If you are like me, you are probably familiar with at least some of Gustave Klimt’s gorgeous, garish paintings of women from the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. But it was not until recently that I discovered that he and his lifelong friend Emilie Floge were involved in fashion design and fashion reform movements. Interestingly, his paintings seem to pay close attention to not only the shape of women's bodies, but also the sensual shape and pattern of the dresses worn by the sitters.
Portrait of Emilie Floge by Klimt (1902 - Vienna State Museum)Klimt's companion Emilie Floge was a celebrated Viennese fashion designer, and Klimt also designed at least several dresses.
Portrait of Emilie Floge.
Their creations were loose-fitting dresses called “reformkleid” which freed women—and men like Klimt, who wore them—from the constricting clothes of the day.
Gustave Klimt and Floge in reform [reformkleid] dresses (1905).
Emilie Floge.
From the book "Klimt and Fashion." Emilie Floge in a dress inspired by Japanese stencils and Byzantine mosaics.
Two autochrome photos from 1910 of Floge in her own designs.
Two dresses (modeled by Floge) from her 1907 catalog.
Emilie Floge, 1905.
Klimt’s portrait sitter’s often wore reformkleid for their portraits, and to great effect: “He wanted to characterise her through her dress, with the fabric and cut emphasizing the personality of the person whose portrait he was painting” (Volker 49).
Portrait of Adele by Klimt (1912).
To do this he asked the sitters during his gold period to dress in flowing reformkleid that alludes to neoclassicism. The sitters during the Asian-inspired period wore slim fitting dresses with hooped skirts that are meant to look like trousers, in shades of white and pastels that Klimt always favored.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)
These pale colors were not always in vogue at the time (44). But Klimt’s savvy fashion sense works to bring out the sitter amidst a background of almost dizzying array of colors. [Klimt and Fashion].
"Judith" by Gustave Klimt.
"Medicine" by Gustave Klimt.
Portrait of Emilie Floge.Their creations were loose-fitting dresses called “reformkleid” which freed women—and men like Klimt, who wore them—from the constricting clothes of the day.
Gustave Klimt and Floge in reform [reformkleid] dresses (1905).
Emilie Floge.
From the book "Klimt and Fashion." Emilie Floge in a dress inspired by Japanese stencils and Byzantine mosaics.
Two autochrome photos from 1910 of Floge in her own designs.
Two dresses (modeled by Floge) from her 1907 catalog.
Emilie Floge, 1905.Klimt’s portrait sitter’s often wore reformkleid for their portraits, and to great effect: “He wanted to characterise her through her dress, with the fabric and cut emphasizing the personality of the person whose portrait he was painting” (Volker 49).
Portrait of Adele by Klimt (1912).To do this he asked the sitters during his gold period to dress in flowing reformkleid that alludes to neoclassicism. The sitters during the Asian-inspired period wore slim fitting dresses with hooped skirts that are meant to look like trousers, in shades of white and pastels that Klimt always favored.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)These pale colors were not always in vogue at the time (44). But Klimt’s savvy fashion sense works to bring out the sitter amidst a background of almost dizzying array of colors. [Klimt and Fashion].
"Judith" by Gustave Klimt.
"Medicine" by Gustave Klimt.Some recent fashion photography inspired by Gustave Klimt's work:
Black Book Galleries[Update]: I just had to add more... The very amazing Gerry from Not from Paris reminded me of the Dior HC collection from Spring 08 (where everyone was invoking Klimt), and she pointed out the connection between the Dior designs and Floge's dresses. Here are a few samples:
Check out the Paris Fashion week photos for more!
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