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Join us on a journey through the world of Spanish fashion, where we discuss every major style from 1500s to 2020s, from historic flamenco to modern flared!
When we think of Spain and art, the first thing that comes to our mind is probably flamenco dancers or architecture like the famous Sagrada Familia by Gaudi. Spain has also been considered unique with its great collaboration between fashion and art for the last 500 years. Rich textiles, exquisite laces, luscious leathers, and delicate embroidery, all raise the bar of Spanish fashion. Today, designers from all over the world continue to look to Spain for inspiration.

Spain and Style: Politico-Geographical Influences

Since the 1500s, the culture and customs of this diverse country have influenced Spanish fashion. In turn, it has influenced the world by selling their cultural products and clothing on a large scale to its occupied or former colonies.

Creating a timeline of fashion trends and styles in Spain through the centuries is easier said than done. It is because of the country's internal make-up. The multicultural society that formed and personifies the early Spanish empire, and the constant shifts in Spain's political and economic relationship with the rest of the world.

Spain has always been a country of contrasts. After being partially occupied by the Moors for over 700 years, it saw the coexistence of various faiths like Jewish, Muslim, and Christian until 1492. It is when it became the consistent champion of Catholicism which heralded the Spanish empire's golden age.

Spain embraces a range of regional identities owing to climate, geography, and language differences. The climate in Spain has suited itself to the growth of a diverse range of raw materials for textile production and craft skills. Wool from the plains of Castile, flax grew abundantly in Galicia and the introduction of sericulture and silk weaving in Valencia and Andalusia.

The Spanish colonies first produced exotic dyes, which delivered bright reds and the deepest blacks, colors that still define the Spanish palette in religious, regional, and fashionable apparel, beginning in the sixteenth century.

During the nineteenth century, Spain became more automated, yet skills like embroidery and leatherwork have remained valuable handicrafts to this day.

Spanish Fashion: Common Traditional Pieces

Spanish fashion has been modernized, but traditional Spanish clothing is still worn for special or religious events. Some of the common traditional Spanish styles worn today that have survived the changing times and climate differ by regions and cultural customs. But the most common pieces that can be frequently seen during cultural parades, festivals, and events are worn by the matadors and flamenco dancers.

Traje de Flamenca

Traje de Flamenca (flamenco dresses), worn by female flamenco dancers are long dresses with a defined neckline that hug the waist and then open at the hip and up to the ankles with the skirt and sleeves embellished with ruffles.

Flamenco dancers still dress traditionally in red, black, or white, with their hair in a bun and a rose behind their ear as an accessory.

Traje de Luces

Traje de Luces is the ornate clothes worn by traditional Spanish bullfighters have remained constant over the years. It translates to suits of lights, referring to the costume's heavy and detailed embellishment.

The pants and jacket of the costume are usually the same color and adorned with intricate gold, silver, or black embroidery, sequins, and Austrian knots.

Mantilla

Mantilla is a traditional Spanish veil piece worn during religious festivities such as weddings, holy week, or even during bullfights in Spain. The veil can be either lace or a silk scarf on a high comb worn over the head and shoulders.

Gilet

This is a classic example of a traditional style adapted to modern. Gilet is normally a sleeveless jacket, similar to a waistcoat or vest, that's a staple of traditional Spanish attire. Historically, they were fitted and embroidered, nowadays the jackets are designed in a contemporary style and worn for warmth.

Read on to take a trip down lane of Spanish history with me, to witness the growth and evolution of Spanish fashion from middle age to the 21st century.

The Middle Age: All About Extravagance (10th Century - 15th Century)

The 10th to 13th century Spain was all about mantles, surcoats, and tunics in silk brocades with heavy Arab influence due to the materials being sourced from the Muslim-dominated regions. The 14th century saw the elite and aristocrats supplementing their wardrobes from abroad to keep up with the changing styles.

The era of Charles presented the austere black and white garments symbolizing religious influence. Extravagant gold chains, buttons, and jewelry crafted from precious metals adorned this formal dress.

The Golden Age: Fashion Forward (16th Century - 17th Century)

The time between 1556 - 1680 is heralded what is known as Spain's golden age. This era is marked by Spain being at its most powerful. Arts and fashion flourished throughout the Spanish empire and its European neighbors.

The publication of the first known Spanish book and manual on tailoring in 1580 indicated a change in perspective in styling and fashion. In the latter half of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th-century, Spanish elite wore silk clothing that was vividly colored and embroidered, brocaded, or adorned in silver or gold.

But, Spanish noblemen also isolated themselves from their European peers in terms of style by ditching doublets, jerkins, trunk hoses, and cloaks in favor of singular padded breeches. While the women preferred heavily patterned ball gowns worn over the Spanish farthingale.

The Catholic Effect (17th Century - Mid-19th Century)

After Catholicism became the prevalent religion in Spain, fashion and styles adapted accordingly. Black became the favored color for both men and women, and still stays a staple hue of Spanish fashion, it was the color of formal court dress. But it carried religious connotations, as the clergy and the grieving used to, and still wear it.

