Having cleaned up the machine, I’m now giving it a trial run. Aesthetic Era Treadmill- believe it, my calves are smarting! 🙂
Fashion History
Nadezhda Lamanova- Between Two Worlds, Part 2
In our last post, we took a brief look at the career(s) and work of the Russian designer Nadezhda Lamanova as she built a reputation as a designer of Haute Couture for Russia’s upper classes and subsequently reinvented herself as an avant garde designer for the masses in the new revolutionary Russia. Now we’re going to take another look at Lamanova’s designs prior to 1917. To start, here is one particularly striking example from circa 1910 – 1914:
Evening Dress, Nadezhda Lamanova, c. 1912 – 1914; State Hermitage Museum
Rear View
Side Profile
The above dress design reflects the shift from the earlier tightly structured silhouette of the S-bend corset towards a more vertical silhouette employing a tubular dress shape. Make no mistake about it, the underpinnings were still there but now the dress flowed loosely in a manner reminiscent of the Classical Grecian Chiton.
The dress itself is two layers, the underlayer composed of a turquoise/jade green satin and an overlayer consisting of a black chiffon embroidered a floral motif consisting of the flowers and leaves of chrysanthemums. The embroidery itself is in a golden-green silk and gold thread. One can see the combination of different textures, contrasting colors and a separate overlayer with metallic embroidery creates a three dimensional effect to the dress and this is especially evident when one looks at the train. The above pictures simply do not do justice to the dress.
Now, for something a little different from the Mid-1890s. This is a visiting dress that belonged to the Empress:
Visiting Dress, Nadezhda Lamanova, Mid 1890s; State Hermitage Museum
Close-Up
The above visiting dress is from the mid-1890s, characterized by the leg of mutton or Gigot sleeve style and it’s a princess line dress. According to the description, the fashion fabric is of an ivory/cream (depending on the light) silk velvet. Metallic sequins have been stitched to create a vine motif with vertical lines of sequins suggesting some a trellis of sorts which serves to accentuate the vertical lines/silhouette of the dress.
The above examples are a tiny fraction of Lamanova’s output and they reflect the major fashion trends of the times and while much of what she created was fairly mainstream conventional as in the case of the above visiting dress, there were also attempts to push boundaries such as in the case of the above green ballgown. It wasn’t until after the revolution that Lamanova came into her own as a designer, creating ready-to-wear designs for the masses while at the same time creating avant garde designs. Lamanova is a designers that we should know more about.
Postscript: We find it amazing that so many dresses of the early 1900s have managed to survive revolutionary turmoil and two world wars. 🙂
Nadezhda Lamanova- Between Two Worlds, Part 1
As with many of our posts, the subject of this one started with one topic but ended with a completely different topic. Initially, we came across some pictures of a ballgown that had been designed in the early 1900s for the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, consort of the Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia. Then, we noted that the designer was a one Nadezhda Lamanova. What was interesting here was that it was both a designer that was unknown to us and even more striking was that she was female. While almost all of the labor force making Haute Couture dresses were female, it was rare that the designer was female, at least before the 1920s.
Who was Nadezhda Lamanova? Unfortunately, there is not a lot in English about her but here’s what we did find out: Lamanova was born on December 14, 1861 in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia and died in Moscow on October 15, 1941 at the age of 79. Due to her parents’ death at an early age, in 1877 she underwent training as a seamstress at the Moscow School of Sewing. Two years later, she went to work for a fashion house. In 1885, she opened her own dressmaking shop in Moscow and successfully built up her business; until it had become the most popular dressmaking establishment in Moscow. At some point (the translation is unclear), she traveled to Paris and met up with Paul Poiret- hopefully we can find out more about this in the future. Eventually, her work came to the attention to the Imperial Court and she was designated as “Supplier of the Court of Her Imperial Majesty” with her designs being worn by the ladies of the Court and the Empress herself. Finally, starting around 1901, Lamanova also designed costumes for theatrical productions.
Early portrait of Nadezhda Lamanova, date unknown.
Nadezhda Lamanova, portrait by Valentin Serov, 1911.
