Dressing the Jazz Age Lecture: Fashion, Modernity, and Social Change in the 1920s

See the full list of events for Gatsby in the Gardens HERE!

Join us in the Ballroom for a lecture by Fashion Historian, Summer Anne Lee! From the flapper’s bold new look, to the influence of designers like Jeanne Lanvin and Coco Chanel, we will consider the impact of Art Deco design, the rise of ready-to-wear, and how fashion reflected the social transformations of the Jazz Age.

This lecture explores Euro-American fashion in the 1920s, a decade marked by dramatic cultural shifts and artistic innovation. Summer will examine the evolving post-World War I feminine silhouette and highlight the influential work of leading couturiers, such as Jeanne Lanvin and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, among others, who helped shape the decade’s aesthetic. The influence of Art Deco on fashion design will be considered, alongside the tension between haute couture luxury and the growing accessibility of mass-produced ready-to-wear. Finally, Summer will trace how the flapper’s rebellious new look and oversized Oxford bags worn by “flaming youth” were expressions of social transformation.

Speaker Bio:

Summer Anne Lee is a Brooklyn-based fashion historian. She has an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she currently teaches various courses in fashion history. She has been quoted as an expert in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and WWD.

Image Caption: Fashion illustrations published in Art, Goût, Beauté, 1929.

Ballroom | Included with Admission