The History of Lace in Fashion
The delicate material has gone from being a status symbol to a synonym for seduction.
The daughter of an art forger proposes to a famous thief to steal a statuette forged by her father from the Louvre. The film is How to Steal a Million, the actress is Audrey Hepburn, and the wardrobe chosen by Hubert de Givenchy for this scene is an A-line dress with transparent sleeves, accompanied by a lace mask; a material with more than five centuries of history that knows how to stay current beyond trends.
The enigma of lace is that it can achieve the sensuality and mystery it gave to Hepburn's character, or the sophistication and pristine purity of Grace Kelly's wedding dress. Its versatility brings us pieces that can accompany us from birth, in the christening gown; in youth, with the subversion of transparent pieces; or in the solemnity of a mourning veil.
"Originally, it was a hand-embroidered textile, which could be worn by both men and women; it was not until the eighteenth century when it acquired a fully feminine character."
The history of lace spans Europe with a marked rebound in the 16th century when cities such as Venice and Flanders produced this delicate hand-knitting for the monarchy and aristocracy of the time. Initially, lace was produced in linen or silk, and its laborious manual work made it one of the most sought-after textiles, for both men and women. Some lace accents were added to the cuffs, collars, or any other decorative detail that could stand out on an outfit.
Long into the seventeenth century, lace was a symbol of absolute wealth, and could sometimes be the most expensive part of the entire outfit worn by a person. Its use was widespread among the wealthy classes of France, Spain, England, and Italy. This type of fabric used to take its name from the cities in which they were manufactured, such as Punto di Napoli, Cluny, Chantilly, or Veneziano (today known as Guipure). Each city proudly protected the production of this fabric, so that it became a product that was marketed from one city to another or between neighboring countries, and was even distributed as contraband.
Then, sometime in the early 18th century, men completely renounced this material and began to integrate it into the multiple layers that made up women's underwear, an idea that could explain how it began to acquire an air of sensuality. Thus, as a synonym for lingerie, a conservative Victorian society began to fetishize anything that held a glimpse of the language of underwear.
For example, the most scandalous dance of the late 19th century, the cancan, was characterized by the erotic leg lifts of the dancers, which revealed textures of the underwear, or of the garters and stockings. The '20s of the last century were very prolific for lace, and at least in everyday clothes, it was separated from the image of older women are more readily chosen at the hands of the subversive and dynamic flappers.
Lace has prospered some of the most iconic looks in the last years of the 20th century, such as the dress and glove ensemble that accompanied Madonna in her "Like a Virgin" music video in 1984; the bodysuit that Naomi Campbell paraded for Alaïa in 1994; or Kate Middleton's Alexander McQueen bridal gown, which would inspire wedding dress fashions for a decade. For Spring/Summer 2021, brands such as Chanel, Fendi, and Stella McCartney continue to include lace in their collections, both in contrast and in total looks.
The lace symbolizes well that reflection that Bernard Rudofsky made in 1944, in his book Are Clothes Modern?, in which he mentions that we often see signs of modesty turn into representations of sensuality, a phenomenon that skirts and swimsuits both went through. But what makes it different today is lace's duality as a representative of either angelic or sinful figures. In any of its manifestations, naive or sensual, it's just as seductive because it hints without showing.