However, it’s after the Russian Revolution where Lamanova’s career became even more interesting. Arrested in 1919 by the Bolshevik Government (having been an officially designated designer for the Imperial Court could easily have been her death warrant), she was freed by the intervention of the writer Maxim Gorky after spending about 2 1/2 months in prison. Afterwards, she focused on designing theatrical costumes (presumably rehabilitating herself in the eyes of the Bolshevik regime in the process).
The Bolshevik Revolution- Big changes were coming to Russia…
By early 1920s, Lamanova had started designing clothing aimed at the masses, drawing upon traditional Russian dress and even some of her designs were incorporated in an official graphic “how-to” booklet called “Art in Everyday Life” in the form of simple clothing patterns. Below are two samples:
During the 1920s and 1930s, Lamonova’s designs were successfully displayed in various exhibitions outside of Russian and at the same time she continued to design costumes for both the theater and film. Below are just a few examples of her work:
Outfit by Nadezhda Lamanova inspired by traditional costumes of northern peoples, 1923; modeled by the actress Alexandra Hohlova.
Actress Alexandra Hohlova modelling another dress design by Lamanova, 1924.
Lilichka Brik (seated) with her sister Elsa Triolet in folk-inspired dresses by Lamanova, 1925.
Lamanova fashions from the 1920s.
So, what dress is it that got us travelling down this unusual path? Here is is:
Ballgown, c. 1900, Nadezhda Lamanova; presumably in the collection of the Hermitage.
Close-up of Bodice
Close-Up of the Dress
This is a ballgown that was created in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, specific details (in English, at least) are scanty but based on the dress style, we are probably looking at sometime around 1900. While there is a tipped waist line, the bodice does not display the “pigeon breast” effect characteristic of the early 1900s. For materials, we have white satin with tulle and chiffon that has been decorated with sequins and embroidery. As with any of these dresses, the hours of hand-labor put into the embroidery and attaching the sequins is simply mind-numbing.
This ballgown is stunning and it epitomizes the luxury of the Russian Court. At the same time, know some about the designer, it’s amazing that Nadezhda Lamanova was able to successfully reinvent herself at a time when anyone with an association to the Ancien Regime, no mater how remote, was suspect and oftentimes a one-way ticket to the firing squad. In the next installment, we will look at some more of Lamanova’s work prior to 1917. Stay tuned!
To Be Continued…
More From The Atelier: Fall Fashions Continued
Since we got a good reception in the last post on Fall designs, we decided to take this a little further. When we think of “Fall Colors”, we tend to think in terms of browns, golds, orange, cinnamon which all are suggestive of the leave falling. At the same time, there are other colors outside of this range that will also work to a lesser degree such as dark green, blue-grey, plum, and lavender. Now we grant that this is somewhat of a subjective interpretation on our part but what is key that the tones should not be muted or dull, but rather should be bright hues. We even favor jewel tones if used judiciously. The essential point is that as Fall progresses, the days grow shorter and the sun’s intensity diminishes as it shifts (at least in places other than Southern California), thus the garments’ colors need compensate. Unlike today’s fashion, Victorians exploited the possibilities provided by the advent of synthetic dyes and this was reflected in their use of bright colors. Often one or several colors were used in combinations that sometimes seem jarring to modern aesthetic sensibilities.
Victorian Era Colors- These were intended for house paint but the colors were were used in fabric dyes and often came in bright hues.
By way of example, below is a Parisian fashion plate from September 1885:
Le Moniteur de la Mode, September 1885
Having the right colors for the Fall is critical but it’s only the beginning. In order for those colors to have the most impact, it is essential that they be integrated into a design that delivers the maximum impact. Whether the dress is a day dress, evening dress, or ballgown, the same rule applies. One example of this can be found with the following evening dress:
Evening Dress, American, c. 1884 – 1886; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.63.23.3a, b)
Maker’s Label
This dress dates from the mid 1880s or Late Bustle Era, characterized by the return of the bustle in all its glory for a second run. However, unlike the Early Bustle Era of the early 1870s, the silhouette created by the bustle and train is more extreme with the bustle shelf perpendicular to the rest of the dress (there were those who joked that one could set an entire tea service on the “shelf” created by the bustle). It’s a pity that there are no available pictures of the front and rear of this dress.