Some examples of religious influence in Spanish fashion are females wearing veils to cover their head and shoulders or high collars with ruffs as a sign of modesty. By the 18th & 19th-century, women accessorized by wearing rosaries on their hands visible to everybody. They also wore black basquiña over their gowns while going to church.

The Wardrobe From Paris (19th Century - 20th Century)

By the mid-twentieth century, wealthy Spanish citizens patronized Parisian fashion and flocked to Paris to enrich their wardrobes.

In turn, the most prominent Spanish dressmakers traveled to Paris to attend haute couture exhibitions, where they acquired models for themselves or to modify the styles and designs for their middle-class Spanish clientele.

The Modern Age: When Art and Fashion Unite (21st Century - Present Day)

The appearance of two great fashion icons in the 1900s heralded the beginning of a new era in Spanish fashion. Cristobal Balenciaga and Coco Chanel were a breath of fresh air for the Spanish fashion industry. These two legends revamped the fashion scene, pushed the boundaries of creativity and imagination, and introduced the grandeur of Spanish style worldwide.

Chanel and Balenciaga seamlessly weaved Spanish art with fashion by either collaborating with painters like Dali and Picasso or creating fashion inspired by works of the old Spanish masters.

Art Imagery Through Fashion: Cristobal Balenciaga

Considered as one of the greatest fashion designers in history, Balenciaga's signature chic classical style was inspired by Spanish baroque painters. He studied the works of Francisco de Zurbarán, and Francisco de Goya to reinvent Spanish fashion and create his primary collection in 1936.

His line of Spanish-inspired ensembles was bursting with romantic jewel-toned shades and opulent dresses. It was an ode to the classic Spanish rich textiles and traditional embroidery worn by the aristocracy of the golden age.

A Rebel and Pioneer: Coco Chanel

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was one of the 20th century's most influential fashion designers and she revolutionized women's fashion. Her style symbolized freedom and elegance that emancipated ladies from corsets and lace in favor of more modern shirts and pants.

Coco Chanel collaborated with painters such as Pablo Picasso and became a trailblazer in pioneering the perfect modern expression of fashion through art and vice versa. Chanel's original and modern styles were as revolutionary as Picasso's cubism and the duo created a wonderful and historical amalgamation of art and fashion. Chanel also worked with Salvador Dali, the father of surrealism.

A Special Mention to the Master: Salvador Dali

We can truly witness the influence and reflection of Spanish painter Salvador Dali's surrealistic style in designer Elsa Schiaparelli's works.

The Schiaparelli-Dali collaboration gave birth to marvels such as the "shoe hat", inspired by the painter's photograph of his wife balancing shoes on her head, the whimsical "tear's dress" and the unforgettable "lobster dress," inspired by Dali's "dream of New York - man finds lobster in place of the phone".

The Way to High-Street

The grandeur of Spanish fashion is now known all over the world. And, instead of just classic couturiers or designers, Spain has also produced a number of brands offering high-street fashion. Some of the most well-known high-street Spanish brands are Zara, Mango, Manolo Blahnik, Loewe's, Massimo Dutti, and Adolfo Dominguez. Their collection includes shirts, tops, jeans, and party wear. Blahnik is synonymous with the revival of the coveted stiletto heels.

These high-street brands have become household names and cater to a plethora of clients that range from teenagers to middle-aged professionals globally.

Fashion is an ever-changing entity and Spanish fashion has come a long way since the fifteen hundreds, from ball gowns and breeches to summer dresses and jeans from traditional to modern.

Spanish fast-fashion brands such as Zara and Mango have conquered the international market with outstanding success. Along with these, designer Spanish brands like Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Manolo Blahnik, and Miguel Adrover have all left their imprint on the international fashion landscape.

Through creativity, innovation, and competitiveness, be it haute couture from Balenciaga or casual wear from Zara, Spanish fashion is renowned and desired. Furthermore, with designers such as Ralph Laurens' use of ruffles and matador hats, D&G's fringed dress, and Oscar de la Renta's flounced skirts and flamenco heeled shoes, traditional Spanish culture continues to affect the fashion industry even today, where art and fashion merge as an expression of innovation that continues attracting attention, accolades, and praise globally.

Read next: Japanese Fashion: A Journey from Ancient to Modern

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Spanish Fashion | The Evolution From Historic To Modern

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Join us on a journey through the world of Spanish fashion, where we discuss every major style from 1500s to 2020s, from historic flamenco to modern flared!

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Spanish fashion was ascendant in the 1550s, from the loose women's gown-the ropa -and the Spanish farthingale in women's dress to the narrow-cut jerkins and tight sleeves of Philip II and the must-have men's outerwear piece, the Spanish cape.

