Bal de la Couture Parisienne 1924

Leonetto Cappiello created this poster to advertise the Bal de la Couture Parisienne in 1924. The image depicts a group of well-dressed people, likely attendees of the ball. Cappiello made this advertisement at a time when Paris was re-establishing itself as a fashion capital after the First World War. Balls such as these provided essential patronage to the couture industry, and they helped to cultivate a sense of glamour. The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where this ball was held, was itself a relatively new institution. Its architecture reflected the Art Deco style that was modernizing the city and attracting wealthy tourists. Cappiello uses bold colors and simplified forms, characteristic of advertising posters of the time, and he visually represents the excitement that Parisians felt towards fashion, high society, and culture in the interwar years. Historians looking into this subject might consult sources such as fashion magazines, social registers, and theater programs to better understand the cultural context of this image.