Journal des Dames et des Modes, 1912, Costumes Parisiens, no. 17: Manteau du soir en Satin bleu (...) 1912

Curator: At first glance, this fashion plate practically floats off the page. The wispy lines, the subtle watercolour... It feels like a dream I once had after too much jasmine tea. Editor: Indeed! Here we have a drawing by Francisco Javier Gosé, titled "Journal des Dames et des Modes, 1912, Costumes Parisiens, no. 17: Manteau du soir en Satin bleu..." It’s an exquisite example of early 20th-century fashion illustration. The artist employs ink and watercolour on paper. Curator: The satin blue of the coat, though! It’s almost ethereal. And the stark contrast of the black bows – are they holding secrets? Binding promises? The whole piece is positively steeped in symbolic potential. Editor: The bows certainly catch the eye. In that era, the carefully knotted bow often symbolized love, fidelity, but also, subtly, restraint and formality. The very precise floral pattern hints at a delicate yet complex inner world of the wearer, like a garden meticulously cultivated. Curator: Like a pressed flower between the pages of a diary. There's a melancholic beauty in how transient these images feel, knowing the fashion is gone, yet the essence lingers. You know, those roses she carries seem on the verge of drooping. Is it intentional, I wonder, a hint at life's fleeting nature? Editor: It's a fitting consideration, particularly with the stylized Art Nouveau aesthetic Gosé adopts here. Consider how flowers and botanicals often symbolized stages of life. Here the roses carry connotations of both beauty and impending loss. The drawing also uses colour to suggest emotion: the blue signifies a sense of tranquility, but potentially melancholy, which reflects those complex feelings inherent in fashion itself: constant renewal paired with ultimate obsolescence. Curator: The constant becoming, only to become undone. Exactly. So much emotion captured in a few strokes of ink. Thank you, Francisco Javier Gosé, for giving us a glimpse into this world, now gone, forever present. Editor: A stunning encapsulation of fleeting beauty. And, it illustrates the enduring language of symbols embedded in clothing that communicates desires, fears and values across generations.