FASHION IMAGE ON THE COVERS OF AMERICAN MAGAZINES OF THE 1910S AND 1920S: THE FEMALE POINT OF VIEW

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to clarify the contribution of female illustrators to the formation of the woman’s fashion image through the means of drawn fashion illustration on the example of analyzing the design of covers of American fashion magazines of the mid-1910s - 1920s. The methodology of the work, in accordance with the goal, is based on the application of a historical and cultural approach, generalization of the problem under study and the use of systematic art historical, stylistic, and comparative artistic analysis. The work attempts to provide an art historical interpretation of the author’s style of designing covers of periodicals of the relevant direction within the characteristic stylistic features of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods by artists who collaborated with the famous American magazines Vogue, Elite Styles, Delineator, McCalls, Collier’s, Good Housekeeping and other fashion magazines of those years. As a result of the review of covers as a key element of the magazine, created by H. Dryden, R. Eastman, G. Miserol, N. McMahon, R. Sanger and a number of other authors, the distinctive features of this type of artistic production are outlined, in which the combination of artistic and certain commercial features contribute to wide recognition among consumers. Attention is focused on highlighting the peculiarities of the presentation of the current female fashion image as a manifestation of the socio-cultural trends of the time in the perception and interpretation of female illustrators. In the context of considering the general evolution of graphic language in the first third of the twentieth century, the specific features of fashion illustration as a line of graphic design of that time, designed to present the most characteristic trends of current fashion, are characterized. The means of information visualization, stylistic features of the created fashionable female images depending on the target audience, individual style of the authors and editorial policy of the customer publications are traced. It is determined that in the general cultural and historical context of this era, fashion illustration was a significant component of the fashion industry and the female author’s interpretation of the fashion image contributed to its establishment as a self-sufficient artistic phenomenon of these years and an expressive component of the lifestyle of the era.