GOLD BAR
 
"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art." 

Notes on 'Camp'
Partisan Review
SUSAN SONTAG
 
A whirling signature statement of lyrical decadenceimage-6240078-10731106 the dramaticimage-6240078-10731106 Baroque trend seducesimage-6240078-10731106 us into a visceral fantasy of sensualityimage-6240078-10731106, passion, and grandeurimage-6240078-10731106. Baroque was one of the first trends to spread across Europe, taking root in Roman art and architecture in the early 1600s and making its way across Italy and the Western continent. This style was defined by deep extravagance – in the high contrast, dramaimage-6240078-10731106-enhancing lighting of the era’s painting and sculpture, the lavishly ornamental spiraled columns and giant domes of its architecture, and the ornate, generous use of gold and lace in dressimage-6240078-10731106 and decor.
 
Some four hundred years later, Baroque has once again glamoured the global fashion landscape.
 
For Fall 2012, Dolce & Gabbana sent gold bouillon necklace-draped models and haute clergy-inspired looks down the runway. White lace calf length dresses call to mind ceremonial gowns of childhood and cherub-printed red and rose gold blouses allude to Sicily’s baroque religious traditions. A lame top with wool trim at Stella McCartney and opulent, pearl-and-satin embroidered, body conscious frocks at Balmain, echo similar themes of post-Renaissance-era sensuality. Helmut Newton seduced by a gilded Versace medusa.
 
Vogue Nippon editor and street style icon Anna Dello Russo is also drawing reference to Baroque aesthetics this season, releasing an ultra-decadent accessories line with the Swedish retail giant H&M on October 4th. Inspired by the gilded turquoise inlay on Baroque furniture, a children’s fantasy pop-up book, and the generous curves of Italian Baroque architecture, Dello Russo conjured up a playfulimage-6240078-10731106 mélange of flamboyant baubles, bags and heels in gold, gold and more gold. Turquoise and coral accent rose gold cuffs, oversized jewels add just the right amount of excess to gold boots, and bracelets take the shape of winding snakes and alligators for a mystical effect. The pieces are delightfully over-the-top, ideal for the woman who views fashion as performanceimage-6240078-10731106 and excess as fantasyimage-6240078-10731106. As in the case of the looks from the Fall 2012 runway and the 17th century arts that inspired them, the aesthetic is one of bold luxuryimage-6240078-10731106  or as Dello Russo recently told WWD, engrained in “a dreamy fashion bubble that is almost a parallel reality.”

Susan Sontag would have had a ball.
 
-Ashley Simpson

 
October 2012