Clothing and Rulers’ Representation: Prince Miloš Obrenović
In different areas and different cultures, clothes have been used for centuries as a means of expressing social status. In the 19th century, during the dynamic period of building a modern state, according to social and political circumstances, as well as the models of Ottoman and European rulers’ representation, clothes were successfully and prudently used by the Serbian uprising leader and prince Miloš Obrenović. After the end of the Second Serbian Uprising in 1817, Prince Miloš, in a Turkish dress with a çalma on his head and yemeni on his feet, looked more like a wealthy saraf or merchant than a political representative of the Serbian people, writes historian Mihailo Gavrilović. We see this way of dressing in one of the prince’s canonical portraits, which is known as Prince Miloš with a turban. This portrait, today in the National Museum of Serbia, was painted in 1824 in Kragujevac by Pavel Đurković. At that time, a Kashmir shawl with a distinctive striped and floral pattern, wrapped around the head like a turban, together with a red upper dress whose edges are trimmed with fur and embroidered with metal thread, was a typical element of the luxurious clothing of wealthy Christians in the Ottoman Balkans that expressed their desire to equate their status with the ruling classes through visual code. In the same year, Đurković painted two more portraits of the prince, in which he is shown in a simpler, folk dress, with a fez on his head. In a Turkish dress, Prince Miloš attended the great public ceremony of reading Hatt-i sharif and berat, which was held in Belgrade, on Tašmajdan, in 1830. Since Sultan Mahmud II with these documents granted autonomy to the Principality of Serbia and declared Miloš the hereditary prince, the prince adapted his clothes to the new situation. In the period after 1830, the most common representational dress of Prince Miloš was a dolman made of red cloth, decorated with embroidery with metal thread and cords, with which he wore a kalpak made of fur with an aigrette. Photographer and lithographer Anastas Jovanović noted that the prince said that the Serbs were dressed like that during the old times. During the first reign of Prince Miloš, Novine srpske in their reports also marked this dress as an old Serbian dress. The complete look of the dress can be seen on several preserved portraits of Prince Miloš, among which is the one from the collection of the National Museum of Serbia, the work of Moritz Daffinger from around 1848. Also, Prince Miloš’s sumptuous red dolman is preserved in the collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia, along with about sixty other clothing items that belonged to members of the Obrenović dynasty. The fact that it is sewn by the high standards of men’s tailoring certainly contributes to the representational quality of Miloš’s dolman. Historian Radoš Ljušić states that at the wedding of Prince Mihailo in Vienna in 1853, the old prince attracted significantly more attention than the younger prince and that he made his way through the huge mass of the curious Viennese world, dressed in a luxurious and rich Serbian dress, like some old Serbian knight. Old Serbian dress – dolman was worn by the prince on various solemn occasions. One of them was the ceremony of awarding the Great Order of Sultan Mahmud II (Nişan-ı Zişan), which was held in Bregovo on Timok in 1834. Novine srpske reported that the prince was dressed in a Russian uniform during the bestowing of the order, which showed his respect and devotion to the Russian emperor as the patron of Serbia, but also to the Russian court and its institutions. The next day, when he visited Vizier Hussein Pasha, who had previously ceremoniously presented him with the order, he was dressed in an old cherry-colored Serbian dress, with a sable kalpak on his head. The Russian uniform, which is mentioned in the report from Bregovo, represents another important model of Prince Miloš’s clothing in the period after the acquisition of autonomy in 1830. By wearing a black military jacket with general epaulette and rank on the collar and cuffs according to the Russian model, the prince emphasized his position and autonomy of Serbia in relation to the supreme Ottoman authority. In the Russian uniform, also worn by his brothers Jovan and Jevrem, he is shown in the portrait of Uroš Knežević from 1835, preserved in the collection of the Historical Museum of Serbia. Draginja Maskareli Museum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian Dictionary of less known terms: Pavel Djurković, Prince Miloš with a turban, 1824, National Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / National Museum of Serbia Pavel Djurković, Prince Miloš with a fez, 1824, National Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / National Museum of Serbia Moritz Daffinger, Prince Miloš, around 1848, National Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / National Museum of Serbia Anastas Jovanović, Prince Miloš Obrenović, 1852, National Library of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / National Library of Serbia Uroš Knežević, Prince Miloš, 1835–1840, Historical Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / Historical Museum of Serbia / user: Sadko
How did the women’s handbag become an important fashion accessory?