The trends of the late 1540s continue in the early 1550s. The newly dominant rigid silhouette created by stiffening the bodice and wearing the conical Spanish farthingale remained in place. As always, the foundation of womenswear was the chemise, which now was often topped by stays (an early form of corsetry) and a kirtle (which more often now referred to a petticoat skirt), with a gown worn as the final layer.

In the 1550s, a new garment became popular across Europe, as François Boucher explains in A History of Costume in the West (1997):

"the ropa, which may, however, have been Portuguese in origin; it was a sort of loose-waisted mantle open in front, in which some authors have seen the continuation of the fifteenth-century surcoat. It often had double funnel sleeves, one part of which could be worn hanging, in accordance with a purely Spanish tradition." (227)

Catherine of Austria, wife of King John III of Portugal, wears a ropa in Anthonis Mor's 1552 portrait (Fig. 1).

From Portugal it spread to Spain and was soon adopted by Mary I of England, as Daniel Delis Hill explains in A History of World Costume and Fashion (2011):

"In 1554, Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine, married the future Spanish king, Philip II. The queen and the English court eagerly copied the styles of the Spanish entourage." (375-76)

Mary wears a black, fur-lined ropa style gown adorned with decorative silver aiguillettes in a portrait by Hans Eworth (Fig. 2). Like Mary, an unknown woman also painted by Eworth (Fig. 3) wears a dark gown which contrasts with her elaborate silver and gold brocade sleeves. Both women's outfits feature elaborate chemise frills that will very soon become separate ruffs. Boucher dates the first appearance of the ruff to 1555 (227).

A version of the loose ropa began to be worn all over Europe, under various names: "the sumarra in Italy, the marlotte in France and the vlieger in Holland" (Boucher 224). Emilia di Spilimbergo wore a similar loose gown uncinched at the waist in her portrait by Titian (Fig. 4).

The fitted silhouette commonly seen in the 1540s remained popular, however. Women could choose between loose ropa-style gowns and more fitted ones as Jane Ashelford explains in A Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century (1983):

"By the 1550s women had a choice of two styles of gown to wear over the bodice and skirt. The loose gown fitted across the shoulders to fall in set folds spreading outwards to the ground... The gown could be closed by means of buttons, bows and aglets... [or] The closed gown fitted to the waist and then extended over the hips to fall in folds to the ground." (23)

Mary I of England wears just such a gown, with a highly ornate cloth-of-gold forepart, in a 1554 portrait (Fig. 5). The same silhouette can be seen in two other portraits of women at the English court (Figs. 6-7). Both of these portraits feature black gowns, which contrast dramatically with the white of their flared, standing chemise collars decorated with embroidery. All three women still have large funnel sleeves and then undersleeves with open seams closed by broaches or aiguillettes where the embroidered chemise is puffed out. The small prayer book that hangs from the girdle in figure 6 and is held open in figure 7 had become a fashionable accessory. All the English women (Figs. 2-3, 5-7) wear the "English version of the French hood [where] the top of the crown is flattened across the head to turn wide of the temples and then turn in at an angle to end over the ears" (Ashelford 47).

Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France, wears the more traditional French hood in a 1559 portrait (Fig. 8). Her dress conforms to the same rigid silhouette seen at the English court based on the Spanish farthingale and the beginnings of corsetry, as Millia Davenport explains in The Book of Costume (1948), writing that her:

"gown is of black velvet, embroidered with gold and lines of pearls, set with sapphires at their intersections; the underdress of pink satin.... Another of Catherine's introductions from Italy was the corset of flexible steel, such as she wears with the vertugale under this gown." (475)

Her funnel-shaped sleeves are turned back to reveal a lynx fur lining, creating enormous cuffs that nearly reach her shoulders. Ashelford notes that this was a common decorative choice: "Contrasting the dark material of the gown with a soft fur lining was a fashion that appears in many portraits of the 1550s and 1560s" (59).

We see another example in Germany, in Barthel Bruyn the Younger's portrait of a woman of the Slosgin family of Cologne (Fig. 9), where the sleeves are instead lined with ermine (note the tails). Another portrait of Catherine (Fig. 10) again shows her wearing a French hood, but this time with a low-cut bodice with the neckline filled in by a jeweled partlet that ends in a ruffled collar edged in red embroidery. The black dress has large rolls at the shoulder and is clearly fur-lined as the regular openings reveal tufts of white fur.

Joanna of Austria, raised in Spain and future Princess of Portugal, reflects the somber fashions of the Spanish court, as the Royal Collection Trust explains:

"Joanna wears a formal black velvet gown, probably her bridal clothing from her marriage to John of Portugal in 1552 [See Fig. 2 in the Menswear section below]. It is embroidered in gold with intertwined capital 'I' letters, perhaps alluding to her husband's name (Iohannes or Ioan) or her own name (Ioannae). Black clothing was particularly expensive, an intense deep black colour being costly to produce and hard to maintain over time. It was a colour much favoured at the Habsburg court and was commonly worn at weddings in the sixteenth century."

