You cannot deconstruct unless you know how to construct. - Alexander McQueen

archive for September 22nd, 2006

Remembrance of Design Past: Erté

Friday, September 22nd, 2006

When Romain de Tirtoff Erté was asked to put together a few lines about himself for the March 1919 issue of Harper’s Bazar, he was hesitant to reflect on his body of work at that point in his life: ‘Those things told by an old master might interest the public, but I prefer to give your readers my work, for at my age my art, which is my life, is the only language through which I speak with the world.’ (Stella Blum. Fashion Drawings and Illustrations from “Harper’s Bazar” New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1976) When considering the constant wellspring of fresh designs produced throughout his long life, perhaps there never was a time in which he would be comfortable speaking any other language.

erte cover jan 1918.jpg
Erté for Harper’s Bazar, January 1918 Blum

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