Performance Costume in 18th-Century France - Louis-Rene Boquet Between Tradition and Reform

Petra Zeller Dotla c ilova''s study examines the development of theatrical costumes in France during the long 18th century, including the abandonment of long-established traditions, the need to negotiate with the dictates of fashion, and the translation of new ideas into material practice. Using Louis-Rene Boquet (1717-1814) - the leading costume designer of the French court and the Paris Opera - as its lens, the book traces the development of costume reform from an aesthetics of propriety, defined by strict conventions, to an aesthetics of truthfulness, more open to ideas and inspiration from the visual arts and from real life. Full of rich primary source material in the form of newspaper articles, letters, plays, librettos, drawings and images of garments, and illustrated in full colour throughout, the author shows how playwrights, theatre managers, designers, tailors and performers all contributed to the changes in the design and conception of costume during the 18th century.

Product details

• Authors: Petra Zeller Dotlacilova, Petra Zeller Dotlacilová
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 29.12.2025
• EAN: 9781350531000
• ISBN: 978-1-350-53100-0
• No. of pages: 288
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Interior design, design; DESIGN / Fashion & Accessories, DESIGN / History & Criticism, DESIGN / Textile & Costume, Fashion & textiles: design, Fashion design & theory, history of design, History of fashion, Fashion and textile design, National or regional costume / textiles