Her sleeves have a puff of volume right at the shoulder, similar to menswear at the time; see a very similar sleeve style on her brother, Philip II in the Fashion Icon section below. The decoration along the top of the bodice and down the front of the bodice, as well as down the skirt, is very similar to the style of a surviving dress from Pisa (Figs. 12-13). That dress is made instead of red velvet, but likely was influenced by the Spanish fashion for this kind of decoration. The sleeves of the gown are also very regularly slashed in a vertical line (Fig. 13). While Joanna's neckline is filled in by her chemise or a partlet, the Italian woman who wore this red dress may or may not have done so, as low necklines remained popular in Italy even as they disappeared elsewhere in Europe. An Italian woman painted by Giovanni Battista Moroni (Fig. 14) wears a red silk satin gown with slashed decoration on the bodice and the small puffed upper sleeves, here with transparent chemise fabric pulled out. While the bodice is rigid, the skirt falls in gentle folds suggesting she is not wearing the Spanish farthingale favored elsewhere, with volume instead created by pleats at the waistline as in the red velvet dress. She has red embroidery at her chemise cuffs reminiscent of the red embroidery at the collar frill of Catherine de' Medici (Fig. 10).

While her hair is worn up, without any additional hat or hood, Joanna of Austria (Fig. 11) wears a typical Spanish hairstyle, as the Royal Collection Trust notes: "Joanna's hairstyle, which is frizzed and set on the sides of the head beneath her masculine style bonnet, is distinctively Spanish and was known as 'toca de cabos'." The continuing adoption of menswear style elements continues trends we'd seen in the 1540s.

Fashion Icon: Philip II, King of Spain & of England

Philip II ruled during the Spanish Golden Age and controlled a vast number of countries; he was

"King of Castile and Aragon (1556-98), King of Portugal (1581-98, as Philip I, Filipe I), King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554 to 1558). He was also Duke of Milan. From 1555 he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands." (Wikipedia)

His style of dress exemplified Spanish taste and sobriety. He favored a simple palette of black and white (and gold). The dramatic shift in menswear tailoring back to the natural line after the broadness favored in the 1530s is evident in the narrow lines of Philip's jerkins (Figs. 1-3). A portrait by Titian (Fig. 1) shows him in a fur-lined jerkin where the white tufts of fur appear through the seams, as seen above in the portrait of Catherine de' Medici (Fig. 10 above). In a portrait by Anthonis Mor (Fig. 2), Philp also wears black and white, but here there is no extra padding from a fur lining and the open seams are instead held closed by broaches. His white satin doublet sleeves are regularly slashed on the diagonal, as is his jerkin, which also has regular embroidery or ribbon decoration down the torso. A portrait from about the same time (Fig. 3) also has Philip wearing a black jerkin, but now paired with a canary yellow doublet and paned trunk hose covered in regular pinked lines.

A portrait of Philp II with his wife Mary I of England shows him again in a black jerkin with long vertical open seams (Fig. 4), though here his doublet appears to be red. In all four portraits a pale codpiece contrasts with the rest of his dress and attracts attention. In the latter three portraits he wears a black bonnet with a small white feather. In all four he wears a sword, as was customary by this time. The Spanish wearing of black was a hallmark of Spanish/Hapsburg dress, but as noted above in reference to Philip's sister, Joanna of Austria (Fig. 11) it was also a status symbol as rich black cloth was expensive to produce and maintain. Philip's style would go on to have a strong influence on other European courts, as we'll see below.

Edward VI of England in a ca. 1550 portrait (Fig. 1) wears clothes similar to those of his father, Henry VIII, but in a somber color palette. The broad silhouette is conservative for the time, unlike the narrow lines of the more fashion-forward Philip II discussed above. Edward VI and his fellow young royal John, Prince of Portugal (Fig. 2) both still wear short gowns, but as we'll see the Spanish cape becomes the more popular piece of outerwear in the 1550s. Doublets and jerkins fit tightly at the neck, with standing collars and shirts with a frill at the neck. Trunk hose are gaining volume and are often paned; they are worn with stockings and shoes often of the same color. Flat bonnets worn at an angle and often decorated with an ostrich feather remain popular. Swords hang from a belt/baldrick at the hip and gloves are often carried. Daggers are less frequently seen than previously.

Maximillian II, the Holy Roman Emperor and cousin of Philip II, shows the latest trends at his court in a 1550 portrait by Anthonis Mor (Fig. 3). The methodical regularity of the slashing on the jerkin and pinking on the doublet sleeves and the panes of his hose are typically Spanish. Indeed, as Boucher explains, irregular German/Swiss slashing was banned in Spain in 1548 and "simple, straight slits were then adopted, and were very widespread after 1550" (228). Davenport describes his dress further, noting that Maximillian wears the:

"highest possible Spanish collar, finished with a scalloped picadill edge bound in gold to match its cap sleeves and double skirts.... Paned trunk hose, in their early form shown here, have bombast (stuffing) used only below the line of the crotch." (461)

