Romance: my initial thoughts.

As the least romantic person in the world, and an avid hater of The Notebook, I was unsure how much I would be able to get out of the brief my group had been given. However as a lover of research and context I remain excited for what the next two weeks hold in terms of exploration. First of all I began to come up with an understanding of what the word romance means.

"Adorable, enchanting, idyllic, vulnerable, vintage, mysterious, passionate, frilly, whimsical, flowy, poetic, dreamy, sweet, pure, desirable, visionary, sensual, feminine, velvet, provocative, dainty, seductive, intimate exotic, lyrical, soft, nostalgic, sexual and idealised."

Upon hearing the word I began to think of the classic ideas of, pastel pinks, Chloé collections and English country gardens. My focus then shifted to the idea of a passionate romance, filled with red velvet and seductive underwear sets. These two seemingly polar opposite threads appear to run parallel to one and other, yet in my opinion both remain incredibly cliche. I began to research into the history of romance as a concept in order to gain a greater understanding for the phrase. The use of romantic in English goes back to the seventeenth century when it was used to describe imagination and inventiveness in storytelling; as well as being used to characterize scenery and paintings. Researching the etymological origins of the word itself I found that a romance originally was a type of story that was written in a ‘romance’ language (language derived from the occupied countries of a Roman empire eg France and Italy). In this modern age the word has come to suggest love, adventure, beauty, and improbability; it could be described as the opposite of logical.

The idea of romance has been adopted to describe entire historical periods. The latter years of the 1800’s saw a wealth of people dissatisfied with the existing culture, passionately rebelling with art, culture and most notably dress. I thought this was particularly applicable to the modern day ideas of romantic clothing, with Alessandro Michele’s appointment at Gucci having seen the house become one of the pioneers in the rebellion against the scandi minimalism trend that has dominated the past half-decade (in my opinion). Gucci’s whimsical patterns and retro silhouettes encapsulate the hazy nostalgia of romanticism. What I find most interesting is the timing in this shift from the heavily regimented minimalism in the mainstream to a more romantic ‘grandma’s attic’ vibe. The discipline of clean lines is unappealing when bearing in mind the current global political scene. With Trump, North Korea, Theresa May’s Tory shitshow and Brexit (don’t get me started on Brexit). The romantic nostalgia of this new age trend, as in the original romantic movements, hints towards a rejection of the existing (shambolic) statecraft.

In my research I became increasingly interesting in the range of colour and pattern used under the umbrella of the romantic trend. In my visual research (aka going shopping) of course I noticed the prominent red and millennial pinks that are inundating the shelves at the moment, but I began to pick out the pastel greens, lilacs, violets, pale blues and yellows, all of which seemed surprisingly fitting with the romantic trend. Looking into this further I began to understand the association of romance with plants and flowers, which I actually can’t believe I didn’t work out for myself considering the amount of tacky floral prints I waded through. It has been said that flowers convey feelings of compassion, merriment and romance, having a reputation for being used to externalise our emotions. Collections from designers such as Erdem and Valentino (and obviously Gucci, but they get far too much press) often feature delicate floral embroidery and seem to embody the cliched notion of romanticism to a T, and are obviously incredibly beautiful.

I began to look at more of the passionate and sexual side of romance, although not as prevelant in store, there was still heavy elements of PVC and red in shops such as Topshop and River Island. Perhaps a trend that stores deem more appropriate for a younger audience, the passionate side of romance cannot be ignored. I saw a huge quantity of 60's style patent red clothing, again fitting with the whole notion of romanctic movements as a rejection of the austere social scene. The sixties were a huge period of change, with the sexual revolution and a thriving economy, clothing began to become more experimental and provocative. This notion of romance as once again as holding an almost rebellious nostalgia detracts from the cliche of the trend as something frilly and shallow.

I have to say after exploring some of the historical and contextual elements of romance as a trend, I am quite excited to take to the streets to see how the public chooses to interpret and manipulate this to fit their own tastes. Hopefully my lack of shame carries me through and we manage to find some interesting street style shots to add to our mood boards.

#romance #moodboard #streetstyle #context #research #FCP