Abstract
<JATS1:p>Petra Zeller Dotlacilová'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.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>Using Louis-René 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.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>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.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>The eighteenth century was a turbulent period in France, with many crucial reforms in society, politics and art changing the established order of the ancien régime. The reform took place on the theatrical stage as well and materialized in the approach to costume. The abandoning of long-established traditions, the negotiation with the dictates of fashion, and the translation of new ideas into material practice is the main topic of the book. Using Louis-René Boquet (1717–1814), the leading costume designer of the French court and the Paris Opera, as its lens, the book traces the development of the costume reform from an aesthetics of propriety, defined by strict conventions to an aesthetics of truthfulness, more open to models from visual arts and real life.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>Through the study of theoretical treatises, newspaper articles, letters, plays, librettos, drawings and other images, inventories and invoices as well as preserved garments, 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 eighteenth century.</JATS1:p>