Introduction to the 'Fashion, Art' Section 

From Paris to Providence: The Tirocchi Shop and the Art World

Tirocchi clients demanded fashion from Paris, where in the early 20th century a tremendous artistic ferment was bringing a fresh breath to all the arts, including the couture. Led by Picasso and other artists, modernism was inspiring an inclusive, internationalist outlook in the arts. Collaboration and experimentation were occurring in all media: writers conceived ballets, musicians wrote "cubist" music, painters were poets, poets painters. Artists drew inspiration from "exotic" countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. Couturiers were bona-fide members of the modernist movement, and in the 1920s and 30s they joined art with fashion in a way that had never been seen before and has hardly been seen since. Favorite designers of the Tirocchi clientele were Paul Poiret, Jeanne Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Jean Patou, Gabrielle Chanel, and Elsa Schiaparelli, all of whom undertook collaborations with contemporary artists at some time in their careers.

Fashion reflects not only social history and the needs of women, but also the overall cultural aesthetic of its period. The fabrics and fashions in the gallery, all found in the shop when it was rediscovered in 1989, bear this out. The advent of sportswear may certainly relate to new freedom for women, but the designs of the 1920s and 30s – the heyday of the Tirocchi shop – also demonstrate the aesthetics of cubism, futurism, surrealism, and the International Style. The presence in the shop of such up-to-date Parisian fashion shows the Tirocchi sisters' unique ability to survive rapidly changing times by selecting the latest and the best in artistic fashion and fabric.

Design and European Art Movements

French modernist designers were greatly influenced by other modernist artists in Europe and incorporated elements from international sources throughout the 1910s and 20s. Germanic sources included the Vereinigten Werkstätten für Kunst im Handwerk (United Workshops for Art in Handwork) in Germany and the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) in Austria, design collaboratives that exhibited in decorative-arts exhibitions in Paris and were visited on their home grounds by designers such as couturier Paul Poiret. Eastern European "peasant art" was collected in France and admired for its flamboyant spontaneity at a time when the Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet) was also inspiring artists with bold colors and exotic costumes and stage designs. Under the influence of Pablo Picasso and other cubist artists, elements of African art began to appear in textile design. French fabrics with these influences were both beautiful and luxurious, such as these examples purchased by Anna and Laura Tirocchi for their clientele in Providence.

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