But more importantly for our purposes, with the bustle and its attendant train, we now have a larger “canvas” to display style elements and in the above example, the designer took full advantage of this, utilizing long long vertical knife pleating and large velvet chevrons. To complement the train, the designer also incorporated three rows of knife pleating along the hem in complementary colors. The design itself is relatively simple, utilizing sharp clean lines that are not obscured by any trim. As for the colors, they are a dark cinnamon-red and a light peach/salmon with a hint of orange. The luster of the silk fashion fabric make the colors lively and it was no doubt deliberately designed so as to make the dress stand out in a candle or gas light room (in terms of lighting, this dress would not work that well for daytime wear). Here, the colors are allowed to speak for themselves.
Below is some examples of day dresses that also use this idea in varying forms:
The above day dress is from circa 1876 and is made from a silk taffeta and unfortunately the photography doesn’t do justice to the dress. This is a relatively simple design with a clean lines which creates a very simple silhouette. Once again, there is a minimum of trim which is somewhat atypical for mid 1870s dresses. In some ways it could be argued that this is a transitional piece, incorporating elements from both Early and Mid Bustle Eras. One can make out the presence of a train and bustle but it’s not as extreme as what was prevalent during the early 1870s. At the same time, the silhouette is not completely vertical. Ultimately, there’s room for interpretation on these points.
But even more compelling is the use of two complementary colors, an orange rust and a dark cinnamon. One can see contrasting stripes consisting of both large bold ones on the bodice and much smaller ones along the hemline. The use of contrasting colors is taken even further with the use of a darker colored overskirt and train. This dress may not seem as bold as the first one but bear in mind that the photography of the two examples greatly differ and we are dealing with garments that are over a 100 years old. More importantly, the second example is a day dress which tended to be more muted color-wise than evening dresses or ball gowns.
We’ve saved the best for last, the ballgown… 🙂
Ballgown, Worth, c. 1890; Preservation Society of Newport County
Closeup of the fashion fabric.
This ballgown was made for a Mrs. Ella Rives King of Kingscote, a large mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. During the mid to late 19th Century, Newport was a popular summer residence for the rich and over the years a number of mansions were built there of which Kingscote was only one. These mansions are preserved to this day by the Preservation Society of Newport County and are open for visiting on a seasonal basis.
Now to the gown itself. As stated above, it’s constructed from a silk brocade and while it’s not explicitly stated in what little information that was available, it’s safe to say that the design was woven into the fabric given Worth’s ties with the silk weaving industry in Lyon, France. Draped along the neck line the left side of the bodice is a gold colored tulle. From the pictures it’s hard to tell what exactly has been placed to give the tulle a metallic sparkle effect. The centerpiece of the gown, however, is the fabric itself consisting of a gold colored floral pattern against a darker orange background. From a distance, the effect is suggestive of falling leaves but we’re probably reaching a bit here. 🙂
This ballgown is a relatively simple (of course, nothing is “simple” when it comes to the haute couture of the period) design both in silhouette and style- with the exception of the tulle on the left neckline, there’s nothing else to distract from the fashion fabric itself. This is in contrast to Worth’s usual designs which tended towards an elaborate laying of fabrics and trim. Moreover, it stands in contrast to Doucet who tended to favor a more softer (some say “fluffy”) look. Finally, one could even argue that the floral design and color combination give it an almost impressionist look although at the same time it could be considered too “busy”. Whatever one’s position it, it’s still eye catching.
In the above examples, we’ve attempted to give some or our “design philosophy” which, simply put, consists of combining color, fabrics and construction to create garments that are not only historically appropriate but ones that deliver the greatest aesthetic impact.
Magnificent 7 Convention – October 24, 2015
Costume Sketch by Walter Plunkett for the movie How The West Was Won (1962).
We have pleased to announce that we will be giving a presentation on Victorian fashion and the West entitled: The Victorian West: How The West Was Worn at the Magnificent 7 Convention (M7Con) at 3 PM on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This will be the second time that we have presented at the M7Con, the first time was in 2013 and we had a good time then so we’ve decided to do it again with an expanded program. Also, as part of our presentation, we will have on display some select items from our collection and we will be available to answer questions. Finally, just to let you all know, while the M7 Convention originally started as a convention centered around all things Magnificent Seven from either the movies or television series, it’s been expanded out to more of a general Western theme. Be sure to mark your calendars- we look forward to seeing you there!
Debbie Reynolds in How The West Was Won (1962)