From the earliest times, handbags have been a useful addition to clothing worn by both men and women. The emergence of the modern handbag throughout history was preceded by a series of different types, from medieval pouches worn on belts, through 18th-century pockets, bags for carrying books and needlework supplies, to pouches for small change. The development of the handbag as we know it today was greatly influenced by the emancipation of women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Increased mobility of women and their more significant participation in the business world led to the emergence of various types of handbags, from travel and business bags to daytime handbags and elegant evening bags. An important part of the history of handbags is their contents, which have changed over time. Money, makeup, and tissues have remained in handbags to this day, while needlework supplies disappeared along with the disappearance of this activity from women’s social lives. Over time, new items have made their way into handbags: credit cards have joined metal and paper currency, the range of makeup has increased, and cloth handkerchiefs, hand-decorated with embroidery, have replaced packaged disposable paper tissues. The former place of needlework supplies has been taken over by various electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets, while cigarettes, which entered women’s handbags in the 1920s as an expression of the struggle for equality, have been removed from them in recent decades, following current trends in healthy living. Unlike shoes, which gradually take on the shape of the wearer’s foot, a handbag becomes a projection of personality by the way it is used. Thus, psychoanalyst Adam Phillips observes that what we say when we talk about handbags – especially when considering them from a historical or aesthetic standpoint – can blur their intimate dimension. Fashion journalist Anna Johnson sees the handbag as an intimate extension of the body, a little house for living on the move, or a portable boudoir full of lipsticks and hairpins, while curator Claire Wilcox emphasizes the dual function of the handbag, which simultaneously reveals and conceals, managing to be both public and private. Therefore, the handbag is the only fashion item where both the exterior and interior are equally important. Surely each of us has at least several times, after carefully examining the interior of a handbag that initially appealed to us, given up on purchasing it, concluding that it is not a place where we can adequately accommodate a portable part of our personal world. The women’s handbag developed in the last third of the 19th century from leather travel bags with handles, metal clasps, and internal compartments. Leather handbags became a mandatory fashion accessory that women wore outside the home, with daytime attire – long jackets, skirts, and large hats. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, various types of evening handbags also became fashionable. Among them were clutch bags, shaped like pouches, often made of the same material as the corresponding evening dress. At that time, compact silver bags decorated with engraved ornaments were also worn, as well as leather cases for opera glasses. Despite their small dimensions, the interior of these handbags had a complex structure, which included a whole range of different compartments, among which were compartments for small change and a mirror, while in opera glass bags, in addition to a compartment for the glasses themselves, there was also space for a fan, a powder puff, a note card, and a pencil. In the dress of the modern woman, the handbag represents an important fashion accessory, and among the most famous handbag manufacturers today are brands such as Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Bottega Veneta. Some of the classic handbag models, such as Chanel’s 2.55 bag or Hermès’ Birkin and Kelly bags, have remained in fashion for decades. While the iconic Hermès models are named after actresses Jane Birkin and Grace Kelly, the luxury Jodie bag from the Bottega Veneta brand is named after actress Jodie Foster. When making this bag, a technique of weaving leather strips called intrecciato is used, which represents the brand’s recognizable pattern. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1.Handbag, Florence, around 1450, Textile Museum (Museo del tessuto), Prato; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED 2.Pockets, 1796, Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum, New York; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0 DEED 3.Silver handbag, around 1890; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain 4.Fashion illustration, Journal des dames et des modes, 1912; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0 DEED / Rijksmuseum 5.Fashion illustration, Journal des dames et des modes, 1913; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0 DEED / Rijksmuseum
Fashion Icons of the Past: Queen Maria
Even during her upbringing, Queen Maria, as a member of the European aristocracy, developed a poised and elegant fashion style, which in our environment was kindly interpreted as an expression of modesty. Thus, at the beginning of 1941, in the magazine Nedeljne ilustracije, Queen’s visit to a charitable book exhibition was recounted, during which she, with a modest hairstyle and even more modestly dressed, left speechless luxuriously dressed ladies from the best Belgrade houses. However, documentation related to the procurement of the Queen’s clothing, preserved in the Archives of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, shows that she, in line with her status of ruler’s wife, purchased clothing from leading Parisian haute couture houses such as Worth, Redfern, Drecoll, Patou, Martial & Armand, and Lelong. Queen Maria’s wedding dress was tailored at the Maison Nouvelle fashion salon in Bucharest, along with several other ceremonial dresses she brought with her upon arrival in Belgrade in 1922. Queen Maria’s mother, Queen Maria of Romania, was also considered a style icon, and, when it comes to fashion, one should not overlook the fact that Romania is one of the countries with a long and rich tradition of clothing, which occupied an important place in the public representation of elite social