The idea that fashion symbolized modernity, control, and positive social values was widely held in the late 19th century, but many, among them Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movement artists, had a growing, contrary conviction that fashion was in fact both ugly and unhealthy—and that something should be done about it. Heavily influenced by Ruskin and finding their passion in the art and literature of the Middle Ages, Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic artists depicted the body in a way that seemed to them more natural, and costumed it to suit the places and eras in which their artwork was set. Inevitably, their work inevitably influenced the real clothes worn by some of the fashionable women and men who shared their convictions and tastes. This talk will focus on the clothes in Pre-Raphaelite and related paintings, how they were developed, and their influence on mainstream and niche fashion in the second half of the 19th century.
Melissa Leventon, co-founder of Curatrix Group museum consultants and appraisers, is a specialist in European and American fashion and textiles. Formerly Curator-in-Charge of Textiles at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, she has organized exhibitions on topics ranging from French couture to contemporary glass, Wearable Art to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Melissa has worked with institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, The Textile Museum in Washington D.C., the Chicago History Museum, and the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles in Bangkok, and has written or co-authored six books and a number of catalogue essays. In addition to her museum and appraisal work, Melissa teaches fashion history and theory at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and is a trustee of the San Jose (California) Museum of Quilts & Textiles.