Fashion Editorial: The Golden Age

FASHION CREDITS:

• Photography by Angeles Gonzalez – www.angelesgonzalez.es
• Styling & Make-Up: Alicia Ortega
• Photograph Assistant: Fran Carrillo
• Model: Isabela Moiseeva, Minerva Lopez, Rebeca Matos, Tracy Lopez

Luxury, elegance, distinction and class were what characterized the Spanish Golden Age, the Age of Enlightenment, where image and social refinement were sole.  Women born in Court will always have an authority and a special distinction over other women from different social classes. They could waste all their money, they could lose everything they had… accepted their social position and their titles – that belonged to their lineage and anyone could not snatch it.

Royal House was aware of the powerful impact that had its image regarding the people, offered through dress a reflection of his power, aspirations and pretensions.  The women of the Court used a staging of a highly refined form of dress and act, despite being a time marked by rigid rules established, they used the “Fashion” tool, using it perfectly as a weapon to earn power, status was most important to them and despite being a man’s world, learned to play his cards.   It was the germ of what would end up becoming what is now known as “Fashion”.

Since long ago, when girls are small and we wonder about queens and princesses dresses, we imagine the same thing: a pompous dress with a huge skirt and top tight fitting, with beautiful carvings, showing wealth.  Well, there is no big difference between what we thought when younger and what they experienced during 18th Century in the courts.  Spanish Court women began to dress like French people, imitating the style of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, an fashion icon of that age, but hated by the people for showing such ostentation for things so banal while their people starved.

Women who made life at court did not like repeating costumes. They could not dispose of a used dress once; introducing small changes that made them appear to be rather different views. This is something that could not afford the poor social classes, dressed in sober suits with less volume and wore his clothes again and again, even mending for years.  In the noble classes, just to dress, lady needed the help of at least one of his servants, since it was impossible to do alone.