Week 4: Trend in history

Over the past few weeks I have been investigating the trend 'Boho Chic' and the way it's impacted fashion over the decades. For my final trend post, I will be looking further into the history of where this trend began and how it has been reinvented time and time again.

For over 200 years, the bohemian style was associated with artist, writers and intellectuals. Those who had a creative flare expressed their talents through their fashion which consisted of loose flowing clothing, soft colours, paisley and florals.

The trend began in France after the French revolution. With very little customers supporting the arts, artist were forced to live off the bare minimum. Fashion was the last of their worries and therefor they wore old, used and 'unfashionable' clothing.

'The Bohemian' Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1868

It was in the nineteenth century that this way of clothing became a lifestyle. Rebelling against the Victorian era and wearing odd clothes from the past was becoming more and more common and developing as a trend. People wanted to dress as an individual and support the old techniques used to create the clothes they were wearing. They believed the mass production of the industrial revolution was degrading and went against their ways of supporting other artists.

Mass production during the industrial revolution

In the twentieth century, fashion designer Paul Poiret was one of the first to draw inspiration from the trend. He went on to create the hobble skirt, harem pant, and lampshade tunic. All styles which were heavily associated with the Boho trend. The bohemian aesthetic only grew from here. With others climbing aboard the trend such as youth who didn't want to associate with the materialistic culture, to rebels, to others who preferred to be seen as alternative, and eventually to your average every day woman. As WWI began and woman went into the work force, they opted for more practical clothing. Rather than wearing corsets and dress hoops, they wanted to wear looser, flowing items as Bohemians did.

Paul Poire's Designs

The boho trend really made a big impact on society and although it was not initially accepted as was seen as a trend for only the alternative, it actually shaped the way fashion is today and allowed people to truly express themselves through the way they dress.

Nowadays, the trend is seen as part of our every day fashion. Designers such as Robert Cavalli, Anna Sui, Gimmo Etro, and Camilla Franks have all taken inspiration from the Boho trend and incorporated it with modern day fashion.