25/05/2026
Reinvention
Another piece from Jonathan Anderson’s first Dior collection. I love how his work plays with history both in terms of fashion and art with his designs often referencing both. Take this outfit with its beautiful brooch - a miniature painted by the artist Rosalba Carriera in around 1715. Carriera, an italian Rococo artist was best known for her miniature portraits and was one of the most successful women artists of her time, but as is often the case with women artists throughout history had become somewhat forgotten so it is a joy to see Anderson reinstate her. I really like how the texture and colours of the clothes seem to echo that of Carrieras work.
I’ve combined it with another work of reinvention if you will. This portrait of a young woman was painted by the french artist Louis Léopold Boilly, judging by the fashion in the early 19th century around 1810 maybe (its in a private collection so I don;t have exact details alas)
What’s interesting about it is that the subject has a cropped hairstyle which echoed the way in which the hair of the aristocracy was cut before they were guillotined, initially women wore it as a sign of mourning those who were executed, but it also became a symbol of rebellion against the towering wigs of the nobility.
So yes both fashion and art history reimagined, each informing the other. Wealth & Rebellion an eternal dichotomy...
I’ll add some links to more info on the hair styles etc in my stories. Def worth a read/listen!