strata. Since she shared the same name as her mother, the Yugoslav queen was also known by the nickname Mignon. During the interwar period, fur clothing was an obligatory part of women’s wardrobes. Queen Maria purchased fur in Paris, and it is known that in 1927, she bought a Siberian squirrel coat at the famous Belgrade shop of Đura Janošević, located on Knez Mihailova Street, at the site of today’s bookstore in the building of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 1922 and 1923, she ordered from the fashion house Redfern a ceremonial velvet coat with ermine and 13 evening dresses made of velvet, lame, and lace, in black, gray, beige, gold, red, pink, and green, as well as in strawberry and fuchsia colors. From the same fashion house, in 1926, the queen received two boxes of clothes, while during her stay in Paris in 1928, she ordered from Redfern 13 dresses in gray, white, and beige, including models Ole, Artemia, Fantasque, and Come Again, as well as gray and white sweaters, a coat, and an astrakhan fur coat. Two coats, an astrakhan set, fox fur, and one fur were acquired by the queen from Redfern in 1930. Interestingly, the talented Belgrade dressmaker Katarina Mladenović, active in the 1920s and known for her models adorned with various ornaments, worked for a while in the fashion house Redfern. Mladenović executed the ornaments with an original technique she devised and patented, painting the fabric with melted metals and synthetic gemstones. The Redfern house was not only recognizable for the luxurious creations intended for members of high society. The house is also significant in the history of fashion as a pioneer in the production of clothing tailored to the needs of modern women and outdoor activities such as walking, driving cars, playing tennis, cycling, or equestrian sports. Queen Maria herself was an excellent driver and a great lover of driving. She primarily ordered practical clothing from the fashion house Patou. In 1926, the queen bought a Caprice dress and a white felt hat from Patou, while the same year, a package of clothes was delivered to her in Belgrade by the Orient Express train from this fashion house. A representative of Patou, Miss Richard, came to Belgrade in 1927 to receive new orders from Queen Maria. Also, three packages with sports costumes for the queen arrived in 1925 from London. In the fashion house Worth, the oldest Parisian haute couture house, Queen Maria bought an evening dress made of lame with a cloak and fur in 1934. That same year, after the assassination of King Alexander in Marseille, she ordered mourning attire from this fashion house – a crêpe georgette dress, an afternoon coat, two hats, two veils, a Roman dress, and a Roman cloak. Numerous preserved photographs and painted portraits testify to the elegance of Queen Maria, who was exceptionally beloved and respected by the people. Draginja Maskareli Museum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1. Wedding photograph of King Alexander and Queen Maria, 1922; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / Library of Congress 2.Romanian Queen Maria, mother of Yugoslav Queen Maria, at the baptism of Crown Prince Peter, 1923; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / Gallica 3.Milena Pavlović – Barilli, Queen Maria, 1923; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED / Milena Pavlović – Barilli Gallery 4.Queen Maria on the cover of the magazine Žena i svet, Belgrade, 1928; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0 DEED / Digital National Library of Serbia 5.Queen Maria, 1931; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain / Digital Library of Slovenia
Fashion Icons of the Past: Queen Natalija
Serbian Queen Natalija had a deep interest in fashion. Although her penchant for luxury was criticized by many in Serbia, including King Milan, she was considered a fashion icon of her time, having a significant following among women. After her exile from Serbia in 1891, a dress she left behind was reportedly preserved as a cult object on the premises of the Women’s Society of Belgrade. The most well-known and exemplary visual depiction of Queen Natalija is the portrait from 1882 painted by Vlaho Bukovac, which is displayed in the National Museum of Serbia. In this portrait, the queen is dressed in a sumptuous bustle dress, in line with European fashion trends of the 1870s and 1880s. Evolving from crinolines that spread the lower part of the dress around the body, the bustle was a support structure worn at the back to expand only the rear part of the skirt. The fashion of this period was characterized by decorative elements such as ribbons, flounces, elastic fabrics, and pleats, while the fabrics used for the bustle included cushions filled with horsehair, stiffly starched cloth, and frames of whalebone, bamboo, and rattan. In his memoirs, Vlaho Bukovac recollected a conversation with Queen Natalija regarding her intention to be represented in a bustle gown. On that occasion, she told him she disliked her ceremonial attire (national costume) because it included too much jewelry and diverse accessories. By preferring fashionable dress over national costume and emphasizing her fashion-conscious image, Queen Natalija was directly involved in remodeling the public representation of the ruler’s wife, which significantly differed from the previous norms. Historically, the central point of the official representation of the wives of Serbian rulers, Princesses Ljubica, Persida, and Julija, was a dress with national traits. Of course, as the ruler’s wife, Queen Natalia also used the national costume to constitute her national image. Portraits of the Queen in national costume have been preserved, including a watercolor by Carl Goebel from 1881, painted while she was still a princess and exhibited in the Residence of Princess Ljubica. Like Princess Julia in her official portrait from around 1865, Princess Natalia at this time combined elements of the national costume, such as the jacket – libade and cap – tepeluk, with modern, European clothing – the bustle dress. An important part of the national costume at the public representations of the Serbian rulers’ wives, especially in the case of Princess Persida and Queen Natalija, was lavish jewelry, including a large brooch in the form of a flower