UMMULKIRAAM

EGYPTIAN ART AND ITS

USE IN FASHION DESIGN
Word count: 3,467

Table of Contents
Egyptian civilization:.................................................................................................. 2
Significance of Egyptian art:....................................................................................... 3
Scale:...................................................................................................................... 4
Paintings:................................................................................................................. 4
Sculptures:.............................................................................................................. 4
Pottery:.................................................................................................................... 4
Clothing:.................................................................................................................. 5
Jewellery:................................................................................................................. 5
Hieroglyphics........................................................................................................... 6
Architecture:............................................................................................................ 6
The pyramids:......................................................................................................... 6
Reason for selection:.................................................................................................. 7
Use of Egyptian art in contemporary fashion:............................................................8
Chritian Diors Egypt & 50s collection:................................................................9
The Balenciaga's 2009 Spring & Summer collection:............................................11
Elie Tahari spring 2012:......................................................................................... 12
LaureLuxe Couture Fashion Week 2013 collection in NEW YORK:..........................13
RAFAEL CENNAMO fall 2013 MBFW:.......................................................................14
Laurel DeWitt metal couture creations for her LaureLuxe brand sprin summer
2013:..................................................................................................................... 15
Illustration design:.................................................................................................... 16
Bibliography............................................................................................................. 17
Image reference:...................................................................................................... 17

Egyptian civilization:
From the time of its unification until it fell to foreign domination, the history of this great
civilization is divided into a series of three Kingdoms (the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms),
separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods.
The Old Kingdom (c. 3150 2150 BCE): ushered in 1000 years of relative peace and prosperity
marked by huge increases in agricultural productivity, the growing power and wealth of the
pharaohs, the rise of an elite class of educated scribes and administrative officials, and stunning
advances in architecture, art, and technology. Hieroglyphic writing became established during
this time. And most of the major pyramids, built as tombs for the pharaohs and their consorts,
were built during this time.
The 1st Intermediate Period (c. 2150 1975 BCE): Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the
extravagance of the pharaohs eroded their economic power and weakened their central
administration. Fifty years of drought further worsen their economic woes, prompting individual
nomes1 to assert themselves. Once in control of their own resources and free from their loyalties
to the pharaoh, local governors began competing with one another for territorial and political
power, leading to civil war between rival cities. Only when the forces of Thebes2 in Upper Egypt
decisively defeated those of Herakleopolis3 in Lower Egypt were the Two Lands united again.
The Middle Kingdom (1975 1785 BCE): The reunification of Egypt under a centralised
government led again to the restoration of stability and prosperity, a resumption of pyramid
building, and a renaissance in art and literature. It also saw an increase in military activity. But
once again such projects, combined with insufficient flooding of the Nile, weakened the
economy and precipitated a slow decline into the 2nd Intermediate Period.
The 2nd Intermediate Period (c. 1785 1550 BCE): During the latter years of the Middle
Kingdom, Semitic peoples from western Asia, perhaps driven by famine, settled in the Delta
region and provided needed labour for the regimes ambitious mining and building projects.
They eventually seized control of the region and came to power as the Hyksos (foreign rulers).
Forced to retreat to Thebes, the pharaohs found themselves trapped between the Hyksos. The
pharaohs were treated as vassals and required to pay tribute.
The New Kingdom (c. 1550 1155 BCE): also referred to as the Egyptian Empire because of a
new emphasis on territorial expansion initiated by pharaoh Ahmose I. After some 200 years of
Hyksos rule, he gathered sufficient strength to eradicate the Hyksos, reunite Upper and Lower
Egypt and eventually expand eastward as far as the Euphrates. It was an imperial stance that
continued for the next 400 years.
1 Nome: was a subnational administrative division of ancient Egypt.
2 Thebes: name for a city in Ancient Egypt.
3 Herakleopolis: an important town in Middle Egypt.
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Significance of Egyptian art:

