From the runway to the big screen, The Great Gatsby is making a comeback, this time reinterpreted by the delicious Leonardo DiCaprio. Gucci and Ralph Lauren started the movement in 2012 by presenting silhouettes close to that of the heroines in Fitzgerald’s novel in their Spring/Summer runways. Just the occasion to come back to the emblematic pieces of the Roaring 20s, that the great Francis F. Coppola already put into context in his sparkling 1974 version of the mysterious millionaire’s tale.
Two terms suffice to define the typical woman of the 20s: glitz and androgyny. Threadlike and sporting short hair cuts, flappers took part in activities previously reserved exclusively for men – sports, driving cars – as Jordan Baker and Daisy Buchanan can attest to. Far from falling into unsightly virility, they played with the rules of unisex, still making time for their pearls and precious stones along the way. The “flapper dress”, with its straight cut and lack of sleeves, erased all feminine attributes with a little help from wrappings around the forms of the chest and hips. The short Charleston dress allowed for a peek of the high heels underneath, strung on silk stockings and supported by garters, during the namesake dance. The fringes that adorn it twirl in time with the movements for a stunning visual effect. This piece, what with its shape and relatively ethereal aspects, fits perfectly into the art deco aesthetic that swept through the fashion and architecture of the era.
On every occasion, women protected their short curls with a cloche hat, headpiece created by hatter Caroline Reboux in 1908. It was made of felt in order to stay supple, but other evening versions in lace or pearls also made appearances. It recently made a comeback in a mink fur version in Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2013 runway. It is meant to be worn low on the forehead, at times with the sides turned up. Feathers also completed these outfits. They were found attached to patterned pearl headbands or in boas, worn around the neck like a fur boa, in Prada’s Spring/Summer 2011 runway.
It is in this spirit of glamour and opulence that Baz Luhrmann reinvented his Great Gatsby. Chosen for the opening of this year’s Cannes film festival, the film will be screened on May 15th. The director, known for his romantic and refined exuberance, has promised a splendid and spectacular adaptation. Get ready to admire the character Jay Gatsby, literary and fashion icon, making his way through a sparkling world made of illusions, glitz and glamour, love, and lies. To create and reinterpret the spirit of the 20s, Tiffany & Co, creative director Miuccia Prada, and costumer Catherine Martin were called upon. Fringes, ball gowns, and cocktail dresses embroidered with diamonds and sequins, velvet, feathers, and shimmering silks will all take center stage. Fashion in the time of Gatsby updated the rules of femininity; this year, they’ll be taken to the next level and updated for the times with fabulous, sublime, and impassioned style.
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