Couple wearing typical clothes from 1910 (left) and Couple wearing typical clothes from 1920 (right)
Let's imagine for a second that Gavrilo Princip missed that shot against Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the tensions between Austria and Serbia heat up but are diplomatically resolved in a conference between the great powers and the concert of Europe continues to play.
If somehow we could reach the present day without a war on a global scale hitting us what would be the consequences on fashion?
As we can see in the photos above, in less than a decade the clothes went from a continuation of the Victorian style to an almost completely new style, women's clothing mainly underwent huge changes and could have shorter sleeves and skirts, short hair becoming the rule for the women, and etc.
The dresses exchanged during World War I were dictated more by necessity than fashion. As more and more women entered the labor market, they demanded clothing more suited to their new activities; these derivatives of tailored shirts and suits. Social events were postponed in favor of more urgent appointments, and the need to bemoan the rising death toll, visits to the wounded, and the general gravity of the time made darker colors and simpler cuts the norm.
A new monochromatic look emerged that was unfamiliar to young women in comfortable circumstances. The women stripped the heavy underskirts of their tunic and skirt sets, simplifying the dress and shortening the skirts in one step.
Also, people were dressing less extravagantly due to the funds invested in the war effort.
As women began to become more active in dancing and sports, they began taking off their corsets at parties to move more freely. In response, corset manufacturers marketed the dance corset, which was less tight, lighter and more flexible. This change made it necessary to have more corsets, as they performed different functions. At the same time, women now had more discretion to decide their own shapes with the variety of corsets available.
How do you believe fashion would develop until 2021?