Precise slashing/pinking and bombasted trunk hose soon spread to England with the marriage of Philip II of Spain and Mary I of England in 1554. Ashelford details other Spanish trends that were soon adopted:

"Features of Spanish dress that were imitated after Philip's visit to England were the vertical slashing on the jerkin and the use of dark colours set off by white linen at the throat and wrists." (65)

A gentleman, perhaps of the West family, shows these fashions in a ca. 1545-60 portrait (Fig. 4), where he wears a black jerkin with strictly vertical slashes and white shirt frills at the neck and cuffs. Atop his jerkin, he wears a black Spanish cape, edged in gold cord. While the rest of his ensemble is black, his doublet is a dull crimson color. Indeed, the English did not adopt the purely monochromatic black and white dress favored by the Spanish, as Diana De Marly notes in Fashion for Men (1985):

"When Etienne Perlin visited the court of Mary I in 1558 he found 'gentlemen dressed in all kinds of velvets, some in black, others in white, others in violet, others in scarlet, some in satin, others in taffeta, others in damask, of all colours, with a tremendous number of gold buttons.'" (33)

Since the reign of Louis XI, France had been trying to become less dependent on Italian silk imports. Louis XI had established a silk weaving center at Lyons and in the 1540s François I had granted the city a monopoly. Boucher elaborates further on the extent of the French silk industry at the time:

"The weaving of silk kept 8,000 looms occupied in Tours in 1546, and employed 12,000 people in Lyons, at about the same time.... To protect these new industries, the State establish a system of restrictions on imported dress materials. By an ordinance of 18 July 1540, foreign cloths of gold and silver and silk could enter France only through certain towns and were then sent to Lyons for the levying of import taxes." (238)

The King of France in the 1550s, Henri II (Fig. 5) wears a black jerkin or doublet and black Spanish cape, both adorned with lines created by gold cording. His golden trunk hose are paned and reveal a white satin lining. His natural form white shoes still have slashing across the vamp.

In an equestrian portrait (Fig. 6), Henri wears virtually the same outfit as Philip II (Fig. 2 in Fashion Icon section above). He also wears knee-high leather boots, another Spanish trend, as Hill explains:

"High-quality leather riding boots that extended to the knees and even mid-thigh were adopted by elite classes from the Spanish during the 1540s." (375)

Such boots will become part of everyday dress in the 17th century.

Boucher summarizes the key transformations in menswear in this period:

"from 1540 to 1575, male costume underwent a slow transformation, borrowing details from Flemish and Spanish fashion, while Italian influence decreased... The chamarre was replaced by the Spanish cape. Hose, which generally became longer, were fastened to the trunk hose (upper stocks) and made of knitted silk instead of tailored cloth." (235)

A surviving example of knitted yellow hose allow us to better understand their construction (Fig. 7). Similar in color to Henri II's paned hose (Fig. 5), the knitted silk trunkhose of Duke August of Saxon, have regular openings that reveal the yellow taffeta inner hose. Metallic points hang from yellow silk ribbons that would have enabled the hose to be tied to the doublet. The codpiece remains prominent.

In Italy, the Spanish influence meant that black continued to be a fashionable color, as one can see in Bronzino's portrait of a young man (Fig. 8). Note the cutwork and needle lace on his white shirt collar, which the stark black of the doublet/jerkin throws into relief. Titian's portrait of a general (Fig. 9) shows that more colorful dress was still seen. He wears a sleeveless jerkin with pickadils at the shoulder and a short skirt. His paned trunk hose are bombasted (padded) and his doublet sleeves narrow and rather plain. His white shirt is very high-necked and ends in a prominent frill. There is no visible codpiece; indeed the codpiece will diminish in size and eventually disappear in the second half of the 16th century.

That children were dressed as miniature adults is made clear in Veronese's portrait of Count Giuseppe da Porto and his son Adriano (Fig. 1). Both wear fur-lined capes with dark stockings and shoes and have a sword strapped to their side. Childrenswear could be just as elaborately decorated as adult clothing, as a leather jerkin for a young boy testifies (Fig. 2). The narrow-cut jerkin is covered all over by punched decoration, as the Museum of London explains:

"This youth's dark brown leather jerkin (a type of jacket) is decorated with vertical and diagonal scored bands and diamond, heart and star pinking. It is fastened with decorative pewter buttons that imitate buttons made from worked silk or gilt thread over a wooden core. Such practical and decorative garments were highly fashionable from the mid-1500s: and those made from Spanish leather were particularly prized. Thefts were common and, in 1554, John Porter stole a fine 'jerkyn of buckes leather' from the Tottenham home of John Stooe. Jerkins were worn by both men and boys but by the late 1500s were also popular with women."

Maria de' Medici (Fig. 3), the daughter of Duke Cosimo de' Medici and Eleanora of Toldeo, was painted by Bronzino when she was eleven. In addition to a double stranded pearl necklace, earrings and hair ornament, her dress is studded with pearls and ribbons of gold and silver embroidery.

