Roaring Into Fashion.(Arts)

Byline: Amber Haq

The 1920s saw the liberation of the female form -- and the birth of haute couture.

It's an open secret in Parisian fashion circles that when designers need inspiration for new embroidery motifs to adorn their haute couture gowns, they turn to the 60,000 historical samples in the "library" of Francois Lesage's Parisian atelier. These samples date back to before 1924, when Lesage's father, Albert, bought the workshop and established himself as a collaborator of the star designers of the era, including Madeleine Vionnet and Lucien Lelong. Today Lesage's technicians employ the same handmade artisanal techniques his father championed, creating stunning pieces teeming with pearls, crystals and beads, some taking as long as 2,500 hours to complete. "It is a work of passion and devotion," says Lesage.

These fine embroideries are among the many highlights of "Les Annees Folles," the dashing new exhibit at Paris's Musee Galliera (through Feb. 29). A celebration of the fashion of the roaring '20s, the exhibit recounts the birth and development of Parisian haute couture from 1919 to 1929 -- a period that was also marked by the birth of jazz, the rise of the motorcar and the emancipation of the female form, thanks in part to leading stylist Paul Poiret, who "declared war" on the corset. But above all, the show is a powerful reminder that in the world of fashion, no bigger design revolution has taken place since.

A sensory feast of color and texture, the exhibit features 170 restored dresses from legendary fashion houses including Vionnet, Poiret, Lanvin and, of course, Chanel, as well as 200 accessories, 50 perfumes and cosmetics, sketches, film documentaries, music excerpts and photographs that evoke the fabulous decade. There are peach-pink and lilac- hued flapper-girl dresses from the Charleston era, when Josephine Baker shocked and delighted her audiences by dancing provocatively; glittering tiaras and fans bedecked with ostrich feathers; and late-'20s tongue-in-cheek reinterpretations of 18th-century French ball gowns announcing the arrival of Marie Antoinette-inspired "drag queen" fashion.

The freeing of the female form in couture reflected the changing status of women. "The Great War had resulted in women taking up occupations which were traditionally reserved for men," says Sophie Grossiord, head curator at the Galliera. "After the war they didn't suddenly abandon all this." In keeping with women's increased liberation, sleeves were removed, necklines plunged and dress cuts were increasingly tubular, adorned with floating panels and fringes. As Parisian ladies danced to the rhythm of the Charleston, their hemlines grew shorter. As they sunbathed in Biarritz and skied in Chamonix, their swimsuits grew more flamboyant and revealing, their ski suits more streamlined. And when ...