive push forward in environmental awareness, so less fast fashion, and more awareness of inclusivity, so more bipoc designers and gender fluid styles. However, I do think we will see masks as a more common occurrence during flu season - like how they are worn in Asia, where it is considered polite to wear a mask when you have a cold or flue so you aren't sharing your germs as easily with the rest of the world, especially on public transit.
 
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