Ancient Egyptian art is five thousand years old. It emerged and took shape in ancient Egypt, the
civilization of the Nile Valley. In ancient Egypt, art was magical. Whether in the form of
painting, sculpture, carving or script, art had the power to maintain universal order and grant
immortal life by appealing to various gods to act on behalf of people both in life and in death. Expressed in paintings and sculptures, it was highly symbolic and fascinating - this art form
revolves round the past and was intended to keep history alive. It refers to the canonical 2D and
3D art developed in Egypt from 3000 BC and used until the 3rd century. The. Ancient Egyptian
art forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of human beings and the nature,
and, were intended to provide company to the deceased in the 'other world'. Completeness took
precedence over prettiness. Some art forms present an extraordinarily vivid representation of the
time and the life, as the ancient Egyptian life was lived thousands of years before.Egyptian
images, whether statues or relief, were designed to benefit a divine or deceased recipient.
Symbolism also played an important
role in establishing a sense of order.
Symbolism, ranging from the
Pharaoh's regalia4 (symbolizing his
power to maintain order) to the
individual symbols of Egyptian gods
and goddesses, was omnipresent in
Egyptian art. Animals were usually
also highly symbolic figures in
Egyptian art. Color, as well, had
Figure 1
extended meaning - Blue and green
represented the Nile and life; yellow stood for the sun god; and red represented power and
vitality. Despite the stilted form caused by a lack of perspective, ancient Egyptian art is often
highly realistic. Ancient Egyptian artists often show a sophisticated knowledge of anatomy and a
close attention to detail, especially in their renderings of animals.
Various materials held very symbolic significance for the ancient Egyptians. Gold was regarded
as divine on account of its color and brightness. In fact, the flesh of the gods descended from the
sun god Re was said to be made of gold, and therefore many images of deities were formed
either completely from this precious metal, or gilded to look as though made of gold. Silver also
had divine associations. The bones of the gods were said to be made of silver, and it was used
extensively as a symbol of the moon in mirrors and in figures of lunar gods such as Khonsu and
Thoth. Many other more common materials were also symbolically important. Among stones, for
example, the black coloration of basalt gave it a natural association with the underworld, while
4 Regalia: special clothes and decorations for official ceremonies.
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lapis lazuli was symbolic of the heavens because of its blue ground color and star-like golden
specks.

Scale:
Ancient Egyptian art is characterized by the idea of order. Clear and simple lines combined with
simple shapes and flat areas of color helped to create a sense of order and balance in the art of
ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian artists used vertical and horizontal reference lines in order to
maintain the correct proportions in their work. Political and religious, as well as artistic order,
was also maintained in Egyptian art. In order to clearly define the social hierarchy of a situation,
figures were drawn to sizes based not on their distance from the painter's point of view but on
relative importance. For instance, the Pharaoh would be drawn as the largest figure in a painting
no matter where he was situated, and a greater God would be drawn larger than a lesser god.

Paintings:
Paintings were created to decorate tombs with the intent of assisting the
deceased in sustaining their lives in the afterlife. Images often depicted
the deceased completing daily tasks. The Egyptians believed they would
continue many of these activities in the afterlife. They were created with
pigments made of minerals. Commonly used colors were red, black, blue,
green and gold. The dry temperatures in the area and lack of sun in the
tombs allowed many images to survive into modern times. Paintings
generally depicted people or animals with a profile, or side view, of the
head. The body, however, was shown from a front view.

Sculptures:

Figure 2

Although the most well known sculptures from Egypt are the monumental
sculptures, small sculptures and reliefs have also been found. Sculptures
were made of stone, wood and bronze. Statues of gods were often a mixture
of a human body with the head of an animal. For example, the god Horus
was represented as a human male with the head of a falcon. Statuary
provided a place for the recipient to manifest and receive the benefit of
ritual action. Most statues show a formal frontality, meaning they are
arranged straight ahead, because they were designed to face the ritual being
performed before them. Many statues were also originally placed in
recessed niches or other architectural settingscontexts that would make
frontality their expected and natural mode.

