Do you remember the affluent aesthetic of the Roaring twenties in the Great Gatsby? Do you remember the opulent sequined dresses, the fur pieces, ruffled skirts, and the overdose of glitter? Recall Daisy Buchanan with her iconic headpieces and her flapper-esque bob hair cut? Well, it was all one decade away from being irrevocably changed.

The age of the Second World War (1939-1945) marked a turning point in fashion consciousness around the world. Though it may be difficult to imagine today, wartime dictated all other aspects of life, including fashion. That is to say, if you were alive then, men would be enlisted in the army and women would be deployed as nurses or factory workers (yes, the gender roles were pretty rigid at the time). There was simply no escaping the all-encompassing nature of war. But how did this monumental moment in history manifest into new fashion collections?

Battle of the Fabrics

All resources and raw materials around the world, in most countries, were concentrated at battlefields. In fact, most countries at war had introduced rationing. This means that if you wanted to go shopping in wartime Britain, you had to make do with the 33 coupons of clothing a year which were allocated to each person.

There was also a law in place which specified the amount of fabric that could be used to create a specific piece of clothing. That meant no extra pleats, drapes, or folds; all trends which we may take for granted today. Yet, fashion houses used the scarcity as an impetus to create simpler and leaner silhouettes. So it was actually World War Two that ushered fashion into a classical form, featuring pencil skirts, button-down dresses, and so on.  

Simplicity, Practicality, and Androgyny          

Parisian fashion and the Nazis

In the years leading up to the war, Paris had established itself as the fashion capital of the world. However, with the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, many great fashion designers faced two choices: flee the city, or surrender to the Nazis. Names which are mammoth in the fashion industry today were mired in controversy then. Hugo Boss, for instance, was responsible for making the Nazi uniforms. Yes, you read that right. The fearful and emblematic uniform, which wreaked much havoc in the world was being produced in Boss factories. Coco Chanel, too, came under fire for her Nazi allegiances. Due to the highly controversial nature of the fashion scene in Paris, New York stepped us the fashion leader of the world. 

Christian Dior’s New Look: an anti-feminist move? 

But did it truly? Wartime restrictions had ironically brought about a certain kind of independence for women. They were no longer imprisoned by corsets and impractical voluminous gowns.  During the war, the gender binary was slowly loosening up. Social gender roles were becoming more fluid. In fact, the practicality and convenience of clothing which we enjoy today finds its roots during wartime fashion. Dior’s attempt to bring back an overtly feminine aesthetic under the guise of nostalgia for the pre-war years could be seen as a regressive move in fashion history. The excessive padding around the hips for an antebellum appeal could indeed be one of the grossest forms of cultural appropriation.

By Safa Shoaib

Editorial Fellow

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