With our current trend for both hand-made artisan goods
and floral-inspired graphic patterns
{which are both quite fabulously exciting developments},
let's have a look back at another time,
when there was a similar world-wide desire
for nature-based design.
It was the Arts and Crafts Movement,
which originated in England in the 1860s,
heavily influenced fashion, architecture & interior design,
and reached a peak around the turn of the century.
An advert for the Lace Exhibition in Paris in 1904
illustrates the enchantment with delicate motifs,
curvy organic lines,
and a certain romanticisim for the exquisite.
A Jacques Doucet gown of gold lace,
from 1900,
is a riot of floral patterning.
Czech Actress Anna Sedlackova in 1912
sporting a magnificent feathered hat.
Ah, feathers - they're back in fashion too,
aren't they?
These fabulous houses,
all by the architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear,
were built in the early 1900s in Melbourne.
This beautiful dresser was one of the first
examples of built-in joinery.
Hard to believe that we take this for granted today!
The popular colours of this movement were
those found in nature,
but especially ones with a golden or orange tone.
This is a portrait of Elizabeth Drexel,
an American author & Manhattan socialite,
painted in 1905 by Boldini.
Her bodice is adorned with lace flowers,
and the dress "grows" from the painting,
just like nature.
Arts & Crafts colours
are used masterfully in a contemporary
which has the same romantic feel.
Swirling lines, echoing those found in flowers,
were incorporated into fashionable clothes,
like this French gown by Callot Soeurs {1910}.
A modern table setting.
Flowers by Sarah Winward.
Do you see a pattern emerging here?
Marc Jacobs ruffled silk dress, 2011 collection.
Haute Hippie dress, 2011 collection.
Amazing how much the appeal of these designs
still resonate today, isn't it?
I guess it is because true beauty
never goes out of style.
Images: all houses & interiors designed
by Harold Desbrowe-Annear, open today. Details here.
Contemporary fashion: lyst.