Figure 3

Pottery:
Ancient Egyptians used steatite5 and carved small pieces of vases, amulets, images of deities, of
animals and several other objects. Ancient Egyptian artists also discovered the art of covering
pottery with enamel. Covering by enamel was also applied to some stone works.
5 Steatite: a variety of soapstone.
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Different types of pottery items were deposited in burial chambers of the dead. Some such
pottery items represented interior parts of the body, like the heart and
the lungs, the liver and smaller intestines, which were removed
before embalming. It was customary to craft on the walls of the
tombs cones of pottery, about six to ten inches tall, on which were
engraved or impressed legends relating to the dead occupants of the
tombs. These cones usually contained the names of the deceased,
their titles, offices which they held, and some expressions
appropriate to funeral purposes.

Clothing:

Figure 4

The clothes were

generally made of linen
and kept simple: a short
loincloth resembling a kilt
for men, a dress with straps
for women. These basic
garments with minor
variations accounting for
fashion, social status and
wealth did not change
fundamentally throughout
Egypt's history. The robes
worn by both sexes in
Egypt were
called kalasiris.
The kalasiris women wore
might cover one or both
shoulders or be worn with
Figure 5
shoulder straps. Women's dresses were at times
ornamented with beads. Shawls were sometimes worn during the New Kingdom.

Jewellery:
In ancient Egypt both men and women wore jewelry; not only as a symbol of wealth and status,
but also for aesthetic adornment, and as protection from evil. Jewelry was very popular
in Ancient Egypt, no matter the social class. It was heavy and rather voluminous. The Egyptians
became very skilled when making jewelry from turquoise, metals like gold and silver, and small
beads. Both men and women adorned themselves with earrings, bracelets, rings, necklaces and
neck collars that were brightly colored.
Those who could not afford jewelry made from gold or other stones would make their jewelry
from colored pottery beads.
One creation that was specific to ancient Egypt was
the gorgerine, an assembly of metal discs worn on the chest,
either over bare skin or over a shirt, and attached in the
back.

Figure 6

Hieroglyphics
A hieroglyphic script is one consisting of a variety of pictures and symbols. Some of symbols
had independent meanings, whereas some of such symbols were used in combinations. In
addition, some hieroglyphs were used phonetically, in a similar fashion to the Roman alphabet.
Some symbols also conveyed multiple meanings, like the legs meant to walk, to run, to go and to
come. These pictograms performed a very specific function to ensure certain gods were
supplicated and rituals performed for all eternity. Hieroglyphs were written in both columns and
rows, and could be read from either the left or the right, depending on the design of the text.
Many art works of the period contain hieroglyphs
and hieroglyphs themselves constitute an amazing
part of ancient Egyptian arts.

Architecture:
Egyptians were the first builders ever known to
man; they taught humanity how to design and erect
buildings; thus laying grounds for human
Figure 7
civilization, urbanization and man's settlement in a
specific homeland of his own for the first time in history. Ancient Egyptians reached unmatched
high levels in architectural design and construction engineering. Even at present it is still hard to
conceive how they could have all these buildings and structures erected with such high level of
perfection and precision, using only primitive and naive tools far incomparable with modern
machinery and equipment. Egyptian buildings reflected builders conception of things as well as
the needs of the society. In building their tombs and temples, ancient Egyptians put to good use
their wealth of knowledge and creative genius; almost in the same way modern nations focus
their attention on improving their technological and professional capabilities.
With ancient Egyptians, construction was inseparably associated with religious rituals. Temples
and tombs figured high within the main religious rituals. Certain ancient Egyptian words were
used to describe architectural drawings, foundations and construction works well as the purpose
of religious building. Indeed, buildings themselves with their form and decorations were stone
incarnation representations of religion and rituals. According to ancient Egyptians beliefs, such
buildings, made of very solid materials, had the power of giving life through the magic of
simulation in this world and immortality in the afterlife, even if no religious rituals were
performed there.

