Plate III from Vienna Fashion (Mode Wien), no. 8

The years 1911 to 1914 were an experimental phase for the Wiener Werkstätte fashion department during which it worked to establish a distinct Viennese silhouette. The culmination of this development is seen in the Mode Wien (Vienna Fashion) fashion plates. This publication was a series of twelve portfolios, each comprised of twelve fashion plates and printed with the title "Mode Wien 1914/15." The illustrations exhibit a range of detail and understanding of garment construction and were intended as primary impressions to be translated into a final garment. These linocut plates are from the eighth portfolio and display a somewhat fuller cut of garment than their French counterparts, particularly in their long dresses and voluminous skirts. Rejecting the sleek exactness of conventional photography, the linocut medium was a means to approximate the quality of woodcuts, despite its lack of a wood grain texture. Nonetheless, the primitive, folk-art quality suggested by the prints, along with the expressionistic, even crude style of their execution give them a charming, ethnic authenticity that helped characterize the "new Viennese look" of the fashions themselves. Such a distinction was particularly desirable, given the increasingly patriotic outlook and frowned-upon attitude toward foreign fashions on the eve of World War I. The mostly female artists who produced these illustrations were often students of the Applied Arts School and not trained as fashion designers. Active in various aspects of the applied arts industry, they also, at one time or another, worked for the Wiener Werkstätte. (Skrypzak, Design Vienna 1890s to 1930s, no. 54-56)