Click here to read part one, ‘The Hidden Threads: The Suffragette Campaign’
The Roaring Twenties
January 1st 2020 – a moment of expectation as we entered a new decade. However, we could not quite comprehend just how unexpected this year would turn out to be.
The world turned on its axis and a period of unexplainable uniqueness emerged. People envisioned a time of excitement, glamour and opportunity. What we were given was one of uncertainty and isolation. But, as we start to leave this period of ‘unprecedented times’ (never has that phase been used more than in 2020), I begin to wonder if there is a little bit of ‘Deja Vu’ attached to this storyline.
Rewind 100 years: It is 1919. One third of the world’s population was impacted by the Influenza pandemic with a death toll of 50 million. It brought the world to a halt and over the next several years left people in a state of fear – sound familiar? Yet the outcome at the end of that dark tunnel was remarkable. Enter an era that would be formed by film, technology, social freedoms – having adopted a new image that mirrors this unfamiliar ground. The fundamental consequence was a new appreciation for life in the form of ‘The Roaring Twenties’.
I think we all have an idea of how the ‘Roaring Twenties’ looks: a perception constructed by Hollywood films, books and material culture – a period of glitz and glam. However, I hope to uncover another side of the story which was hidden by the sparkle and sequins. Follow along as I look into the life of ‘the new woman’ behind the golden fibres, who arguably fashioned our current perspective of the period. Two women who lived through a war directly followed by a raging pandemic, ultimately to enter a new world on the other side.
Clara Bow: The Original ‘It Girl’
Our first tale focuses on the life and work of actress Clara Bow. Famed for her embodiment of the liberated ‘new woman’ or ‘flapper’ of the Roaring Twenties, her portrayal of leading characters epitomised the sexual freedom and gender liberation of the mid-to-late twenties in both silent movies and the developing ‘talkies’ of this decade. She was one of the first to be recognised as an ‘It Girl’: a term we associate with the most prominent popular figures in the world of fashion and modelling. Today, huge names such as Bella Hadid, Winona Ryder, Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell are all formidable heirs of this runway fashion and film legacy founded by Bow. A consequence of Bow’s work which they continued between 1990 and 2020.
Bow’s impact is strongly suggested to have been established by work within the silent film industry. The nature of this genre made her physical image and published photograph even more impactful. With the absence of words, all attention is directed towards her profile. The significance of dress, style and fashion are all hugely important for her established ‘It Girl’ fame as more attention was being drawn to body language and ‘looks’. What you saw was often what others have documented as the real Bow: ‘free-spirited’ in nature, transcended on screen through the personalities of the characters she played.
Bow’s most infamous feature and portrayal was of feisty shopgirl Betty Lou Spence in the 1927 romantic comedy silent film ‘It’. The plot followed Spence attempting to win the affections of a young department store executive. Her portrayal of the character became a model for the ‘free-spirited’ new woman of this decade within the changing field of gender liberation and elevated social power for women. This portrayal was by no means a one off for Bow. Considerable features in ‘Down to the Sea in Ships (1922), ‘The Wild Party’ (1929), ‘Saturday Night Kid’ (1929) Oscar nominated ‘Parisian Love’ (1925) and Wings (1927) all shaped her timeless legacy.
Her film ‘Maptrap’ (1926) introduced yet another formidable female lead. Bow played Alverna, a character who outwardly expressed conflicted emotions towards two older men, whilst refusing to feel shame and be dominated by those figures. Bow’s portrayal of the ‘new woman’ through her persona and fashion sense both within her work and outside of the film industry was fundamental in establishing a model of gendered liberation, through whom women of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ could become inspired.
Josephine Baker: A ‘Jazz Age’ Icon
Another defining moment of the 1920s alongside the foundation of the ‘It Girl’ and the ‘New Woman’ was the development of ‘The Jazz Age’. This term encompassed the collective use of culture and identity being acknowledged, remembered and renewed by African American citizens. The result was a positively received contemporary visual figure of transformative sights, sounds and style being exposed to an audience used to the less eccentric visual culture of the Victorian age. Leading figures such as Josephine Baker should be accredited for influencing this shift in artistic expression alongside the strides and efforts of those involved in movements like the ‘Harlem Renaissance’.
The movement thrived in cultural centres such as Washington DC, Paris and New Orleans, creating a revival of music, dance, art, literature, politics and fashion with the Parisian Baker being at its centre. Despite the pervasiveness of social discrimination and racial tensions, movements demanding civil liberties, equal rights and the abolition of legal segregation pushed this to become an iconic legacy, aiming to socially liberate marginalised communities. The artistic platform was a long awaited step in the right direction.
Baker rose to stardom during this time of progression becoming infamous from 1925 in Paris. Her story is not only inspirational for perseverance against racist attitudes but also for overcoming barriers of class and status. The lifestyle she led in Paris was one far from her humble youth in poverty. She managed to escape these socio-economic barriers through dance, finding success on Broadway and in the 1920s moved to France becoming one of Europe’s highest-paid performers. Alongside this, she quickly became one of the most celebrated African Americans in the city.
Her public portrayal, fashion and style were some of the biggest contributing factors to her fame fitting with her dancer profession, enabling her to become one of the most photographed women in entertainment. Her status exceeded that of leading white actresses such as Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. She used her popularity in a positive manner, as a platform, devoting herself to fighting US segregation and racism in the 1950s and 60s. Baker shaped a legacy that paved a way of recognised talent alongside beauty and image for future generations of Black women entertainers such as Tina Turner and Beyonce Knowles.
Closing Remarks:
These two women, Bow and Baker, have played a huge part in shaping my new idea of the 1920s as figures that forged a cultural memory of this period for years to come. This article acts as a reminder to ordinary people like you and I, that we have experienced ‘unprecedented times’ before and safely arrived on the other side. We now embrace an exciting era inspired by an appreciation for leading figures in artistic culture. Upcoming musicians like Arlo Parks, actresses such as Jenna Ortega or the bold fashion and textile work of figures like Lirika Matoshi give us hope for the future. By telling ordinary tales surrounding fashion, social escapism and artistic expression, I aspire to put into perspective and draw focus to the possibilities of greatness that could lie ahead of us as we enter 2023.