References:

"Anthonis Mor (1512-16-c. 1576) - Joanna of Austria (1535-73)." Accessed July 5, 2019. https://www.rct.uk/collection/407223/joanna-of-austria-1535-73?language=en.

Ashelford, Jane. A Visual History of Costume: The Sixteenth Century. London: Batsford, 1983. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/748457696.

Boucher, François, Yvonne Deslandres, and John Ross. A History of Costume in the West: With 1188 Illustrations, 365 in Colour. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/443676264.

Davenport, Millia. The Book of Costume. New York: Crown Publishers, 1948. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/922657048.

De Marly, Diana. Fashion for Men: An Illustrated History. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1985. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752978274.

Hill, Daniel Delis. History of World Costume and Fashion. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/768100950.

"Jerkin." Museum of London. Accessed July 5, 2019. https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/118831.html.

"Philip II of Spain." In Wikipedia, June 23, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_II_of_Spain&oldid=903141020.

"RCIN 407223 - Joanna of Austria (1535-73)." Accessed July 5, 2019. https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/in-fine-style/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace/joanna-of-austria-1535-73?language=en.

Events:

1547-59 - Henry II persecuted Protestants

1559 - France surrendered claims to Italian territories

1556-98 - Philip II ruled Spain, the Spanish New World, the Netherlands, Milan, and Naples

1550s - The chopine, an early platform overshoe, has been popular since the late 15th century. At this time, they reach the peak of their height (20in/50cm)

Resources for Fashion History Research

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Digitized Primary/Period Sources

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Spanish fashion was ascendant in the 1550s, from the loose women's gown-the ropa -and the Spanish farthingale in women's dress to the narrow-cut jerkins and tight sleeves of Philip II and the must-have men's outerwear piece, the Spanish cape. The trends of the late 1540s continue in the early 1550s.

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The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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A true fashion innovator, Cristobal Balenciaga radically altered the fashionable silhouette of women in the mid-twentieth century. With the methodical skill of an expert tailor, he created garments of fluidity and grace. Unlike many couturiers, Balenciaga was able to drape, cut, and fit his own muslin patterns, known as toiles. He was respected throughout the fashion world for both his knowledge of technique and construction, and his unflinching perfectionism.

Balenciaga was born in the small fishing village of Guetaria in the Basque region of Spain on January 21, 1895. From his early years, he spent many hours by his mother's side as she worked as a seamstress. In his teens, the most prominent woman of his town, the Marquesa de Casa Torres, became his patron and client, sending him to Madrid for formal training in tailoring and proudly wearing the results. Balenciaga found early success in his native country. He opened branches of his boutique Eisa in Madrid, Barcelona, and the fashionable seaside resort of San Sebastián. His designs were favored by the Spanish royal family and fashionable members of the aristocracy. When the Spanish Civil War forced the closure of his boutiques, Balenciaga moved his operation to Paris, the acknowledged fashion capital of the world. There the talented designer joined the ranks of Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Mainbocher, among other established couturiers. In August 1937, Balenciaga staged his first runway show at his Avenue George V atelier, showing a collection that was heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. Balenciaga interpreted numerous historical styles throughout his career. His "Infanta" gown was inspired by the costumes of the young Spanish princesses from portraits by Diego Velázquez, while the short, heavily ornamented "jacket of light" traditionally worn by toreadors in the bullfighting ring inspired much of his evening wear.

By 1939, Balenciaga was being praised in the French press as a revolutionizing force in fashion, with buyers and customers fighting to gain access to his collection. During World War II, clients risked travel to Europe for Balenciaga's designs, especially his celebrated square coat-in which the sleeve was cut in one piece with the yoke-and anything shown in his unique color combination of black and brown or black lace over bright pink. In the postwar years, Balenciaga's designs became streamlined and linear. The clothing he created was different than the popular, curvy hourglass shape that Christian Dior promoted with his New Look. Balenciaga favored fluid lines that allowed him to alter the way clothing related to a woman's body. Waistlines were dropped, then raised, independent of the wearer's natural waistline. In 1953, he introduced the balloon jacket, an elegant sphere that encased the upper body and provided a pedestal for the wearer's head. In 1957 came the creation of his high-waisted baby doll dress, the gracefully draped cocoon coat, and the balloon skirt, shown as a single pouf or doubled, one pouf on top of the other. Neither the sack dress, introduced in 1957, nor the chemise of 1958 had a discernible waist, but both were considered universally flattering and were copied by a large number of ready-to-wear manufacturers at every price range. With these design innovations, Balenciaga achieved what is considered to be his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women.

