Fashion (Mode) 1912

Otto Lendecke made this fashion plate on paper, but the date is unknown. Isn’t it funny to think about fashion as a kind of art? Especially when the image itself is so stylized. It’s not about realism, but more about the gesture of the design. The color choices are playful, especially the lavender fringe, and the way the black dress opens to reveal a salmon-colored under-layer. Look at the geometry in the top of the garment. The cape has a kind of harlequin pattern. That juxtaposition of the black with the unexpected burst of geometric shapes, it’s like a visual surprise. The texture isn’t real, but implied. You can feel the fringe, and almost hear it rustling. It's this sort of tension between the real and the represented that reminds me a little of Erté, that master of Art Deco illustration. Both seem to understand that fashion can be a playground for the imagination.