— The Battle of Versailles, photographed by Helmut Newton for Vogue, 1973
Trend Archive
1890s - 1980s
My enthusiasm for fashion history combined with my love of research fueled my Spring 2023 Twentieth-Century Fashion capstone project at Virginia Commonwealth University. Throughout the semester, I developed three (3) visual presentations illustrating key fashion trends and designers across nine (9) decades, starting from the Victorian era (late 19th century) and ending in the 1980s, touching on how historical events shaped styles over the years.
Featuring curated images with insightful (sometimes punny) captions, I practiced skills in style and decade identification while deepening my appreciation for cultural influences in fashion.
Explore my process and tour a project (1960s-1980s) . . .
THE ASK
Create a visual timeline of fashions from the Victorian era to the 1980s, connecting key style trends to historical events.
PROJECT SPECS
3
Projects
9
Decades
36
Trends
KEY SKILLS
TREND ANALYSIS
PEER REVIEW
COPYWRITING
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
+ PHOTOSHOP
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
HISTORICAL CONTEXTUALIZATION
SOURCE MATERIAL
Book
The History of Modern Fashion
— James Cole + Nancy Deihl
Aside from course lectures, this text served as our primary source material, covering Western fashion history, culture, and society from the 19th and 21st centuries.
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To supplement learning of global contexts, I studied sources like Worn: A People's History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser, telling histories of our clothing beyond the countries listed on the tags.
— Grace Jones in 1984, ELLE
— Guy Laroche FW 72, ELLE
CATEGORIES
1
WOMENSWEAR
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Daytime + evening
- Even display of separates (tops, bottoms), sets (dresses) + occasion wear
2
MENSWEAR
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Daytime + evening
- Even display of leisure + professional styles
3
ACCESSORIES
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Jewelry
-
Hair
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Hats
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Patches + appliqués
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Etc.
SAMPLE
Example photo
Trend callout
Description
— With friend + classmate Hannah in front of the department archive, 2023.
COLLABORATION
In small groups, classmates discussed trend fascinations and project progress and shared feedback for improvements to make our content more impactful.
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Touring Virginia Commonwealth University's fashion archive allowed us to see vintage and antique garments up close, helping us build a stronger understanding of content and context.