Throughout the 1960s, Balenciaga continued showing collections of unparalleled technique and beauty. His innovative use of fabric-he liked bold materials, heavy cloths, and ornate embroideries-led him to work with the Swiss fabric house of Abraham. Together they developed silk gazar, a stiffer version of the pliable fabric that Balenciaga used in suits, day dresses, and evening wear. Loyal clients such as the Duchess of Windsor, Pauline de Rothschild, and Gloria Guinness continued to appreciate the discreet but important touches he provided in his clothing: collars that stood away from the collarbone to give a swanlike appearance and the shortened (seven-eighths-length) bracelet sleeve, so called because it enabled the wearer to better flaunt her jewelry. When the Balenciaga salon closed in 1968, the occasion marked the end of the career of a great artist whose influence is still being felt in the twenty-first century. The modern look that he created has been sustained by André Courrèges and Emanuel Ungaro, who both apprenticed at his atelier, and by Hubert de Givenchy, among others. Balenciaga died on March 24, 1972, at home in his beloved Spain. A longtime client offered a fitting epitaph: "Women did not have to be perfect or even beautiful to wear his clothes. His clothes made them beautiful."

Charleston, Beth Duncuff. "Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bale/hd_bale.htm (October 2004)

Jouve, Marie-Andrée. Balenciaga. New York: Universe/Vendome, 1997.

The World of Balenciaga. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1973.

Pochna, Marie-France. Dior. New York: Universe/Vendome, 1996.

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Cristobal Balenciaga (1895-1972) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

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Balenciaga achieved what is considered to be his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women.

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Cristóbal Balenciaga: A Timeless Legacy - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world’s treasures online.

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When you're mentioning the most influential countries in the world relating to fashion, countries like France and Spain come to mind. The history of fashion in Spain shows that it has always been a notable contributor to the fashion world. Although France dominated the industry in the last few centuries, the US and UK seem to be catching up recently. Most people don't know that in the early 16th century, Spain was at the forefront of world fashion because of their beautiful embroidered designs and, ultimately, the use of colorful clothing.

Today, most fashion designs have been heavily influenced by traditional Spanish dresses. During cultural events in the rural parts of Spain, tourists could see these colorful traditional dresses in use. They brought out these clothes on special occasions. People usually come from around the world to see fashion hosts hosted in Milan and Barcelona. To date, Spanish fashion designers have significantly influenced the fashion industry. In this article, we'll walk you through the history of fashion in Spain and how Spain came to influence style as we know it today.

The History of Fashion in Spain - Politico-Geographical Influence

Starting from the 1500s, the customs and culture of the country have always had a significant influence on Spanish fashion. It also influenced the world as Spain sold their cultural products and clothing to their former colonies. With many timeless fashion trends and styles in the country, it's even harder to trace the history of fashion in Spain and create a timeline. This is difficult because of the multicultural society that formed the early Spanish empire. There was also a constant shift in its political and economic relationship with the rest of the world.

From the beginning, Spain has been a country of contrast. The Moors partially occupied the country for more than seven centuries, and during this time, it saw the coexistence of different faiths like Christian, Jewish, and Muslim till 1492. During this period, it became the champion of Catholicism, heralding the Spanish empire's golden age. Due to geography, climate, and language differences, Spain embraces different regional identities. Spain's climate also allows it to grow other materials for textile production. While wool grew from the plains of Castille, Flax grew in Galicia, and sericulture and silk weaving started in Valencia and Andalusia.

The Spanish colonies started producing exotic dyes, creating the deep blacks and bright reds that defined the Spanish preference in regional, fashionable and religious apparel right from the beginning of the sixteenth century. The history of fashion in Spain also showed that in the nineteenth century, Spain became more automated. Despite this, skills like leatherwork and embroidery have remained valuable.

History of Fashion in Spain - The Common Traditional Pieces

Spanish fashion has been modernized over the years. However, traditional Spanish outfits are still worn on religious and special occasions. Some of the traditional Spanish traditional styles today survived changing times and climates. Even better is the fact that people can differentiate them by cultural customs. Some of the most common pieces are popularly worn during fashion parades, events, and festivals. They're seen on the matadors and flamenco dancers; we'll explain their differences below.

Traje de Flamenca

This is the flamenco dress and is usually worn by female flamenco dancers. The Traje de Flamenca are long dresses, and they come with a defined neckline that hugs the waist and then opens at the up, all the way to the ankles. The skirt and sleeves are usually embellished with ruffles. The flamenco dancers usually dress traditionally in red, white, and black. Their hair is always up in a bun, and there's always a rose behind their ear as an accessory.

Traje de Luces

This is another traditional dress in the history of fashion in Spain. It is an ornate cloth that traditional bullfighters popularly wear. This conventional wear has remained constant over the years, and its name means suits of lights. This is a reference to the heavy and detailed embellishment of the costume. The pants and jacket of the costume are usually the same color and feature intricate gold, black, or silver embroidery. It also comes with Austrian knots and sequins.

Mantilla

A traditional Spanish veil piece you just must know about is the Mantilla. You might know it as the veil worn during festivals like weddings, the holy week, and even bullfights in Spain. The veil usually comes as a lace or silk scarf on a high comb and is worn over the head and shoulders.

