Twentieth century designers and their contributions

¶ … 20th Century Fashion and Designers

According to Tara Maginnis of Costumes.org, the prominent silhouette for a woman in (in Western cultures) was a thin-waisted shape created by a tightly-laced corset. She writes "The Hourglass shape of the woman of the 1890's transformed after 1897 into the "S" curve of 1897-1908. This change came from longer lined "health" corsets that supported the spine and abdomen, especially when they were over-laced by the fashionable. Fashionable women in this period seem to be leaning into a wind." As mentioned above, this "S" shape was a slight change from the hourglass shape favored prior to 1897, and it was highly influenced by Art Neaveau illustration.

One particularly influential designer of the time was Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny, who was working in France at the time. According to his biography on the Fortuny company website, He is most famous for designing the "Delphos Gown," which was inspired by Greek sculpture and innovative in design and comfort. He also designed textiles that are still manufactured today. His designs, particularly the "Delphos Gown" were fluid and emphasized movement, which made them favored by dancer Isadora Duncan. An example can be seen below:

Public domain image, available from Wikipedia.

Hats were also extremely important in women's fashion, a trend that continued to about 1910 (Maginnis). Though as Pauline Weston notes, "Hats during the Edwardian period were not as universally wide as is sometimes thought. The new century began with a continuation of art nouveau influence in fashion and as skirts swirled around the feet of women forming in fans like bell flowers, so did the hats swirl and swoop around the head." But she also notes that hats of the time favored "lavish brims" and "flora, ribbon rosettes, or plumage." To support the large hats, extensive hair supports, consisting of braids, or even collected excess hair, had to be constructed.