ENGLISH TEXTS
The“ Horses” Style A comeback for equestrian fashion? Britney Spears captures her wedding in a carriage drawn by a white horse. Supermodel Bella Hadid floods her Instagram with photos of her companion Tucker. Monaco’ s Princess Charlotte Casiraghi opens Chanel’ s spring-summer runway show on horseback. Dior launches both the 2018 Fashion Week and its spring-summer 2020 collection at Longchamp. Gucci’ s 2020 campaign... The horse is taking over fashion. At Hermès and Dior, great designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano have embraced the equestrian world. Last year marked the grand return of riding boots, a wardrobe essential, just like stilettos. Paired with a fitted jacket and slim trousers, the effect is guaranteed. This is what’ s known as the“ horses” style.
The Madness of the Roaring Twenties During the interwar years, the racetrack served as a“ fashion showcase.” It was a delightful era when, in a concert of mutual interests, major fashion houses and magazines collaborated on reports from holiday resorts like Deauville in the summer.“ More and more, they are becoming branches of our major fashion ateliers,” declared Jeanne Lanvin as early as 1913, referring to racetracks where top fashion names“ hurry to send their models to mingle with their best clients,” as fashion historian Laëtitia Hedde sums it up.
The Codes of Fashion Where there’ s fashion, there are codes and they are resilient. Ascot remains the prime example.“ It’ s the best place in England to see beautiful women and beautiful clothes,” wrote The Times a century ago. Today, that still holds true. So much so that, as the event nears, the same question is always asked:“ What am I going to wear this year?” This question has echoed through time since 1768, the year this prestigious gathering began. The same question that arises since 1843 with the dawn of the“ French Oaks”, our very own, lovely Prix de Diane.
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HORSE RACES
By Serge Okey
THE FASHION HOUSES’ LUXURI- OUS SHOWCASE
To understand the connection between fashion and horse racing, we must first turn back time and look at the origins of the sport. While both the French and the English claim its inven- tion, in the spirit of gentlemanly conduct, we must concede a slight lead to our friends across the Channel. A matter of aristocratic refinement, naturally. Horse racing also offered women a rare window of freedom— one they would eagerly fling wide open.
Horse competitions have existed since ancient times. From chariot races in Ancient Greece to medieval jousts with loyal steeds. As for the hunt as we know it today— introduced by the Carolingians and the Capetians, formalized by Francis I, and practiced as a noble ritual from the 15 th to the 18 th century— it remained firmly the domain of the aristocracy. The transition to horse racing was a natural one. And France’ s Ministry of Culture has settled the debate over its origins between France and England: horse racing, it claims, was an“ aristocratic trend imported from England,” with gallop racing arriving in France at the end of the 18 th century. The first recorded race took place on March 9, 1775, on the plain of Les Sablons, under the curious gaze of the royal family and court. This pastime grew increasingly popular throughout the 19 th century. The elite saw the English thoroughbred as the embodiment of high society’ s refinement. Having one’ s portrait taken alongside a racehorse became a common way to signal one’ s
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