Gilet

Another classical, traditional fashion piece is the gilet. This has been adapted to more of a modern style over the years. It is usually a sleeveless jacket similar to a vest or a waistcoat. It is typically a staple of traditional Spanish attire and features fittings and embroidery from the past. Today, these conventional jackets come in a contemporary style, and people wear them for warmth.

History of Fashion in Spain - The Middle Age

Now that you know the traditional pieces of Spain, take a trip down the history of fashion in Spain with me. The middle age and 21st century were a time of growth and evolution for Spanish fashion. The 10th and 13th centuries featured surcoats, mantles, and tunics in silk brocades. There was heavy Arab influence because the materials were sourced from these Muslim-dominated regions.

The 14th century featured the elites supplementing their wardrobe from abroad to keep up with the changing styles. The era of Charles brought an austere black and white piece that symbolized religious influence. Buttons, gold chains, and jewels crafted from precious metal adorned this dress.

The Golden Age - A Fashion Forward Period

The period between 1556-1680 heralded Spain's golden age. This era was one of Spain's most powerful arts and fashion periods, and it flourished throughout the Spanish empire and its European neighbors. In 1580, there was a publication of the first Spanish book and manual on tailoring. This book indicated a change in perspective in fashion and styling. Later on, in the later half of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, Spanish elites wore silk clothing that was colored vividly and adorned in gold or silver.

However, Spanish noblemen isolated themselves during this period from their European peers regarding style. They ditched doublets, trunk hoses, and cloaks in favor of singular padded breeches. However, the Spanish women preferred ball gowns over the Spanish farthingale.

History of Fashion in Spain - The Catholic Effect

The 17th - Mid 19th centuries witnessed the catholic effect on the history of fashion in Spain. As stated earlier, Catholicism became the primary religion in Spain; therefore, the country's styles and fashion adapted to the Catholic style. As a result, men and women started to favor black more, and to date, it is a staple color in the Spanish fashion. Black also became the color of formal court dresses, although there were religious connotations to wearing black. To date, the clergy and the grieving still wear this color.

Apart from the color black, Catholicism has had other influences on Spanish fashion. An example of this religious influence is wearing a veil to cover the head and shoulder or high collars. Also, in the 18th and 19th centuries, wearing rosaries on the hand because a women's accessory that was visible to everybody. Women wore the black basque over their gowns whenever they went to church.

The Addition of a Wardrobe from Paris

From the 19th - the 20th century, the Spanish elites decided to patronize Parisian fashion. As a result, they frequently traveled to Paris to improve their wardrobe collection. Apart from elites, top Spanish dressmakers traveled to Pairs to attend the haute couture exhibitions. In this place, they usually acquired models for themselves or went to study top fashion designers so that they could modify their styles for their middle-class clientele.

The Modern Age

The history of fashion in Spain from the 21st century till date marked the entry of the modern age with the entry of two fashion icons into the Spanish fashion space. Coco Chanel and Cristobal Balenciaga entered Spanish fashion in the 1900s, and they were like a much-needed breath of fresh air for the Spanish fashion industry. These two legends changed Spain's fashion scene and pushed the boundaries of imagination and creativity. These two fashion icons are also responsible for introducing the modern Spanish style to the world.

Balenciaga and Chanel easily made their way around Spanish art by collaborating with painters like Dali and Picasso. Sometimes, they decided to create fashion inspired by works of old Spanish art masters. For example, Balenciaga studied the works of Francisco de Goya and de Zurbaran to recreate Spanish fashion. This made up his primary collection in 1936. He also had a line of Spanish-inspired outfits with jewel-toned shades and opulent dresses. This was an ode to the classic Spanish rich textile and traditional embroidery worn by the aristocracy back in the golden age.

On the other hand, Coco Chanel is considered one of the most influential fashion designers who revolutionized women's fashion. Her style symbolizes freedom and elegance, and she emancipated ladies from the shackles of corsets and laces in favor of pants and shits. Chanel also dived into creating fashion in collaboration with art by partnering with painters like Pablo Picasso. Soon, their partnership became a trailblazer for the perfect modern expression of fashion through art and art through fashion.

Most of Chanel's modern styles were revolutionary as Picasso's unique cubism. Together they created a unification of fashion and art in the history of fashion in Spain. Chanel is also known to have worked with Salvador Dali, the father of surrealism.

Final Thoughts

Fashion continues to change, which is apparent in Spanish fashion, which has come a long way since the 1500s. From ball gowns to summer dresses and breeches to jeans, the history of fashion in Spain shows the steady movement from traditional to modern. Due to their outstanding success, top fashion brands like Zara and Mango have also made their mark in the fashion landscape. Due to their creativity and innovation, Spanish fashion will always be desired.

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History of Fashion In Spain - A Case Study - 440 Industries

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Join us as we journey through the history of fashion in Spain. We'll discuss all the major styles in Spain's fashion history from the 1500s to date.

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Inditex's vision is dynamic and ever evolving, but the company's character remains steadfast