The title of the lecture refers to a statement made by the French fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet, who said that were it not for her extensive professional experience, she would be designing Fords and not Rolls-Royces. Fords were synonymous with serial, even mass production, resulting in identical products. Their advantages were availability and price. Rolls Royces, on the other hand, have remained to this day a symbol of quality, focus on detail, exclusivity but also low availability, due to the high cost of production. In the same way, one can look at the fashion market where serial confectionery has been contrasted with the uniqueness of haute couture.
The lecture will focus on the tensions between serial dressmaking and contract sewing that became increasingly apparent in the interwar period.
The subject of the “little black dress,” whose simplicity, versatility and of course colour have been compared to the popular Ford model, will also come up during the meeting.
Dr Piotr Szaradowski – lecturer, museum worker, curator. Wrote “Francja elegancja. Z historii haute couture” (2016), takes care of the collection of 19th and 20th century clothing muzealnemody.org

09.02.2022, 6 p.m.
20 Gdańska St.