Haute Couture AW98 by Dior
“The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined” is the first fashion exhibition to plunge into the excesses of vulgarity. Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and curator Judith Clark have gleaned international collections to assemble over one hundred radical installations that elevate the vulgar from the Renaissance era up until 21st century couture. The exhibition also unites totemic designers including Christian Dior, Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen to demonstrate its aesthetic evolution.
But how has fashion disrupted and reinvented the vulgar to create new expressions in the style canon? We reflect on three of the most noticeable examples throughout history.
Eighteenth Century Court Mantua (Robe and Petticoat), 1748–1750. Courtesy Fashion Museum Bath
1. Fashion’s early fascination with excess
“Potent, provocative and sometimes shocking, the word vulgar conjures up strong images, ideas and feelings in us all.”
Vulgarity is synonymous with extravagance. In the Eighteenth century, ostentation was the paragon of taste. It is best symbolised by the mantua: a wide over-robe which sat on top of stomachers and a petticoat. The exaggerated hoop shape became more streamlined as the bodice took over. It cinched the waist to create a new kind of inverted excess with extreme, sharp angles slicing into the torso.
Selfrides Window display. Image: Flickr by steeev
2. The department store as gallery
“Something to fear and something to enjoy”
Accelerated modernity, indulgence and consumption imbue London’s early department stores. Under the arc of the Industrial Revolution, Harding, Howell & Co in the Eighteenth century and Selfridges later on, pushed boutique clothing and seasonal trends to the floor. “Brazen” window displays offended the conservative shoppers who deemed the “outrageously vulgar” to be a “counterpoint to good taste”. Selfridges’ elaborate shop floors resembled high art galleries that hosted early scientific innovations such as Louis Blériot’s monoplane.
Elephant Skirt, Walter van Beirendonck, Fall/Winter 2010/2011. Hat: Stephen Jones © Ronald Stoops. Image from theweek.co.uk and Tits Tshirt, Malcolm McLaren. Image from wheretoget.it
3. The exaggerated body
“Vulgarity exposes the scandal of good taste”
Edwardian-era lace and body stockings were designed to circle and locate the body’s “erogenous zones”. Contemporary examples of this in fetish clothing is still used to exaggerate the body and to connote sex and desire. From Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s “tits top” to Walter van Beirendonck’s “Elephant Skirt”, fashion uses the body to shape sexual vulgarity. It’s an arousing aesthetic that signifies erotic excess particularly when embellished with “gold, velvet, pearls and spangles.”
“The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined” is on display at London’s Barbican Art Gallery until 5 February 2017