THE BLUEPRINT

Drawing Lines From Art Nouveau Architecture to Fashion

The bones that build some of the most iconic, high-fashion innovations from the current modernist movements stem from the opulent roots of structural design throughout history. Architecture and fashion have always been pillars of artistic creation; they serve as cultural markers in humankind’s timeline that allow us to reflect and draw meaning from changing styles. All forms of art feed off of and into one another, but architecture and fashion share a special relationship that involves careful attention to form and patterns.

Lily Baldwin

born as an architectural movement, beautifully represented the transition into a new century. Quite literally meaning “New Art,” the style revolved around the natural world and the way it grows and moves (Art in Context, 2021). Floral detailing, organic shapes and lines, unconfining materials, and shimmering metallic adornments graced the architectural designs of buildings — and later, clothing — across Europe.

The Art Nouveau period, initially

Turn-of-the-century architecture and fashion revolved around the lushness of humanity, represented by decorative additions embedded in the curving stonework and rounded edges. Colors plucked straight from a wildflower garden were emblazoned on both stained glass windows and long bell skirts. Flowy lines and lighter fabrics like silk and lace fell in easy waterfalls over the shoulders of those who were bold enough to wear such a look.

Barcelona’s Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia are two ethereal beacons of Art Nouveau; the architecture, created by Antoni Gaudí, blends gracefully into the environment with soft lines that makes the stone appear naturally eroded by ocean waves (Park Güell Origin and Creation, n.d.). Decorative columns and podiums display regal lions, peacocks, and dragonflies. Simultaneously, Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny was crafting highly-detailed garments with elegant, floor-length hems that grazed the ground just lightly enough to curve upwards like an inverted blossoming flower

(The Costume Institute, n.d.). He, too, worked with textures that reflected plants and wildlife, like the underside of a mushroom, falling rain, and the crinkled skin of a withering white lily. The most visually enchanting example of Art Nouveau fashion can be found in the magazine illustrations of the time. Before photography was easily accessible, posters for world fairs and other printed materials were a form of social media. These prints are largely responsible for the spread of Art Nouveau throughout Europe and beyond (Rosenman, 2017). The designs are an iconic homage to mother nature’s role in human life. Celestial and botanical influences in the illustrations depict each drawn subject as an angelic figure, calling to mind a flourishing garden or the interior of an old Catholic church on a lucent day. The draping fabrics appear to be traced straight from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Intricate details in haute couture evoke the curiosity of any onlooker. In a time when drawing attention to oneself through fashion went against the traditions of the period, it was daring to be seen. Yet, that was the ultimate goal of Art Nouveau designers; to make you look, and even more, to help you see the world and appreciate its innate elegance. Fashion designers used soft silhouettes to honor the feminine human form while billowy textiles created a dream-like motion that made the wearer appear as if they were floating (Reddy, 2019). The meandering lines of the body were accentuated with dripping, golden-gilded accessories from head-to-toe, transforming models into mosaics. The same texture and saturation is present in many Parisian buildings and structures in Budapest (Peregoy, 2016).

Art Nouveau design wasn’t complete without a myriad of golden bijouterie. Gold and glass were often the final touches for an Art Nouveau design. A ruffled sleeve and exposed shoulder were not enough for artists who wanted to celebrate the ornate aspects of life. Drawing from the luxury couture trends of the Victorian age, stained Tiffany glass was the most coveted item for architects and fashion creators alike in the early 1900s (Reinke, 2020). Whether it was a brooch or a desk lamp, the brand’s handcrafted, gem-hued crystal embellishments refracted light and illuminated entire rooms. With clothing and furniture emanating their own luminescence, glass further incorporated natural elements into the foundation of art and fashion during this era. Art Nouveau is still ever-present, even on today’s runways.

Alexander McQueen’s Pre-Fall 2020 collection was inspired by the movement, utilizing climbing vines and glittering crystals on many of the garments. The fashion house emphasized “the juxtaposition between sobriety and seduction, the raw and the refined,” (AnOther, 2020). Just as Art Nouveau dances the line between simplicity and grandeur, so do modern fashion designers. More than anything, the persistence of this period reveals how art infiltrates every part of daily life, from the clothes worn to the buildings resided within.