Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens, 1913, No. 50 : Manteau de velours (...) 1913

H. Robert Dammy made this fashion plate in 1913, using ink and watercolor to bring it to life. The flat application of color, the decisive outlines, the almost diagrammatic approach to form—all suggest a world concerned with surfaces, style, and maybe even a little bit of fantasy. It’s really fun to think about how the artist builds up the image, line by line, color by color. There’s something about the combination of the cool, almost detached presentation and the opulence of the clothing that gets me. Look at the way the lemon-yellow of the robe is patterned with elegant curlicues, offset by the snowy white fur trim. Those undulating forms on the robe, repeated but varied, remind me of handwriting or doodling. In their repetition, they act as decoration, but also as an expression of the artist’s hand. Fashion plates like this remind me a bit of Matisse, whose work revels in the pleasures of color and pattern. I like to think that art, like fashion, is all about playing with surfaces, styles, and ideas, and about how we see the world.