Kort, bloezend jasje van oranje rode zijden velours met lange mouwen en zonder sluiting c. 1930s

This short, orange-red velvet jacket was designed by Denise Vandervelde-Borgeaud, a Belgian artist who died in 1936. Though undated, we can still see how the artist’s sartorial decisions reflect wider social and cultural trends. The Rijksmuseum preserves many such pieces of clothing, not just as examples of design but as windows into a particular way of life. Though the jacket is simple, the choice of silk velvet is significant. The fabric, dyed a striking, modern color, speaks of a particular kind of cosmopolitanism. The open design suggests ease and informality, a move away from more restrictive, traditional garments. It is this focus on modernity that might suggest the jacket’s creation in the interwar years. By studying fashion plates, textile manufacturing records, and even personal letters, one can build a picture of the socio-economic and cultural forces that shaped its creation. The jacket’s survival allows us to reflect on the meaning of fashion as a product of its time, shaped by the conditions of its making and wearing.