Toujours Chic, Toilettes de Soirées, Hiver 1921-1922: Manon 1921 - 1922

This fashion plate of “Manon” dates from winter 1921-1922, and was made by G-P. Joumard. The artist’s hand feels really present here, in the quick, gestural quality of the ink lines. It's a process of capturing a sense of style. I love the way the dress design combines bold graphic elements with a delicate rose-pink palette. The skirt has these target-like motifs that pull the eye round and round, and then there are these strange hatched lines at the sides, as if someone was just scribbling in the margins, or the dress is in the process of dissolving. Joumard wasn’t trying to hide the making of this image. It reminds me of the work of Erté, but maybe with a little more punk spirit. It’s like Joumard is saying that fashion is about experimentation, the play of marks and colors, the ongoing conversation between tradition and the avant-garde. It’s not about rules. Fashion, like art, should be open to interpretation, and always, always in process.