Toujours Chic Hiver 1921-1922: index 1921 - 1922

This index of designs from Toujours Chic, Winter 1921-1922 is like a peek into a sketchbook of possibilities, created by G-P. Joumard. The simple lines that form these figures, it's all about suggestion, an idea more than a fixed image. Looking at the column for ‘Rose-Norie’, the ‘joli pyjama’ – you can see how the artist has constructed it from just a few strokes. There's no attempt to disguise the hand, no illusionism, just the pure, immediate gesture of the pen. I love the way Joumard has used the descriptive text as part of the composition here, with the column of words acting as a kind of visual counterpoint to the column of clothing. It reminds me a little of the work of someone like Sophie Taeuber-Arp, who also used simple forms and lines to create playful, abstract compositions. Both artists seem to share a similar sensibility, a kind of joyful experimentation with form and colour. But in the end it is all just loose suggestions - the meaning is always open, shifting, and multiple.