1490-1499
The 1490s was an influential decade that set the groundwork for the following years to come in terms of predominant trends and silhouette. At the same time, regional influence held strong both in Italy and Spain.
Read MoreIn the 1480s the fashions of Florence shine, immortalized in the work of Ghirlandaio and Botticelli, who create an enduring ideal of beauty and demonstrate the connection between contemporary fashion and the dress of the ancient Greeks and Romans. At the same time, Spanish influence continued to spread, introducing a new hairstyle and new outer garments. In northern Europe, we see the last of the angular silhouette as a new one emerges, slender and streamlined for men and molded for women, hinting at the beginnings of corsetry. This decade is the beginning of the transition to sixteenth-century fashion.
Read MoreDuring the 1460s the differences between the fashions of Italy and those of northern Europe deepened. At the courts of Burgundy and France, men and women’s silhouettes were elongated and angular, from the tops of women’s conical headdresses to the points of men’s poulaine shoes. In Italy, inspired by the art and dress of antiquity, more naturalistic proportions and flowing drapery prevailed.
Read MoreFollowing the significant changes of the previous decade, the 1450s was a period of relative stability in fashion. The new proportions and trends of the 1440s developed further and were refined. Men’s outer garments grew shorter, and women’s headdresses grew higher, until they became the tall pointed cones with hanging veils that have captured the imagination ever since.
Read MoreThe 1440s was a period centered around a more angular silhouette in fashion along with the end of popular fashions from the previous decade including the houppelande and other accessories. Regional fashions continued and fashion hubs were influenced by political events including the Hundred Years War.
Read MoreThe court of Burgundy, where courtiers vied for status in countless variations of houppelandes, huques and chaperons continued to dominate fashion in Europe during this decade. Meanwhile in Italy, where we find some of the earliest surviving fashion designs, distinctive styles inspired by classical antiquity signaled a new direction.
Read MoreThe image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is one that is intertwined with Latinx heritage and her identifiable symbols have been appropriated as an expression of individuality, identity, and pride.
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