Pattern for the People

At the beginning of the 20th century, artists showed increasing interest in the design and production of clothing. Artists in Europe as well as in revolutionary Russia began to engage individually or collectively with fashion. The reasons were manifold, from personally motivated to practical and necessary. In general, people had small wardrobes in those days. Colour palettes were also very limited. Unusual creations came from workshops, couturiers, the theatre or in art circles. Mass production was on the advance. In Russia, a large number of well-known female artists were engaged in the industrial production of clothing to develop a style for a revolutionary populace.

While female artists in Italy and France were rather outnumbered, their avant-garde colleagues in Russia, such as Nadezhda Lamanova (1861 - 1941), Aleksandra Ekster (1882 - 1949), Lyubov Popova (1889 - 1924) and Varvara Stepanova (1894 - 1958), enjoyed a degree of notoriety. From a cultural point of view, women in the East were actively involved in contributing to the common good and were valued equally as their male counterparts. As important co-creators of a new age, artists were given an important role that encouraged them to dedicate their art to industry. Their devotion, combined with scientifictechnical expertise, enabled them

to outfit a significant number of people. It was a revolutionary time in which tradition and the old ways of doing things were brought into question. The poverty of the people under the monarchy of the tsarist family was no longer tolerated. The revolution influenced, among other things, an art movement that followed the ideals of progress. The birth of constructivism was heralded: an avant-garde movement that demanded non-objective art in favour of utilitarian and industrial aesthetics. This affected all areas of everyday life, including the redefinition of clothing befitting the modern proletariat.

The artist Nadezhda Lamanova presented straight lines and rectangular, uncomplicated cuts. In doing so, she took into account the possibilities of mass production. In The »Constructive Dress« Aleksandra Ekster explains that every object is subject to the laws of material, regardless of whether it is sculpture or tailoring. Ekster set a definitive colour rule: a simple cut requires two colours while a single colour is sufficient for a more complex geometric form. Inspired by their theatre work as stage and costume designers, Lyubov Popova and Varvara

Stepanova also sought solutions for industrially produced clothing. Popova's goal was to create designs that would distinguish the wearer from their surroundings with bold colour and pattern combinations. Their desire to include more fashionable fabrics in their production was not aligned with that of the socialist clothing industry. Clothing was to be produced quickly and easily for a large nation. It should be functional, hygienic and comfortable. Following these guidelines, the constructivist Varvara Stepanova developed three prototypes: Prozodeshda, Spetsodeshda, and Sportodeshda (workwear, clothing for special occasions and sportswear). Together with her partner, Alexander Rodchenko (1891 - 1956), the Soviet artist created the famous 1925 assembly suit, a jumpsuit that Rodchenko, his friends and Bauhaus teacher László Moholy-Nagy preferred to wear. It was also Rodchenko who coined the term »artist-engineer« and, through the attire, gave it a tangible appearance. Lamanova, Ekster, Popova, and Stepanova undoubtedly belong under this designation. After all, all four have creativity, technical know-how and a desire for progress in common.

Stepanova's and Popova's clothing designs have a striking character in the style of the revolution. Their fabric details are characterized by geometry, repetition and symmetry – constructivist style elements with a functional aspect and practical for the production of textiles. The designers oriented themselves to the avant-garde form and created eye-catching, colourful fabric patterns. Before that, Russian textile patterns and fabrics were based on old pattern books from France or on traditional floral designs. Due to their minimalism, the constructivists' textile designs remain in vogue to this day.

To the chagrin of Russian artists, their efforts to redesign fashion were ultimately unfulfilled. This was mostly the result of a material shortage. The underdevelopment of the Soviet Union remained after the First World War, the revolutions and the civil war from 1921 to 1927. Only a small part of the clothes and fabrics designed went into serial production. Stepanova, for example, designed 20 textile patterns, of which only 12 were produced. The possibilities for change propagated by the manufactories could only be partly implemented. However,

the propagandists would not be artists, engineers and fashion designers if they could not work out a solution. So they brought their concepts to the people by publishing their designs in the form of patterns in newspapers. These also contained fabric recommendations. This was an effective strategy considering that most women at that time sewed their own clothes. Conversely, this independent production of clothing achieved an individuality far removed from mass production.