Les Élégances Parisiennes, ca. 1916, Supplément No 4, Pl. XIV en XV, fig. 267 t/m 274 : ROBES DE PETITE SOIRÉ (...) c. 1916

This is a print called ‘Les Élégances Parisiennes’, around 1916, showing designs for dresses. It's anonymous, but hey, someone made it! The colour palette is muted, almost watery, and that gives the whole image a nostalgic feeling. I'm drawn to the way the colours bleed into each other, like watercolour. It speaks to the process, that the artist is making the art. Take the dress on the right, the way the lilac ink gathers in the folds of the skirt. The artist seems to have embraced the fluidity of the ink, letting it pool and run, creating depth and texture. There's a certain vulnerability to that approach, a willingness to let go of control. You get the sense that these dresses could float away. Maybe look at Sonia Delaunay to compare the bold use of colour in fashion design, but I love the sensitivity of this piece, the quiet statement it makes. Fashion design, like all art, is about an ongoing conversation.