…Nostalgia

American Dress, 1970s White cotton plain weave appliquéd with white cotton lace, trimmed with red and green cotton ribbon, and edged with gold cotton thread Courtesy of private collection 

This dress evokes the countercultural Medieval revival of the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Medieval influences could be found in fashion, music, and cinema as a way of rejecting capitalism and protesting the Vietnam War. With its long flowing skirt, gigot sleeves, and tapestry-trimmed high waistline, the dress harkens back to the cotehardie of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a style of dress worn by both men and women that was form-fitting in the sleeves and torso and fuller in the skirt, flaring at the hemline. Countercultural fashion of the 1960s and 70s embraced Medieval and Renaissance styles as part of a nostalgic view of the past. “Nostalgia can now involve both one’s own lived memory and the imagination of a time context in which one did not live,” argues fashion historian Heike Jenss. This dress is an example of nostalgia for the imagined past, a fantasy that may or may not have truly existed.

Holy Clothing (American, founded 2001) “Odette” dress, 2024 Red cotton plain weave Courtesy of private collection

Holy Clothing’s designs reveal a fantasy vision of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. Its “Odette” dress features a square neckline, gigot sleeves and a high cinched waistline, characteristic features of Italian Renaissance styles. Holy Clothing encourages wearers to dress for themselves and recognize their own fantasy, one with a historical focus that is inspired by nostalgia for the past, brought into the modern day with adaptable, easy-to-wear designs. The brand’s concept of nostalgia also influences how it operates: all of its designs comprise 100% vegan materials and are sold on a made-to-order basis, minimizing greenhouse gas production and landfill waste, and marrying nostalgia for a more natural world with a vision for a better future.