Alexandre Vassiliev, fashion historian, art critic, collector, famous theater artist and interior designer, is back in Riga with the world premiere of his new exhibition "From War To Peace. Fashion of the 1940s and 1950s".

This collection is the fruit of many years of collecting and big financial investments, as many outfits demanded the restoration and it's not a surprise, because all the garments are more than half a century old! The exhibition gives an insight on how war times affected the fashion and people's lives, how during a time of two decades women have gone from military-male shapes towards the image of a woman-flower. Fashion of the 1940s and 1950s was a period of Dior's New Look birth that contributed to post-war "baby boom" and rise of the textile industry (16 to 100 meters of fabric were needed for one single garment!). All these and many other interesting facts Vassiliev told during a press conference that took place before the grand opening of the exhibition. For example, as there was a lack of new dresses and hats, red lipstick was the main weapon of women to attract attention. Lack of water forced ladies to wear turbans to hide unwashed hair. And shoes with wooden platform were generally used in order to facilitate walking on a broken after bombing bridges. You would ask, why in such a difficult time women paid so much attention to their appearance? Every woman dreams of happiness and love. Is there something in a woman's life that is more important than love? That's the way to attract a man. As they say, all is fair in love and war.
I want to finish this post with another saying of the inimitable and incredibly charming, Alexandre Vassiliev: "No matter how hard life is, fashion will always be there - as long as women want love".













Photos: T. Egorova