This catwalk by Jean Paul Gaultier was inspired by Elizabethan superstition and the fear of witches and vampires. The Elizabethans believed that a witch was identifiable as an 'old crone' or 'hag' who spent her days alone with the company of an animal such as a toad, cat or raven etc who were believed to be the forms adopted by evil spirits known as a Witches Familiar. Their duty was to protect the witch and assist with evil deeds and malevolent tasks however the more evil deeds committed by a witch the more her beauty would deteriorate. When looking at Elizabethan beauty conventions it is also important to read into the periods contexts of ugliness. Identifiers of a witch included darker hair or skin, features such as beauty spots, moles and warts or even the most basic of marks that could vary from a bruise to a birthmark. All of these 'identifiers' are clearly the most ridiculous of evidence to have a woman tortured or killed for witchcraft, however within a period of female repression as was the Elizabethan period for most women (especially of the working class) the slightest evidence of 'witchcraft' would offer the means to seek revenge or dispose of a women of who you disliked. Often these allegations were against young, beautiful women who were disliked by others for the fear they would seduce their husbands. Therefore it is clear how this desire to find the ugliness within even the most beautiful women accused of witchery came to shape the representations of witchcraft within the 16th century. Indeed even the elderly were often persecuted for their un-youthful appearance caused merely by age, not evil. Within Elizabeth's period the witch was the ultimate sign of female vulgarity, repelled by men due to her withered skin and warts. This is a contrast to the representations of witches that are seen within film, photography and even fashion within the modern period. Modern interpretations while maintaing some elements of disfigurement and fear, do so in a more appealing format. Often displaying a witch with both an ugly and beautiful side for the art of seduction. The styling for this catwalk reminded me of the pure insanity that deemed those women of beauty and unmarried status the devil's witches through nothing more than their neighbours fear and hatred. We see these standards of Elizabethan beauty through the pale skin and red lip, however when combined with the dark clothing and almost blackened deep set eyes the sense of darkness and pain within the period comes through beautifully therefore embodying that darker sinister representation of Elizabethan beauty. This idea of witchcraft is something that I would like to develop within my final project piece as I feel it is an key area of Elizabethan history and superstition that could be interpreted effectively to represent a modern historical association with Elizabethan beauty.
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