COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN CRITIQUEKatrine Mae F. SalvadorClothing Evolution IA. INSPIRATIONAL SOURCES

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear about Directoire and Empire Period is Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Empress Josephine. During the 18th century, it was Napoleon who led the new French Empire. Due to his multitude of military campaigns into Italy, many statues and artifacts from Greco-Roman ruins found their way back to France. Historians believe this to be the main fuel for a revival of all things "classical", meaning Greek & Roman. These classical ideas affected everything---literature, governments, and most importantly to us...fashion.Women's fashion of the Empire/Directoire period clearly "reinterprets" Greek and Roman dress. According to some research, vase paintings and statues were studied intently and garments were created in imitation of their findings. However, the resulting dresses were much more complicated in construction than the rectangles and squares of fabric draped around the bodies of the past.Looking at Napoleon Bonapartes wife, Josephine depicts how women during this period dressed up. Extravagant corsets, panniers, and gowns made of silk brocade were cast aside as thin, almost transparent Grecian- like cotton gowns were adopted. It was this idea of neoclassical simplicity that changed the way female form was treated. Garments began to drape and flow. Corsets were discarded altogether. For the first time since antiquity, the body was free to remain in its natural shape.Initially, lightweight and relatively sheer white fabrics prevailed the new fashion. The once colorful Greco-Roman statues had been bleached white. The imitators of the late 18th/early 19th century interpreted this fact to mean that all of the clothing was also white, thus the choice of white for the neo-classical dresses. Eventually, pastel dresses became fashionable as well.

During their Napoleon Bonapartes reign as the Emperor, he hoped that France would become a fashion leader. He halted the import of British textiles, revived French lace making, and forbade women to appear at court in the same dress more than twice. Napoleon's wife, the Empress Josephine became a fashion icon, a trendsetter of the day. On the other hand, even Napoleon himself became the basis of most mens costume from then on. B. CONTEMPORARY DESIGN DESCRIPTION

There is something about the Christian Dior Spring 2005 collection that is effortlessly perfect and undeniably couture. What is extraordinary about this collection is the subdued nature of the silhouette paired with extremely detailed techniques. Christian Dior Haute Couture has been sensational for the past seasons and this is no exception. John Galliano has done it again. But this was no literal historical recreation. The combination of flat pointed knee boots and raised-waist dresses amounts to a whole new proposition in silhouette and style. Add in the throwaway richness of the fabrics and colorsthe threadbare red damasks and velvet, turned into sumptuous, puffy dresses and worn with Cavalier hats, or the delicately sumptuous embroideries on Napoleonic coats and Josephine gownsand this is a collection with the power to reverberate throughout fashion for seasons to comeC. DESIGN ELEMENT COMPARISONVery much evident on the Christian Dior Spring 2005 collection is the silhouette used, which reminds me of the Directoire/Empire Period. Most of the designs looked definitely something Empress Josephine would wear. First thing I noticed was the empire waistline on most of the dresses that walked the runway. During the Empire/Directoire period, gowns were universally high waisted. The emphasis was on the bosom, and the resulting silhouette was tall and vertical. This silhouette has evolved to what is known now as the Empire Waistline. On the other hand, headdresses were generally either a variation of a bonnet-style or a Greco-Roman inspired headwrap. Gallianos modern take on the headdresses were a little bit extravagant. It was also during this period when spencer, which is a tailored short jacket that ended at the fashionable waist or underbust became a fashion.I personally think that Christian Diors modern take on it is totally chic.

Moving on, I think that John Galliano also took inspirations from the Emperor himself Napoleon Bonaparte. The design on this Napoleonic coats was a subtle take but nonetheless, if you take a closer look it still shows. I see Napoleon Bonaparte as a man of power. Hes the epitome of a ruler to me. And to me these garments in particulars speak that. When Galliano strutted down the catwalk of his haute couture collection for Christian Dior in January of 2005 dressed in a dramatic black frock-coat that unmistakably identified him as the pint-sized Napoleon Bonaparte, he could have never guessed with what eerie premonition he would wear those borrowed robes and how this very image would come to haunt him a few years later when his long and glorious reign at Dior came to an abrupt and untimely end. Irony had done its worst and the emperor of fashion was in exile.

I personally think that Christian Dior will not be Christian Dior if not for John Galliano. As I look at their collections now, a part of it is missing. Glory may be fleeting and obscurity forever, but it is doubtful indeed whether such a man renowned for his pageantry will be willing to simply fade into the grey walls of Diors history.D. BIBLIOGRAPHY17951820 in Western fashion (n.d.) in Wikipedia, Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17951820_in_Western_fashion

Dress worn by Empress Josephine (2012, October). In Grand Ladies, Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://www.gogmsite.net/empire-napoleonic-and-roman/subalbum-empress-josephine/albumette-dresses-and-cloth/dress-worn-by-empress-josep.htmlLowell, L. (2006). Empire/Directoire Review,. Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://www.cfa.ilstu.edu/lmlowel/the334/empire/empirewomenreview.htm

Monet,D. (2013). Fashion History - Early 19th Century Regency and Romantic Styles for Women,. Retrieved September 25, 2013 from http://doloresmonet.hubpages.com/hub/Fashion-History-Early-19th-Century-Regency-and-Romantic-Styles

Mower,S. (2005). Spring 2005 Couture. Christian Dior,. Retrieved September 26, 2013 from http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2005CTR-CDIOR

E. PHOTOGRAPH/S OF THE DESIGN/COLLECTION AND ITS HISTORICAL SOURCES Napoleons Coronation

Christian Dior Spring 2005