bouquet – grana, worn as headgear. Another portrait of Queen Natalija, a work by Uroš Predić from 1890, attracted public attention when it appeared at a 2008 auction at Bonhams in London. In the portrait, which was painted in the queen’s private salon – boudoir, besides luxurious and fashionable clothes, various carefully selected interior elements played a crucial role in constructing the image, like Oriental carpets and Pirot kilims, books, domestic and foreign newspapers, a photograph of Crown Prince Alexander, an icon of the Virgin Mary, a palm tree, and a samovar. This may be the very portrait, for which Queen Natalija wrote in 1904 it should have been sent to the writer Pierre Loti in Istanbul. Following her divorce from King Milan and departure from Serbia in 1891, Queen Natalija lived in Biarritz, at Villa Sacchino. There she organized social gatherings and hosted prominent persons from the political, social, and artistic circles. She wrote to geologist and politician Jovan Žujović in 1897 and 1898 that she was in the spotlight of fashionable events, leading a high-society life. In 1897, the British fashion magazine The Queen, which regularly reported on women from high society, announced that Queen Nathalie of Servia had purchased numerous chef d’oeuvres in the Paris branch of the Redfern fashion house. This renowned fashion house later supplied clothing to the Yugoslav queen Maria. Interestingly, the only high-fashion item preserved in Serbian museum collections was created in the Paris branch of Redfern. It is an evening dress worn by Elena Ristić, granddaughter of politician and historian Jovan Ristić, at her engagement party in Paris in 1909. In the same year, the dress, now a part of the Belgrade Museum of Applied Art’s collection, was featured in the prestigious French fashion magazine Les Modes, both in the July and November issues. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian Vlaho Bukovac, Queen Natalija, 1882; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED / National Museum of Serbia Queen Natalija; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED / Museum of the Rudnik and Takovo Region Princess Julija, circa 1865, National Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Uroš Predić, Queen Natalija, 1890; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Evening Gown, Redfern fashion house, Les Modes magazine, Paris, July 1909; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / Gallica Digital Library
History of Fashion and Street Style
In 1994, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London hosted an exhibition titled Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to Tomorrow, curated by Amy de la Haye. The exhibition showcased nearly 300 items representing British and American subcultures and countercultures, aiming to illustrate their influential role in Britain. The exhibition offered fresh interpretations of the dynamics of clothing by placing items in a cultural context, featuring attire from biker, surfer, rockabilly, hipster, rocker, punk, goth, and other subcultures. Leather jackets, denim, kaftans, baseball caps, cowboy boots, and psychedelic shirts were presented alongside music, photography, video, and fashion details, providing visibility to the complex factors that influenced the development of street style. Streetstyle was the first fashion exhibition with the concept of highlighting the diversity of subcultures in which young people created distinctive identities through clothing and music of their choice. Pioneers of street fashion like Jimmy Jumble, Sarah Ratty, Oz, Clare Tranter, and Craig Morrison were showcased alongside renowned high fashion names, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, and Gianni Versace. Even these high-fashion designers considered street fashion a powerful source of inspiration. Due to its innovative approach and high attendance, the exhibition was met with criticism, from questions about the appropriateness of such clothing in the most sacred temples of the British art establishment to critiques claiming it was too academic or failed to connect clothing with other aspects of subcultures, such as music and politics, or to keep pace with the rapid evolution of street styles. Today, nearly thirty years later, the connection between street style and mainstream fashion is clear and recognizable to all clothing enthusiasts. Therefore, it’s no surprise that this theme has gained a prominent place in one of the notable 2023 fashion exhibitions, Beyond the Little Black Dress. Curated by Georgina Ripley, the exhibition took place at the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. By tracing the image of the little black dress through more than 60 clothing items from Coco Chanel and the 1920s to the present day, the exhibition deconstructed this essential piece of women’s clothing, viewing it as a blank canvas onto which various identities and cultural meanings have been projected over a century. A segment of the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition, titled Subcultural Black, focused on the symbolism of the color black in the clothing of different 20th-century subcultural movements and their influence on mainstream fashion. Within this segment, models by British designers Zandra Rhodes and Gareth Pugh, inspired by punk, were featured, as well as those by British designer Theresa Coburn and Belgian designer Olivier Theyskens, inspired by the goth subculture. The source of inspiration for mainstream fashion was also the subculture of streetwear, rooted in the 1970s hip-hop scene and Afro-Caribbean, Latino, and African-American neighborhoods in New York, such as the Bronx. One of the brands known for luxury clothing inspired by streetwear is the Italian brand Off-White, founded in Milan in 2013 by American fashion designer Virgil Abloh. In the Beyond the Little Black Dress exhibition, this brand was represented by a black dress from the pre-fall 2018 collection. The short Off-White dress, made of viscose and polyester, featured the text Little black dress in quotation marks. Abloh’s use of quoted references to popular culture and fashion history is a recognizable element of his brand and design. By presenting the words Little black dress as a quotation, Abloh simultaneously questions their validity, satirizing the cultural currency of the little black dress. Sources of inspiration play a significant role in the contemporary fashion system, involving interactions among various factors, including fashion houses, fabric and clothing manufacturers, distributors, and consumers. In this regard, references to street style and popular culture allow fashion designers to successfully mediate between these factors, creating fashion trends that reflect the spirit of the times. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1–3. Beyond the Little Black Dress Exhibition, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, September 25, 2023; photos: D. Maskareli
