Goddesses on the runway: how women in mythology became fashion’s greatest muse
By Amy Dowrick
Goddesses have always made leading examples of how we think of the divine feminine, with their romantic ideas of self-love, promiscuity, and some of the purest forms of femininity. So, it’s unsurprising that these nuances make their way to the runway, where designers cast their models out onto the runway in collections that make them look like fallen angels. But mythology isn’t a complete fairy-tale. Delving deeper into the role of women in mythology would bring us to find that many were punished for the beauty and femininity that we now embrace on the runway – which makes them the perfect muse for the modern fashion world.
Women in Greek mythology have notoriously been penalised for their beauty, many being cursed or punished if rejecting a sexual pursuit or even blamed for being raped. The tale of Medusa is well known for this reason; a priestess who was cursed by Athena for breaking a vow of celibacy, morphed into a beast with venomous snakes in place of her hair and a gaze that turned her lovers to stone. In her story, Medusa was a monstrous woman, a weak spinster who had been banished for her looks where no one could find her. Though in 1978, just as the fashion world has always looked for beauty in places that many don’t see, Gianni Versace founded his luxury fashion brand with Medusa’s head taking centre stage.
Source: Unknown
Gianni created a luxury brand that spoke to the modern woman. With high admiration for the female muses in his family, he founded a label that grasped how women deserve to be dressed as powerful figures in their beauty - and he saw this in Medusa. The brand logo of the Medusa head is instantly recognisable as a symbol of luxury and glamour, and the brand’s commitment to female opulence and style has allowed Medusa’s narrative to be rewritten – it reclaims the beauty that she was once scolded for. Gianni retells the story of Medusa as “whoever falls in love with Medusa can’t flee from her” and has created an irresistible beauty in his muses that captivates all who look their way. Although not a goddess in her own right, making Medusa the face of a brand that celebrates strength in beautiful women in the world of high fashion has given her a certain status: a woman once vulnerable and isolated has now become the patron saint for strong women who claim their beauty as irresistible power. Gianni Versace’s reincarnation of the story of Medusa is pivotal in how modern society views her legend.
Unlike Medusa, many view Aphrodite as the standard of beauty - but most also don’t recognise her tale as a punishment for her promiscuity. As the goddess of love, she was passionate, flirtatious and had affairs with many, surrendering to her desires and ultimately facing punishment from her father because of it. Her birth story, retold in Andreo Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ from the 15th century, has been a reference in pop culture throughout the decades, from photographer David LaChapelle curating the “Rebirth of Venus” in 2019 to Dolce & Gabbana’s fractured Venus dress in 1993.
Dolce & Gabbana’s fractured Venus dress, 1993. Photograph: V&A
Paying homage to the temptress behind the goddess, a more controversial approach to viewing her beauty, was Thierry Mugler’s “Birth of Venus” dress in his Haute Couture S/S 95 collection. Known for his theatrical flair and provocateur vision, his avant-garde retelling of the Birth of Venus story allowed her more provocative side to shine. In the show, model Simonette Gianfelici wore a shimmering, translucent bodysuit and a velvet column skirt that flowed upward as if her torso burst out from a clam shell, lined with a pink duchess satin. Adorned with pearls at the waist and neckline, Mugler’s rendition of the Birth of Venus is a nod to the flirtatiousness of the 90s, where women were having fun with promiscuity and playing with their sexuality – a pearl placed at the belly button of Simonette as an ode to seduction. Mugler showed that Aphrodite isn’t just the goddess of love – she is the goddess of sexual love - and should be worshipped, not punished, as such.
Thierry Mugler (French, 1948-2022). Birth of Venus dress, F/W 1995.
Source: W Magazine
Women in mythology have had their stories retold by the fashion world, whether in purity or promiscuity, in the name of admiration of female beauty. Fashion can be an important tool to see the beauty in something, or someone, considered evil or wrong. And it remains clear: beauty is in the eye of the designer.