Following WWI, as much of Germany lay in despair, Bauhaus thrived as a revolutionary, inspired and unique School breaking down the perceived class barriers between craftsmen and fine artists. Founded in 1919 by Architect Walter Gropius, Bauhaus modernized the Art Industry and Education, influencing all aspects of design today. As fashion, like art, progresses in cycles, inspiring and influencing each other through the creation of their designs, it would have been an ideal for Bauhaus and its collective education. The communal teaching of design basics to all first year students meant all disciplines adopted a visionary approach to composition integrating simplicity, functionality and bare boned structure.
The Wassily Chair is an iconic example of Bauhaus aesthetic, completely reducing the classic club chair to its fundamental form whilst retaining comfort and style. Inspired by the tubular steel framing of his bicycle, Marcel Breuer created the Wassily chair to be seamless. “Engaged with the transparency of the form”, Breuer created a mere structural outline of what then was considered the standard, contributing immensely to the Bauhaus aesthetic we know today.
In Fashion we see the same structural aesthetic in pieces like La Fille D’O’s “One” Bra. The singular steel underwire sculpts the body leaving only the bare necessities of the common bra, focusing on its foundation. Using minimal detailing in the cups, opting for a soft mesh, the bra focuses on the structure; the monowire and straps. Both Breuer and La Fille D’O keep colour to the minimum, using black or plain monochromatic schemes to further accentuate the framework of the designs.
Rejecting the bourgeois detail plastering Germany at the time, Bauhaus students instead took the opposite direction. By completely stripping back all decoration, even reducing colour back to primary’s and shades, they created a