Story of Cashmere
When we mention cashmere, elegance and luxury are among the first associations that come to mind. This fine animal fiber is obtained from the short, soft hairs of mountain goats and is known as one of the most expensive fibers in the world. Various breeds of cashmere goats, named after the Kashmir region in northwest India, inhabit the mountainous areas of Asia, primarily in Mongolia, China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Kashmir region is also associated with the production of Kashmir shawls, which played a significant role in European 19th-century fashion. They were made from the wool of a specific type of cashmere goat known as pashmina. Cashmere is highly sought after in the world of fashion. Warm, comfortable, and lightweight cashmere fabrics are exceptionally pleasant to wear, with excellent drape and a soft texture. Due to its fineness, cashmere requires careful maintenance. At the same time, it is a very limited resource: one cashmere goat can produce around 200 grams of fiber annually, meaning that crafting a single sweater requires the fiber from several sheep. The history of cashmere production spans centuries, and today, China and Mongolia are the leading producers. Modern cashmere clothing draws attention with its simple, classic lines and high craftsmanship standards. Cashmere is most commonly used to make elegant coats, suits, and high-quality knitwear. Since the mid-20th century, cashmere sweaters have become one of the most popular cashmere fashion items. Soft, comfortable, and warm, they are available in various colors and styles, making them suitable for various occasions. It’s important to note that genuine cashmere quality comes with a corresponding price tag. Numerous cashmere shawls, wraps, coats, sweaters, and other clothing items are preserved in museum collections worldwide, bearing witness to luxury, style, elegance, and enduring fashion trends. In the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), an interesting cashmere item is preserved: a little boy’s dress adorned with silk embroidery and tassels, made in Kashmir for the Western market around 1855. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, such dresses made of various materials were common attire for very young boys up to the age of four, and they can be seen in family photographs of the Serbian bourgeoisie from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cashmere clothing was a recognizable part of the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth II. Cashmere coats and cardigans held a special place among the queen’s attire, and it is known that she loved to wear cashmere sweaters from the famous Scottish brand Pringle, which has held the Royal Warrant since 1956. Another well-known cashmere clothing manufacturer, Ballantyne, was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 1967. Princess Grace of Monaco also adored wearing Pringle sweaters. The King of Cashmere, Brunello Cucinelli, is favored by Prince William of Wales and actor Daniel Craig. Prince William posed in Cucinelli’s sweater in one of his official engagement photos, while Craig wore Cucinelli’s clothing even in his role as British secret agent James Bond in the films Spectre and No Time to Die. Luxury and high-quality cashmere clothing brands include Bramani Cashmere, Loro Piana, and Malo. Wearing cashmere clothing is a sign of refined taste and style. Whether dressed up for a night out, a business meeting, or everyday activities, cashmere adds an elegant touch to any outfit, making us feel confident, comfortable, and chic. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1. Cashmere Goats; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Ishana Verma 2. Cashmere Coat, fashion illustration, 1830s, G. & C. Franke collection; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 3. Boy’s Frock, Kashmir, around 1855, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 4. Queen Elizabeth II with Family, Ilustrovana politika, Belgrade, October 17, 1972; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 5. Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mother, and Princess Beatrice, Balmoral, 1988, National Archives of New Zealand; photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Kashmir Shawls: Luxury and Status
Since the second half of the 17th century, the Levant has been the main route through which printed cotton fabrics from India reached Europe. Cities such as Venice, Genoa, Livorno, and Marseille began to develop local production that imitated the imported Indian textiles. The intricate patterns and vibrant colors made these fabrics attractive to both European and Ottoman buyers, paving the way for the fashion of Kashmir shawls. Kashmir shawls originate from the region of Kashmir in northwest India. They are handmade from fine Kashmiri wool, known as pashmina, and often adorned with buta – the distinctive tear-shaped motif with a curved end. Imported into modern Europe from the late 18th century, they became a luxurious status symbol and fashion item in the early 19th century. So, the shawls inspired by Kashmiri designs started to be produced in France and England. The highest-quality European shawls were made in Lyon, while Paisley in Scotland became known for cheaper imitations. Kashmir shawls, especially those of large dimensions, also had a practical purpose: they were worn as comfortable cloaks over the mid-19th-century oversized dresses, known as crinolines. From the 1870s, as dress dimensions decreased, Kashmir shawls slowly went out of fashion and were often repurposed, used as material for making coats, jackets, dresses, and other clothing