An Epoch of Euphoric Excess

 

In April 1925, an exhibition took place in the city of Paris that transcended the limits of its time by defining the characteristics of a new style that would give a shift to modern taste. Indeed, it was the title of this exhibition, Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, that originated, decades later, the name of what is now known as Art Déco. This movement affected all areas of art, fusing together experimentation and classicism.

At the end of World War I, Europe felt the need to move beyond the tragedy it had experienced. People only wished to immerse themselves in luxury, mundanity and excess. Art Déco belongs to this context. In fact, this artistic movement, which also became a lifestyle, diffused throughout the Old Continent in the 1920s, continuing into the following decade; while in the United States it arrived a little later, after 1929, becoming the emblem of the mundane and glamorous "Gatsby Style."

 

The power of Déco was its ability to look back at the past, from the ancient Egyptian and Aztec arts, to Greek sculpture and vases, to Byzantine mosaics, but at the same time to innovate it. The new hints offered by Cubism and Futurism, the colors of Fauvism, the Russian ballets of Sergei Djagilev, the music of Stravinsky, and the haute couture of Paul Poiret contaminated this style and made it what it became.

 

 

 

 

The absolute stars of the 1920s were women who, having successfully replaced men in the fields, factories, and offices during the war, were no longer willing to give up the freedom they had acquired. Art Déco reflected and appealed to the new woman, freed from the constraints of the corset and the feathered hat, eager for more comfortable clothes befitting her new status.

The Garçonne, like the protagonist of Margueritte's novel, has short hair, wears dresses that empha her slim silk-covered legs, uses makeup and perfumes. After work, modern women want to have fun on the city streets and, like men, indulge in a few drinks and cigarettes. Therefore, they need new accessories: cigarette cases, lipstick cases and powder cases soon become the new must-haves of feminine elegance.

Undoubtedly essential to the evolution of Déco jewelry was the discovery of metals other than yellow gold and silver, the only ones that had been used until then. Not only were different gold alloys formulated but, above all, platinum began to be systematically used and preferred.

 

This particularly malleable metal revolutionized diamond setting and gave incredible light to the gems associated with it. Its white tone contrasts well with the shades of colored stones, creating sophisticated combinations. In particular, the trend for black and white became popular in the 1920s, so a lot of jewelry was created by juxtaposing diamonds and onyx on a platinum setting.