Très Parisien, 1923, No 6: 4.- EN ROUTE ! - Très chic.... 1923

Editor: This is "Très Parisien, 1923, No 6: 4.- EN ROUTE! - Très chic..." a watercolour illustration from 1923, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. I’m really drawn to the textile pattern on the robe. How do you interpret this piece? Curator: Looking at this, I'm struck by the industrial underpinnings of Parisian chic. The lithographic print, likely mass-produced, democratized high fashion. Consider the fabrics name-dropped beneath the illustration; "Tissus de DIEDERICHS SOFIERIES," linking the artistry directly to textile manufacturing and global trade. The "crêpe Maroc imprimé" speaks to specific processes of creation and labor. Editor: So, you see it as a kind of advertisement, showcasing what industrial textile production could achieve? Curator: Precisely. It moves beyond mere aesthetics, highlighting the capabilities of manufacturing processes in that moment. The very act of drawing, itself a form of making, parallels the larger-scale fabrication of fashion. Do you notice any tensions between handcraft and mass production in the work? Editor: I do now. The delicate watercoloring is hand-done, but then, it is made to reproduce… Curator: Yes! How does that awareness alter your understanding of "chic," of "Parisian" style in the 1920s? Isn’t it fascinating to consider how industrial capabilities redefined even abstract ideas such as "style?" Editor: That is such an interesting angle to consider. I didn't initially think about it from a production viewpoint, but I definitely will now! Curator: Understanding the materials and their contexts opens new avenues for interpretation, demonstrating the intertwined nature of art, industry, and society.