items. Fashion history had long been centered on Western Europe, perceiving the fashion of Kashmir shawls exclusively in this part of the world. However, these shawls, along with other luxury fabrics, reached trading routes to Istanbul, Alexandria, Russia, and the Balkans, finding their place in different fashion systems. Wealthy Christians in the Ottoman Empire wore expensive shawls with striped and floral patterns around their heads, known as çalma. Two portraits painted by the artist Pavel Đurković, one of the Wallachian boyar Constantin Cantacuzino from around 1820 and one of Serbian Prince Miloš Obrenović from 1824, are well-known examples of the use of çalma for visual representation. This headgear, resembling turbans, defied strict Ottoman laws requiring differentiation in clothing between Muslims and non-Muslims, so Turks reluctantly viewed Christians wearing çalma. Belgrade Turk Rashid-bey noted that during the reading of a decree, the Belgrade pasha ordered a bundle of fine shawls to be brought, and then one of the finest Kashmir shawls was tied around Prince Miloš’s head, while other Serbian leaders were given one each. The event caused dissatisfaction among the present Turks, who, upon seeing what had been done, left the assembly and returned to their homes. In Serbia, before the issuance of the Hatt-i Sharif in 1830 and the acquisition of autonomy, wearing a shawl around the head was considered the epitome of male elegance. One of the reasons for this was undoubtedly the fact that wearing shawls signified a certain degree of freedom. People’s deputy Sava Ljotić wrote from Istanbul in 1819 that the people of Serbia were criticized for carrying weapons and wearing shawls, to which Prince Miloš replied that the people did not commit any evil with their weapons but carried them to defend themselves against criminals and troublemakers, while wearing shawls was a way to show off and display to the whole world the freedom bestowed upon us by the Sultan. In the Serbian documents of the epoch, luxury shawls were most commonly referred to as Lahore shawls, which indicates another important center of shawl production, the Pakistani city of Lahore. As part of the wedding gifts for his nieces, Jelka and Simka, the daughters of Jevrem Obrenović, Prince Miloš ordered at least six Lahore shawls from Istanbul in 1833. It is also recorded that in 1824, when his daughter Petrija got married, he intended to give two Lahore shawls as gifts to the groom’s sisters. Considering the value of these shawls, the pragmatic prince ordered that on this occasion, Princess Ljubica should part with her shawl, but if she was reluctant to do so, she should find another one, while the second one could be given a shawl of Đorđe Popović Ćeleš. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1.William Simpson, Shawl makers in Kashmir, 1867, chromolithograph; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 2. Fashion of Kashmir Shawls in Paris, fashion illustration, Journal des dames et des modes, Paris, March 26, 1809; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 3. Detail of a Kashmir Shawl, around 1810, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 4. Pavel Đurković, Wallachian Boyar Constantin Cantacuzino, around 1820; photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain 5. Pavel Đurković, Prince Miloš with a ‘turban’, 1824, National Museum of Serbia; photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain
The Magic of Wool
Wool, a fiber obtained from sheep’s fleece, possesses numerous characteristics that set it apart from other natural fibers. Wool is elastic, strong, and water-repellent, capable of absorbing up to 30% of its weight without feeling damp. It serves as an excellent heat insulator, making clothing crafted from lightweight wool fabrics suitable even for summer wear. Furthermore, wool is notably fire-resistant, significantly reducing the risk of fire hazards in household use. The history of wool usage in clothing spans thousands of years. In addition to clothing, valuable artistic items such as rugs, carpets, and tapestries have been crafted from wool for centuries. Late Antique Coptic textiles, woven from wool and linen between the 4th and 8th centuries in Egypt, were often used as dress appliqués. They were adorned with various botanical and geometric motifs, and at times, with figurative compositions. Coptic textiles are now preserved in numerous public and private collections worldwide, including the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts in Belgrade. In the past, as well as today, creating an elegant men’s suit involved using high-quality and modern wool fabrics. In the advertisement published in Srpske novine (Serbian newspapers) in 1879, Belgrade tailor Dimitrije M. Ilić advised against purchasing garments that would fade, wear out, get frayed, or tear within a month or two. He offered various types of men’s coats, trousers, and suits, such as a coat for a person of modest means for 25 dinars, a coat suitable for anyone for 34 dinars, and a coat made of fashionable fabric for 36 dinars… The price range for making a men’s suit at Ilić’s shop varied, depending on the chosen fabric, from 36 to 84 dinars. While Belgrade’s tailors emphasized in their advertisements the availability of a rich selection of imported fabrics, often from England, France, and Brno, in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, some fabric stores in Belgrade exclusively dealt with their sale. Among them were the stores of Nikola S. Šopović, established in 1823, and Anastas Pavlović, founded in the 1890s. Wool holds a significant place both in the history of fashion and in the contemporary fashion industry. When it comes to wool quality, among more than 1,000 sheep breeds existing today, the Merino sheep stands out. This breed, which yields fine and soft wool, was cultivated in late medieval Spain, a country that monopolized wool production for a long time. Merino sheep were owned only by the wealthiest, and their export was strictly prohibited under the threat of the death penalty. In the 18th century, herds of Merino sheep began to arrive in other European countries. King Louis XVI of France purchased a Merino sheep herd in 1786 from his cousin, King Charles III of Spain, and started breeding them in Rambouillet. Thus, the