![]() ![]() Some of the earliest known representations of a woman’s body are the “ Venus figurines,” small statues from 23,000 to 25,000 years ago in Europe. ![]() Prehistory-1900s: A focus on full-figured silhouettes To mark International Women’s Day, we explore how this “ideal” is ever-changing, forming a complex history throughout art and fashion – with damaging impacts on women who try to conform in each era. Now, shapely backsides are celebrated with “likes” on social media. ![]() More recently, in the late 20th century, thin, waif-like models filled the pages of fashion magazines. Thousands of years ago, sculptures and artworks portrayed curvaceous, thickset silhouettes. This obsession fuels societal pressures to appear a certain way and to have a certain body type, particularly among young women, stemming from a cultural construct of the “ideal” body, which has in turn changed over time – as long ago as pre-history. It’s become connected to our identity as people.” “We as a culture, as a society, are obsessed with size. “Whether it’s contemporary or 19th century, they want to know what size it is or what size it would correlate to, or what measurement it is,” she said. “People come and always want to know what size something is,” said McClendon, who organized the exhibition “ The Body: Fashion and Physique,” about the history of the idealized body type in fashion, which is on display until May. Yet no matter how aesthetically unique or historically significant a particular piece of fashion may be, most visitors to the museum typically ask one question, said Emma McClendon, the museum’s associate curator of costume. Hidden in the halls of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York are historic textiles and glamorous garments, many of which hold secrets from years past. ![]()
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