The pyramids:
One of the most notable and lasting achievements of the Ancient Egyptians are their pyramids.
The size, design, and structure of the pyramids reveal the skill of these ancient builders. The
pyramids were great monuments and tombs for the kings. The Egyptians believed that a king's
soul continued to guide affairs of the kingdom even after his death. To ensure that they would
continue to enjoy the blessings of the gods, they preserved the pharaoh's body through the
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mummification process. They built the pyramids to protect the pharaoh's body, the pyramid was
a symbol of hope, because it would ensure the pharaoh's union with the gods.

Figure 8

Reason for selection:

Egyptians created art for eternal- it was to serve a purpose and to preserve it forever, this has
been the main reason for selecting this topic. Ancient Egyptians believed that rather than creating
art , they were creating works of beauty that emulated from their profound reverence for the gods
and ancient Egyptian art reflected this reverence. But it also reflected a great sense of order,
giving rise to a distinct artistic style which remained virtually unchanged for over 3000 years.
Which shows how determin they were to keep their art preserved.
Another fascinating characteristics was the specific use of colours, which reflected a sense of
emotion and gave a more realistic image. For eg using green and blue for showing fertility and
vegetation. Hence, maybe Egyptians were the first people to come up with the idea of colour
physiology; which is not only used in paintings but also in the fashion world in this era.
The beautiful sculptures and ornaments have also been of a great interest. A basalt statue of
Thutmose III is an artistic masterpiece, immortalizing the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. The stance of the statue and the gaze create an effect of a graceful yet powerful king.
The Nefertiti Bust made of limestone reflects elegance and beauty. Tutankhamun's Golden Death
Mask is made from solid gold and is inlaid with blue glass, lapis lazuli and various semiprecious
stones, making it a real masterpiece of art.
Lastly, the pyramids have always been something to inspire about. The technique used to
organize and build such a huge structure in those days with any modern technology is itself
something to awe about. The architecture of ancient Egypt is a great source of creating new
designs for modern fashion world.

Use of Egyptian art in contemporary fashion:

Egyptian influence in costumes is seen in the garment styles and also in the embroideries that
adorned the garments. Its influence in fashion exists quite predominantly. While the fashion of
ancient Egypt is thousands of years old, modern day fashion is much inspired by its ancient
clothing styles. Modern day fashions have taken a twist on the ancient clothing styles of Egypt,
and will undoubtedly continue in the years to come.
The ancient attire of straight fitting with shoulder straps that was tied behind the neck of
shoulders is now one of the most popular silhouettes in the recent
fashion. Egyptian tunic style dresses and tops with belting in the
waist are now being sought after by most women. High waistlines
that were popular in Egyptian times are seen in fashion currently
through the revival of baby doll dresses. Lightweight linen clothes
worn during ancient times are followed even today. In the current
day's trend, many Egyptian motives are used. The hieroglyphics,
sphinxes, lotus flowers and scarab6 are seen in dresses, and other
Figure 9
fashion related accessories also.
The black kohl eyeliner used by ancient Egyptians to darken
and highlight their eyes to reflect the suns rays, are
showcased today by both male and female models in the ramp
shows. Models are seen strolling down the runways of
prominent international fashion shows displaying trendy
garments designed with an inspiration of elegant Egyptian
clothing. Pleating and draping was a popular style followed
by Egyptians.
Figure 10
Other Egyptian details which are used around today include red hair
Egyptians used to shave their heads in order to wear wigs or types of hats: dying their wigs in red
Henna was considered trendy for young women. Loose fitting wrap around fabric for gowns
which are very common in todays world are inspired from the mummies. Use of beads and gold
thread has also evolved from the egptian era. Egpytian sculptures which portrayed half animal
and half human styles gave rise to feathery/ scaly textures.