breeding of Merino sheep spread to other parts of Europe, ultimately reaching Australia and New Zealand, which are now among the world’s largest wool producers. Contemporary fashion brands known for crafting luxury clothing from wool fabrics pay great attention to the production of high-quality wool. The company Ermenegildo Zegna awards various prizes to Merino wool producers, with the oldest being the Ermenegildo Zegna Perpetual Trophy, established as early as 1963. Since 2014, this company has owned its own Merino sheep farm, Achill, in Australia. The company Loro Piana established the Record Bale award for Merino wool producers in 1997. This company is also renowned for its products made from vicuña wool. This exceptionally fine and rare fiber is obtained from the vicuña, an animal from the camelid family that resides in the mountainous regions of the Andes in South America. Although in the time of the Incas, wearing clothing made from vicuña wool was allowed only to individuals of the highest rank, during the Spanish conquest, vicuñas became common prey for hunters, nearly leading to their extinction by the mid-20th century. Loro Piana has been supporting the Peruvian government for many years in the protection of vicuñas and is one of the few companies authorized to source vicuña wool in Peru while adhering to all conservation standards. The vicuña is also a national symbol of Peru, and its image is featured on the Peruvian coat of arms. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1. Greek vase – lekythos showing a woman pooling wool from a kalathos – a vessel used for storing wool, Tanagra, 480–470 BC, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.5 / Μαρσύας / National Archaeological Museum of Athens 2. Coptic textile, Egypt, 10th–11th century, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Tropenmuseum / National Museum of World Cultures 3. Advertisement of the tailor Dimitrije M. Ilić, Srpske novine, March 7, 1879. 4. Merino sheep fleece, Australia, 2008, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 / Cgoodwin 5. Herd of vicuñas, Peru, 2017, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Marshallhenrie
Belgrade Tailors and the Timeless Elegance of Men’s Suits
The French Revolution swept away from the European fashion scene the opulent, aristocratic men’s fashion of the 18th century. Bright colors, embroidery, lace, jabots, and cuffs made way for a new, elegant, and simplified men’s suit of the 19th century. The suit evolved from the clothing worn by the English aristocracy, who spent a lot of time living and hunting on their country estates, requiring appropriate, more practical clothing. Consequently, England, which had positioned itself as the center of European men’s fashion in the 18th century, retained this status in the following period, with Italy joining in from the mid-20th century. The men’s suit of the 19th century reflected not only the new, modern values of bourgeois society but also set the standards for classical masculine elegance that persist to this day – supreme tailoring, the appropriate choice of shapes, colors, and high-quality fabrics for specific occasions. Changes in men’s fashion, unlike the dynamic shifts in women’s fashion silhouettes, can be traced through various subtle details – the length and cut of the jacket, the method of fastening, the number and arrangement of buttons, the shape and dimensions of lapels and collars, the number and arrangement of pockets, and the cut of trousers. This shift in men’s fashion also occurred in Serbia during the 19th century, where the European men’s suit replaced the colorful dress of the previous epoch, the layered Ottoman-Balkan urban dress of vibrant colors, richly adorned with embroidery and passementerie. Since the 1840s, numerous tailors’ advertisements have appeared in the Serbian press. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, renowned tailors such as Marko Petronijević, Lazarević and Jovanović, as well as Sudarević and Savković, worked in Belgrade. Thanks to the supreme quality of their products and a large number of clients, their work can be tracked through press advertisements over an extended period. Marko Petronijević, a tailor born in Obrenovac, opened his shop on Kneza Mihaila Street in 1881. His concise and well-balanced advertisements, sometimes published in French, indicate that he and his clients valued expert tailoring and a wide selection of high-quality fabrics with up-to-date fashion patterns from England and France. Trifun Jovanović, born in Vranje, was an apprentice with Marko Petronijević, subsequently worked in Germany, and completed a tailoring school in Vienna. At the end of the 19th century, tailor-made clothes for women came into fashion – women’s suits designed along the same lines and from the same materials as men’s suits. Such clothes, tailored to the needs of modern lifestyle and a variety of outdoor activities, soon became available in Belgrade tailor shops. The Belgrade tailor Života Lazarević, who had been involved with the greatest and the most modern tailoring workshops in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, London, and St Petersburg for many years, opened his shop in 1902 at the corner of Balkanska and Kraljice Natalije streets. He announced in Mali žurnal magazine that besides men’s suits made to the latest patterns and finest fabrics, he had mastered the making of the most fashionable women’s suits, the so-called ‘Genre Tailleur’ In 1903, Života Lazarević and Trifun Jovanović co-founded the tailor shop Lazarević and Jovanović on Kneza Mihaila Street. The Museum of Applied Art holds a dinner jacket and a dinner suit made at this tailor shop in the interwar period, which show the highest standards in the production of men’s suits, for which the shop was famous. In 1923, Lazarević and Jovanović crowned their business success with the construction of the renowned hotel Splendid in Belgrade, the building which is still standing near the City Assembly of Belgrade. Between the two World Wars, a significant place among Belgrade trendsetters was held by the tailor shop Sudarević and Savković. It was located on Topličin Venac, in the Čelebonović Palace, which now houses the Museum of Applied Arts. The museum collection holds a tailcoat suit and two jackets (tailcoat and dinner jacket) made in the shop. Nikola Sudarević, in addition to being a master tailor, was also involved in music. In addition to composing choral songs and a liturgy that was performed in Šabac, he sang in the choir of the Belgrade Opera for a long time. Sudarević was elected as a member of the examination board for master’s exams in the Tailors Section of the Craftsmen’s Association. Reflecting in 1929 on Sudarević’s penchant for music, a journalist of Nedeljne Ilustracije magazine concluded that he was an artist in tailoring and an amateur musician, which demonstrates that the tailoring craft is an art and that we are not behind Paris because we have great tailors who are also artists. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1. Fashion Illustration, Nedelja: ilustrovani sedmični zabavnik, Belgrade, February 28, 1910. 2. Men’s and Women’s Fashion in Belgrade (laying the foundation stone of the Funds Administration building, today’s National Museum of Serbia), Belgrade, April 13, 1903, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Historical Archives of Belgrade3. Advertisement of the tailor Marko Petronijević, Trgovačko-zanatlijski šematizam Kraljevine Srbije, Belgrade, 19054. Advertisement of the tailor Života Lazarević, Mali žurnal, Belgrade, August 14, 19025. Kako treba da se obuče gospodin? (How Should a Gentleman Dress?), an interview with the tailor Nikola Sudarević, Nedeljne Ilustracije, Belgrade, April 28, 1929
Fashion in modern Serbia
In the history of European fashion, the mid-19th century marks the beginning of the era of modern fashion. Paris becomes the world’s fashion center where high fashion houses are established: Worth (1857), Doucet (1880), Redfern (1881), Rouff (1884), Paquin (1891), Calot Soeurs (1896), Lanvin (1909), and others. Parisian high fashion sets the trends that the ready-to-wear industry reproduces, making fashionable products available to broader social classes. In this way, fashion gains an international character and becomes democratized. Additionally, fashion finally gains the status of a fine art, leading to the establishment of renowned fashion designers – internationally esteemed visual artists. During this period, as an important element in shaping the visual identity of individuals, members of ruling families, and the bourgeoisie, fashion occupied a prominent place in the culture of modern Serbia. The uprisings against the centuries-long Ottoman rule, raised in 1804 and 1815, led to the enactment of two sultan’s hatt-i-sherifs in 1830 and 1833, and the creation of the autonomous Principality of Serbia. After gaining full independence at the Berlin Congress in 1878, the Principality of Serbia was proclaimed a Kingdom in 1882. The significant changes that occurred in the political, social, cultural, and economic spheres were also reflected in fashion. By the late 19th century, around Knez Mihailova Street and Terazije in Belgrade, a large number of draper and ready-to-wear shops were in operation, including Kosta Nikolić i Drug, Marko Vuletić i Gavrilović, Petar Petrović i Belović, Lazarević i Stojankić, Bradić i Karaulić, Savčić i Nikolić, Braća M. Isković, Adanja and Demajo’s Kod pariskog šika (At Parisian Chic), Talvi i Mandilović, Natalija Mesaroš, and others. Travel writer Felix Kanitz noted that the best-stocked shops were located on Dubrovačka and Knez Mihailova streets, which were paved with large cobblestones, along with adjacent streets… Women’s and men’s clothing stores, drapers, jewelry, delicatessen shops, etc., attracted curious audiences with their rich displays. Alongside prominently displayed signs, mostly in Serbian and German, and sometimes in French, English, and Russian, popular names were often used, such as ‘Kod Bečlije’ (At the Viennese) or ‘Kičoš’ (Dandy) and others… all above ornate portals. Advertisements in newspapers provide insights into the rich and diverse offerings of Belgrade’s fashion shops. An important part of the advertisements of that time was the information that the offered goods were imported. Furthermore, contemporary transport and communication means such as printing and railways, as well as the phenomenon of globalization, played a crucial role in the development of modern fashion and strengthening its influence. Belgradians often purchased clothing during their travels abroad, with popular shopping destinations being Paris, Vienna, and Budapest. To successfully meet the demands of consumers who wanted to align their clothing style as closely as possible with European trends, tailors of women’s and men’s clothing, as well as other artisans in Serbia whose activities were related to the fashion industry, continuously improved their craft. Skilled artisans often traveled abroad, bringing back new ideas, methods, models, and magazines. The British magazine The Pall Mall Magazine reported the presence of Serbian craftsmen who came to Paris in 1902 to see new models and find inspiration: The Orient Express, which reaches Paris during the first week of March, has been styled ‘train des couturières’ because its passengers are almost exclusively premières from the big houses in Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, and other cities ‘en route’. Good craftsmen, the owners of well-equipped salons, employed many workers and worked only for well-off customers. The ability to afford exclusive clothing, made specifically for an individual by a supreme craftsman, was highly relevant for the visual representation of the property status of the bourgeoisie. Reputed craftsmen in Belgrade included the shoemaker Miloš Savić, tailors Marko Petronijević, Života Lazarević, and Trifun Jovanović, as well as dressmaker Berta Alkalaj and Sofija Švarc. Draginja MaskareliMuseum advisor – Art and Fashion Historian 1. Salesroom of the fashion house Worth, Paris, 1910; taken from: Roger-Milès, L. (1910), Les Creatéurs de la Mode, Paris: Ch. Eggimann Éditeur. 2. Window of Natalija Mesaroš’s women’s clothing store; taken from: Stojanović, S. (1914), Ilustrovani pregled beogradskih trgovina i novčanih zavoda, Beograd: Svetozar Stojanović.3. Advertisement of the draper’s shop Savčić i Nikolić, Moć naroda: list za politiku srpske demokratije, Belgrade, November 3, 1909.4. Fashion illustration, Nedelja: ilustrovani sedmični zabavnik, Belgrade, February 7 1910
