Reinventing the Woman: How Design Tells the Story of Evolving Womanhood
As a designer with a deep appreciation for history, one of my favorite college projects was a research paper I wrote for my History of Design class at SNHU. The topic explored a powerful and often overlooked relationship: how the evolution of design has both influenced—and been influenced by—the changing perception of women. The final project took shape as a conceptual exhibition titled Reinventing the Woman, where I examined how women have helped shape design, and how design, in turn, has helped shape societal views of womanhood.
This was more than just an academic assignment for me—it was a creative deep dive that combined my love for design with a critical exploration of feminism, fashion history, and visual communication.
Arts and Crafts movement/ Dress reform movement
Emerged in the United Kingdom around 1860, the Arts and Crafts movement wasn’t as much a design style as it was a push for a return to a more simple, natural, and fulfilling way of living. (Miller, A Brief Survey of Modern Design History) The influence of this movement on art, architecture, graphic and fashion design cannot be overstated. The ideology of the Arts and Crafts movement spilled into the Dress Reform Movement, which continued until the First World War. (V&A · how arts and crafts influenced fashion) The dress reform movement sought to release the woman’s body from garments designed to create unnatural silhouettes, which affected the women’s health and restricted the types of activities they could engage in. One way the “reform dresses” served as a stepping stone toward an emancipated woman is by enhancing her mobility. The looser fit took the attention off the shape of the woman’s body and perhaps served as a push to stop the objectification of the woman’s body.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau was another style that drew inspiration from nature; however, it also embraced the effects of the industrial revolution and found a way to harmoniously combine some of the ideologies of the Art and Crafts Movement with the industrial methods of manufacture. (Miller, A Brief Survey of Modern Design History) During this time, the poster was elevated to the status of fine art. The poster craze was fed by artists like Jan Toorop, Charles Dana Gibson, Edward Penfield, and Alphonse Mucha, who have organically fused the reductive simplicity of design typical of the Art Nouveau style with the specifics of their own culture. While they all looked to the woman for inspiration in their works, the image of the woman each one of them created varied largely. However, whether we look at Mucha’s dreamy-eyed girl with long flowy locks and bare shoulders, or Penfield’s formal, stiff and asexual woman, we see a push for the “new woman” once more- the woman who is no longer bound by chains of restrictive garments, the woman who can get places on her own, the woman who is encouraged to get out there and face the world. Designed with the sole purpose of advertising bikes to women, the poster is proof that society was gearing up toward a stronger and more independent woman.
Edward Penfield
Ride a Stearn and Be Content, 1896 (chromolithograph)
ART DECO
Art Deco was the style that replaced Art Nouveau's organic flowing curves and earthy color palettes with smooth lines, mechanic contours, shiny metallic surfaces, and bold hues in the 1920s. The Art Deco style strove to run from the gloominess of the post-war reality by promoting luxury and extravagance. During the "Roaring Twenties," women started using daring makeup featuring bright-red lips, dark smoky eyes, and highly manipulated shapes of lips and eyebrows, thus defying the stigma behind makeup that was upheld through the Victorian era. At the same time, women tended to enforce their independence by giving preference to the "shift dresses" that intentionally concealed the women's curves behind the geometric and rectilinear design of the garments. (Miller, A Brief Survey of Modern Design History)
The twenties was also when society labeled as "flappers" women who preferred short haircuts, opted for shorter dresses, smoked, drank, and drove automobiles. The "flappers," also known as strong and independent women in our time, have inspired many designers to use bold colors and glamourous smooth textures to depict the new phase of the female social metamorphosis. Hence, Paul Colin's "La Revue Negre" is stylized concept art that features Josephine Baker, a native of St Louis, Missouri, who was the first black woman to star in a motion picture in 1927. Besides being a successful entertainer known for her erotic and exotic dancing style, Baker also played the role of a resistance spy during WWII. Baker, therefore, was the epitome of a strong woman who could flaunt her natural assets while also working as an intelligence agent. While Baker inspired Colin's design, Lempicka, a socialite of aristocratic descent, inspired her own designs. Her painting "Self-portrait in the green Bugatti" is yet another example of women's contribution to design evolution because Lempicka modeled her character after her own image and personality. Through her paintings, she promoted the daring, independent, and high-maintenance image of the woman of the late 20s.