6 Scarab: abeetle associated with Egyptian god Kepera.

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Chritian Diors Egypt & 50s collection:

Various designers have come up with collections inspired by the Egyptian art. The most notable
collection was launched by Christian Dior called Egypt & 50s in 2004. British designer John
Galliano resurrected the splendour of ancient Egypt in these dazzling couture collection for
Christian Dior.
Egyptian women from slaves to scribes wore kalasiris. Court officials wore bib necklace,
bracelets, arm bands, gala gown, and wig with perfume cone. Female Pharaoh wore Klaft and
Postiche. Dior glamorously reinvented all styles. Galliano gave us a clear visual of ancient Egypt
for the brand's couture collection, using Cleopatra as his ideal beauty. The collection was
inspired by a trip to Cairo and Luxor, and consisted of lots of extravagant metallic gold and
silver, crocodile leather and leopard print dresses, over-sized jeweled earrings, and beaded
turtoise neckpieces. The make-up crew did a perfect job in setting the mood. The huge sparkly
eye shadows gave an impression of the sun reflecting off their eyes.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 13

Figure 16

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The Balenciaga's 2009 Spring & Summer collection:

This displayed outfits with pleating wrapping the entire body and covering the arms in the same
way as Egyptian clothing.

Figure 17

Figure 18

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Elie Tahari spring 2012:

Inspired by the rich past of ancient Egyptian fashion, Elie Tahari created a collection that was
glamorous and chic while still staying rather casual. The golden shine and shimmer used in the
entire collection is inspired by King Tutankhamens funerary mask which was made of gold
which reflected being god like.

Figure 19

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LaureLuxe Couture Fashion Week 2013 collection in NEW YORK:

In this collection the dresses are mostly in golden and shimmering color. The embellishments on
these dresses are with chain beads and metal objects. These outfits are consisting on long gown.
These dresses are perfectly reflect Egypt traditional wear

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

RAFAEL CENNAMO fall 2013 MBFW:

Rafael Cennamo combined Ancient Egyptian roots with an avant-gardian essence to create an exceptional
Fall/Winter 2013-2014 collection shown at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. This collection was one that truly
made one feel as walking into a mirrored closet in Cleopatras tomb. The antiqued Egyptian influence oozed off of
the gold-dipped ensembles eloquently.

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Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Laurel DeWitt metal couture creations for her LaureLuxe brand sprin
summer 2013:
DeWitts inspiration for her Spring/Summer 2013 Collection was drawn from Egyptian looks
and jewelry. With that, she creates a fusion of modern looks with metal accessories and jewelry
of the past bringing a sexy and exotic look to the design. Her jewelry is extravagant and intricate
which balances out the simplicity of the design.
Figure 27

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Figure 28

Illustration design:
Ancient Egyptian jewelry and architecture has been combined together to come up with a
contemporary design. The neckpiece has been inspired by the ancient gorgerine, which is a metal
neck piece. The colours and the design elements of the neck piece has been taken from
Tutankhamens gold mask.

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Pleat wrapping has been used with the metal neck piece, which signifies the
way mummies were wrapped to preserve their bodies. There is a metal belt
studded with gems on the waist line which fuses the upper part of the dress
with the lower one.
Figure 29

3D pyramid shaped structures have been embedded on the lower left side of
the garment. These represent the great pyramids and also gives a
contemporary futuristic element, which gives a modern look to the entire
dress. The lower right side consists of a drape giving a kalasiris look, which
were the robes worn by Egyptian and also fuses all the other elements in the
dress. The aline shape of the dress is inspired by Nefertitis head gear shape.
The shoes are made up of elements taken from the hieroglyphics shown in the
figure.

The neckpiece is made up of highly polished bronzed with stripes of deep blue
colour on it. The cloth used for the drapes is light blue coloured pure silk
which has excellent drapability quality. The belt is again made of
highly polished bronze and studded with red and green coloured
gems. The pyramids are made of aluminum frame covered with
pale brown coloured thick cloth which easily stays on the frame.
Aluminum has been used because of its light weight so that its
easy to carry.

Figure 30

Figure 31

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