A new book shows how this centenarian iron lady and her famous rivets have inspired all different types of creators.
While she lost the height competition a long time ago, she still holds her head high. Who else but the iron lady can brag about inspiring the greatest designers of high fashion, architects, authors and artists? A new book, which honors “Eiffel Style” and its wide influence, has been released by Éditions de La Martinière.
All throughout the 20th century, artists have been fascinated by the Tower’s beauty. In the time before World War II, French artists Georges Seurat, Henri Rousseau and Raoul Dufy all captured her on their canvases. In the 1950s, architect and modern furniture designer Charles Eames created seats with unique feet that were quickly dubbed “Eiffel Bases.” Later, other famous artists like Arman and César also paid tribute to the Tower’s sweeping arches.
The fascination shows no sign of fading, even today. According to Martine Vincent, the author of the book, this architectural totem has become the icon of Parisian chic.
“Creators and artists have often taken it from a souvenir gadget to a playful and elegant decorative object,” she said.
Even the grandest designer labels are taken with the monument. Montblanc, Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel, Dior have all been inspired by the Tower in some way: either as using the icon as part of an ad campaign or by designing shoes, pens, jewelry or clothes in its image.
In his Autumn-Winter 2011 collection, designer Jean Paul Gaultier even decorated fishnet stockings with the motif! Even better, he also stamped the iconic tower in a lacy pattern on a Pataugas shoe.
As French philosopher Roland Barthes once said, the Eiffel Tower is inimitable and yet constantly
* “Le Style Eiffel” by Martine Vincent, 192 pages, €39, published by Éditions de La Martinière.
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