Le Moniteur de la Mode, mai 1863, No. 705 : Modeles de Costumes (...) 1863

Editor: So this is *Le Moniteur de la Mode, mai 1863*, a print made by Louis Berlier. Looking at the lithograph etching, there's a sweetness to it, but also something a little staged about the scene. I wonder about the role of these fashionable clothes and how they shaped the identity of people. What stands out to you about this piece? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the lithographic process itself, the means of production behind these images circulating in 1863. This wasn't "high art" meant for a museum; it was a fashion plate, designed for consumption. Consider the labor involved in creating each impression, reproducing details of garments that defined status and aspiration. Does the choice of paper itself also speak to a specific readership and economy? Editor: That’s interesting! I hadn't really thought about the actual making of it beyond it being a print. So, these were like the fashion magazines of the day? Meant to be consumed and, perhaps, discarded? Curator: Precisely. The rapid reproducibility inherent in lithography speaks to a new era of mass culture. Each dress represented here held material significance, dictating social interactions and often requiring immense labour in its production and even upkeep. How might that disconnect -- the idealized image versus the reality of production -- be seen as a critique or even exploitation, given the time period? Editor: It's like seeing the glamorous surface while ignoring the often difficult realities underneath, the textile mills for instance. The print isn’t just an image, it’s part of a larger system. Thank you, I never considered it in that way. Curator: Exactly. This piece reminds us that fashion, and its representation, isn’t simply about aesthetics, but an entire network of labor and material production.