Très Parisien, 1923, No 9: 10 - COQUETTES. - En velours noir, cette robe drapée,... 1923

This fashion plate, "Très Parisien, 1923, No 9: 10 - COQUETTES," was printed anonymously, using line and gouache. I love the way these kinds of images, seemingly so simple, let you in on the secret of artmaking as a process. Look at the black dress on the left, the one with the confident Art Deco patterning. The designer probably didn't have a swatch of velvet or lace handy, so they had to suggest the dress’s materiality with line and color. The black ink is opaque, flat, and dense, it sits confidently on the page. The white highlights are added on top with gouache. It reminds me that textures can be described, evoked, and faked with a minimum of fuss. This image, these dresses, and the whole fashion world remind me a little of Erté, the Russian-born French artist, and designer. Like his work, this plate embraces ambiguity, a multiplicity of interpretations. It’s a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.