Unveiled in Saint Louis, a fresh spectacle marries the worlds of art, automobiles, and high-end fashion, offering a unique blend.
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Step back in time and immerse yourself in the opulence of the inter-war years as the Saint Louis Art Museum presents the exhibition 'Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918-1939'. Running from April 12 - July 27, 2025, this captivating showcase brings to life the brief but richly stylish era of the 1920s, showcasing the intersection of Gallic art, fashion, culture, and the automobile.
The exhibition features ten exquisite cars from the inter-war years, including models from Delahaye, Bugatti, Talbot, and Hispano-Suiza. Among the highlights are a unique 1937 Type 135MS Special Roadster Delahaye, with a leather interior by Hermès, and the Bugatti Type 41 Royale, one of only six surviving examples. The 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Teardrop Coupe, one of only seventeen ever built, is also on display.
Art Deco, with its geometric forms, stylized elegance, and modernist sensibilities, permeated multiple creative industries during this period. French culture and art, characterized by these Art Deco ideals, significantly shaped the design language of luxury automobiles and fashion.
In the realm of automobile design, French and Italian luxury car manufacturers, including Alfa Romeo, embraced sleek, aerodynamic shapes and sophisticated ornamentation. Cars combined function with artistic form, emphasizing streamlined bodies, fine materials, and stylish details that resonated with the contemporary cultural aesthetics of France and Italy.
Luxury fashion houses like Chanel and Hermès integrated motifs and stylistic elements from Art Deco and avant-garde art into their designs and branding. Chanel’s modern, minimalist, yet elegant designs epitomized the new feminine ideal of the era, emphasizing comfort and sophistication that matched the progressive spirit also reflected in car designs. Hermès, known for exquisite craftsmanship, translated the era’s refined aesthetics into leather goods and accessories that complemented the sophisticated lifestyle symbolized by luxury automobiles.
The period’s cultural climate emphasized harmonious design across lifestyle domains—fashion, automotive styling, graphic art, and typography. Luxury brands and automakers drew inspiration from the same contemporary artistic movements, creating an integrated image of luxury and modernity. The attention to detail, craftsmanship, and fashionable modernism in automobiles and haute couture mutually reinforced each other, accentuating the allure of luxury products.
The exhibition also showcases key pieces of fashion, contemporary modern art, and design from the inter-war years, including Fernand Léger's 1919 Disque dans la rue and Jean Arps' sculpture Shell Crystal (1938). Imagery of Josephine Baker, deco and modernist decorative objects, and fashion by Lanvin, Chanel, House of Worth, and more are also on display.
A special highlight of the exhibition is an image taken to illustrate coats designed by Sonia Delaunay and Jacques Heim, standing alongside a specially painted Aries Torpedo, designed by Sonia Delaunay. The setting of the image is the Pavillon des Renseignements et du Tourisme in Paris, designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens for the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, known as the cradle of the art deco movement.
The Pavillon des Renseignements et du Tourisme is also part of the exhibition, providing a glimpse into the architectural vision of the era. The exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in the intersection of art, fashion, and automobiles during the inter-war years, offering a unique insight into the shared emphasis on modernity, elegance, and avant-garde aesthetics that defined luxury car design and high fashion in this period.
- The fashion industry, particularly luxury houses like Chanel and Hermès, incorporate elements of the Art Deco movement and avant-garde art into their designs, creating a harmonious lifestyle that includes automobiles.
- The room dedicated to the Pavillon des Renseignements et du Tourisme, designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens for the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, showcases the intersection of fashion, cars, and Art Deco architecture during the inter-war years.
