Depictions and References to Marie Antoinette in Pop Culture

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Marie Antoinette is considered to be one of the main faces of Versailles and alleged causes of the French revolution. At the time, her notoriously luxurious lifestyle and frivolous spending habits made her a hated figure by starving French peasants who saw her as responsible for France’s national debt and the reason they had no food. In modern times people have viewed Marie Antoinette as an unfairly vilified figure, considered by many to be a fashion icon due to her materialistic lifestyle and pushing the boundaries of clothing and style during her life in the royal court. Because of this, she is frequently referenced in pop culture.

A) ‘Marie Antoinette’ – 2006 film starring Kirstin Dunst, Directed by Sofia Coppola.

This film retells the life of Marie Antoinette in the style of a teenage chick-flick and is praised for its visual appeal (especially in costume design). The design team behind the film took many artistic liberties, Coppola stating in one interview that ‘the highly stylised interpretation was intentionally very modern in order to humanise the historical figures involved’. While this is a very embellished interpretation, I appreciate the stylistic choices taken to develop a very unique and specific aesthetic.

B) ‘Vogue’ - Madonna’s 1990’s MTV performance

Dressed as Marie Antoinette, Madonna performed her song ‘Vogue’ live at the 1990 MTV awards. The performance, including the setting and costumes, took obvious inspiration from 1700’s rococo stylings, however also heavily referenced vogue culture which originated from the 1970’s underground ballroom scene. This theme was arranged by Madonna herself who (after watching 1989 film Dangerous Liaisons) noticed the similarities between the arrogant and aristocratic attitudes of 1800s upper class and mannerisms of vouge dancing.

The poses Madonna displayed during the performance really inspired my illustrations. The use of traditional fan etiquette mixed with contemporary vouge dance moves made the dancers appear captivating and fierce. I integrated many of these poses into my character design process as I felt they would make more of a statement and communicate ideas of power and glamour.

Watch the full performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTaXtWWR16A

C) Moschino Fall 2020 Ready-to-wear collection

According to the Vouge website, the Moschino 2020 Ready-to-wear collection was conceived after head designer Jeremy Scott drew parallels between social uprisings happening today and the turmoil of the peasant uprising of the French revolution. The collection is an obvious homage to Marie Antoinette herself, referencing her boundary pushing style and love of sweets. It also referenced baroque fashions such as the elaborate patterned fabrics and exaggerated silhouettes. This was combined with streetwear fashion trends from the 21^st century, incorporating leather, denim, hoodies and thigh high boots into the designs.

I am always interested the campiness of Moschino’s collections. The ‘Baroque girl of today’ approach Scott took was interesting, and I felt the comedic touches (like the hoodies being tall enough for the wigs to fit) was very on brand for the fashion house.

In terms of influencing my own project, I found the choice of references quite intriguing. When compared to clothing worn by aristocrats who lived in Versailles, they do not look similar at all, however I find the universal association fascinating as tall hairstyles and wide dresses are automatically connected with this time period. The collection itself however is not my favourite. I find Scotts designs to sometimes be a bit overly tacky and loud, this collection being no exception. There were some pieces I liked, such as the denim dress seen above, however I prefer designers like Schiaparelli who take a similar ‘campy’ approach however their references are more inconspicuous. I think I am going to use more historically accurate references when designing illustrations for this project, however I appreciate this modern approach.

Link to Collection: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2020-ready-to-wear/moschino

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