Fashion designers along with being trendsetters always had the knack of being social commentators as well. We live in a world where religion and worship are ingrained in almost everything. So its no surprise that religion has played a huge part in many collections over the years and each time it has been met with mixed reviews.
(Gaultier photo by Miles Aldridge) Devout/Divine- Fashion vs. Religion’. Devout/Divine focuses on the relationship between contemporary designer fashion and religion. More specifically, the integration and translation of religious symbolism in designs of the past decennia will be emphasized. Unfortunately, the exhibition is too far away for me to just go and look at so I have done some online research about it and put some ideas together…
Recently, there has been a growing interest of designers for religion and the clothing and symbols that go along with it. However, the use of religion in fashion is not new. In the middle of the 20th century, leading fashion houses like Jeanne Lanvin, Madame Grès and Cristobal Balenciaga based several designs on religious garments, as a result of their religious education.
In the ‘80s, jewellery with religious symbols was very popular, for example the queen of pop Madonna wore crosses as necklace and earrings.
Later, an important figure in this tendency was Jean Paul Gaultier.
Jean-Paul Gaultier is a very popular French designer, no doubts, it stands in one row with Galliano, Dior, Lacroix and other designers, which really contributed in the development of a fashion world.
In 1993, he sent out his models on the catwalk wearing Jewish-inspired silhouettes. This collection caused a gigantic wave of protest.
In 1997, Naomi Campbell wore a cardinal dress carrying an image of Christ, and in 2007 Gaultier found his inspiration in the cloth of the Virgin Mary.
Another famous example is the so-called (low-cut) ‘Quran dress’ (1994) designed by Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel) that was decorated with a fragment of the Quran.
This caused many protest and reaction of Muslim groups, and the dress had to be destroyed. Fashion designer Christian Lacroix was also often inspired by religion, and incorporated pious symbols in his collection.
In Belgium there are several designers who were inspired by religion as well. For example, Walter Van Beirendonck reinterpreted the burqa (A/W 08/09) as a very colorful piece of clothing, worn by male models.
Some confirmed designers at this exhibition who look at the connection between religion and fashion include:
Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Rick Owens, Walter Van Beirendonck, Christian Lacroix, Bernhard Willhelm, A.F. Vandevorst, Giambattista Valli, Todd Lynn, Manish Arora, John Richmond, Dries Van Noten,, Raf Simons, Cristobal Balenciaga, M+F Girbaud, …
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