Avondjapon van ALIX van dieproze en donkergroene zijden jersey 1938 - 1939

This fashion drawing, made by Alix, shows a dress concept with swatches stapled to the top left corner. It's almost like a painting! It’s easy to see how the fabric’s drape and feel informed the shapes. Look at the way the colors meet, clashing but somehow working together, like a conversation between two strong personalities. The deep rose is almost angry and the dark green, well, it is like a melancholic sigh. The whole thing is a sketch, an idea that might change, maybe that's why the lines are loose and free. Notice how the artist uses color and shading to suggest form, and how the dress seems to both reveal and conceal the body. It's like a dance between surface and depth, flatness and volume. It is something that reminds me of Sonia Delaunay's use of color and form to create a sense of movement and energy. Ultimately, though, art is an open question. It's up to us to decide what it means, and that's the beauty of it.