Top 5 World Affairs x Fashion Moments: May 10, 2024

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Series #3: Top 5 World Affairs x Fashion Moments

Today’s pick: Roaring 20s x Tutankhamun’s Tomb

European fashion taking inspiration from Ancient Egypt is nothing new. During the Regency era, as Napolean conquered Alexandria and Cairo, geometrical embroidery from Egypt became all the rage. In 1869, the creation of the Suez Canal saw the rise of jewelry in the form of sphinxes and scarabs.

But the 1920s are where Egyptomania REALLY takes hold: kohl, snake bracelets, hieroglyphs/pyramid/ibis/lotus/geometrical patterns and motifs, sandals, glass beading, ostrich feathers …the list goes on and on and on.

In fact, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, returned her wedding gift from her husband, a necklace in a Greek pattern, to have it turned into a tiara with a lotus motif!

But the question is…why?

The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

The journey to incorporating Eastern fashions in Western couture is a long one but in the 1910s Paul Poiret accelerated the speed. Instead of just embroidery and jewelry, he changed the very cut and shape of dresses, bringing in looser, flowing designs. He even encouraged women to wear…gasp, pants!

(seriously, don’t we all remember Sybil’s dress from Downton Abbey?)

This and the advent of WW1 meant that women’s fashions changed. Instead of floor-length dresses emphasizing curves, we saw shorter dresses in straight lines, showing off lean, boyish figures.

These shorter dresses meant other parts of your outfit started to gain importance - so the footwear industry boomed (or can we say, began to gain…a foothold? eh? eh? Okay, fine).

You could say these straight, sheath-like dresses were almost…Egyptian.

And then, in just the right time and place, we have: Howard Carter’s archaeological expeditions.

Carter’s expeditions were known during the 1910s, but his triumph was the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. The discovery of statues, chests, and of course, gold, made everyone anxious to be on the “next big thing”.

The intersection of the already-existing fashions and a new cultural milestone made the leap to Egyptomania pretty easy.

Glovemakers, shoemakers, makeup companies, fashion designers, and jewelry makers all rushed to file patents in the names of popular Egyptian words, colors, and patterns so they could market them. Even Cartier knew the discovery was bringing “sweeping changes in jewelry.”

Owning “Egyptian” items, from dresses to a handbag to sandals (a new item), became a sign of knowledge, class, and sophistication. It marked the wearer as someone “in the know”. In fact, I’m guessing a handbag had the higher impact since you can carry the same one on your arm every day!

At the end of it, the craze for Egyptian fashions died out by late 1924. But, like all trends, it’s cyclical and we continued to see its impact: in the 1960s, with the release of Elizabeth Taylor’s “Cleopatra” to the London Fashion Week in 2013.

Do you have a fashion era you love? One you think is just plain ugly? Maybe I got something wrong and you want to correct me? Reply to this email!

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xoxo,

Simran