Artwork: Paul Colin
La Revue Negre, 1925 (lithograph poster)
Artwork: Tamara de Lempicka
Self-Portrait in the Green Bugatti, 1929 (oil, panel)
Sachplakat
Sachplakat was a graphic design trend that followed the Art Nouveau style and replaced ornate imagery with simplified illustrations and a reductive geometric abstraction. (Miller, A Brief Survey of Modern Design History) It was typical for Sachplakat posters to use few words and simple images to address the viewer in a clear, direct, and non-confusing manner. As such, this graphic design style was instrumental in advertising political agendas. For example, political posters were largely used during WWI and WWII to persuade the people to contribute one way or another to the war efforts. During this time, the design was used to promote the image of a strong woman capable of taking over any obligations that a man generally fulfilled before the war. Political posters such as Miller’s “We can do it” shaped the next phase of women’s evolution because once the wheels started turning, there was no longer sending the woman back home to fulfill her housewife duties exclusively, even after the war ended.
Artwork: J. Howard Miller
We can do it, 1942 (photolitograph)
Contemporary design
The 2016 Pirelli Calendar, developed by the photographer, Annie Leibovitz, is an example of contemporary design. Since its inception, The Pirelli Calendar has been famous for featuring nude pictures of beautiful women carefully put together by crews of professional make-up artists and stylists. When invited to shoot the 52nd edition of the calendar, Leibovitz decided to feature women based on their accomplishments regardless of their age, race, or body type. The majority of the portraits convey a candid and unorchestrated image of a woman who is more than her physical appearance. (Lagios The 2016 pirelli calendar by Annie Leibovitz)
Each woman featured in the 2016 Pirelli Calendar was free to choose how she presented herself—an intentional departure from the stylized, objectifying imagery of previous editions. In doing so, the calendar champions the liberating idea that a woman’s worth lies in her achievements, not her appearance. Its message is quietly radical: in a world still debating which image is more acceptable—skinny or curvy, youthful or aged, bare or modest—women deserve to be celebrated for their impact, not their measurements. Annie Leibovitz’s calendar exemplifies the reciprocal relationship between women and design: the power and presence of these women shaped the creative direction, just as the final design reinforces a cultural shift—one that values the strong woman within over the polished persona expected from the outside. It’s a visual manifesto for a mantra many of us are finally learning to live by.
CONCLUSION
The development of design in Europe and the United States from the 1850s to the present is intrinsically tied to technical innovations and the evolution of society. Every artifact, every fashion piece, every poster, and illustration from any given design movement tells a story. These pieces are a silent testimony to the evolution of social norms and cultural interactions within societies. Some of them whisper truths about the tensions caused by the ravages of war and the bells of revolution. Others give us clues about more subtle societal changes. One of them being the metamorphosis of the concept of womanhood through the ages.
The goal of my exhibition was to highlight the women's complex evolution in conjunction with the development of the design. Throughout history, women have influenced design just as much as design has affected women's appearance, perception of themselves, social roles, and position in society. The Arts and Crafts movement contributed to the development of new fashion designs that helped free the woman from the confinement of garments that were inhibiting her mobility and jeopardizing her health. Artifacts from the Art Nouveau era tell us that at the end of the 19th century, graphic design helped promote a more independent woman who was encouraged to get out there and face the world. And she did! Around the 1920s, a new kind of woman, the flapper, emerged. Her makeup was bold, and haircut short. She dressed more provocatively, drank, smoked, and drove automobiles. This woman materialized in Art Deco designs through bold colors, reflective metallic textures, smooth lines, and mechanic contours. The contemporary woman continues to inspire design innovation just as much as she is, at times, inspired by it. Leibovitz's take on the Pirelli Calendar is an example of a Contemporary design being influenced by strong women who, in turn, inspire other women to be free— free to be who they want to be, dress how they want to dress and do what they want to do.
Why This Project Mattered to Me
As a designer, I believe every visual choice tells a story. Writing this paper gave me the opportunity to explore how deeply design and social identity intertwine. It reminded me that design is more than decoration—it’s a cultural lens, a historical artifact, and a tool for empowerment.
This project wasn’t just something I turned in for a grade—it was a passion project that shaped the way I think about design today. I still draw from this research when creating modern visual narratives that center around identity, empowerment, and change.