How did Art Deco impact Christmas and holiday Decor? First, let’s look at the origins of Art Deco. In the early 1920’s a number of deign elements came together to create the Art Deco movement. Engineering, architecture, fashion, and product design began to share features that emerged out of new manufacturing techniques. These methods allowed designers to use the unique look of mechanization as part of the finished aesthetic in a design, including the ornaments used in Christmas and holiday decor.
As an example, the first skyscrapers were built in the 1880’s. These buildings used a steel substructure to support an edifice that could become much larger than any building built with bricks and mortar alone. At the same time, industrial manufacturing supported the ability to create standardized, simplified and repeatable forms. These manufacturing processes quickly began to influence the styling and shapes of both exteriors and interiors, helping to define the modernist movement.
These influences coalesced. In 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris, France showcased industrial production, architecture, fashion and the decorative arts. Over 16 million art enthusiasts were in attendance. Visitors could not help but note the common theme that united the show: The ability of new manufacturing techniques to create precise, thin lines, refined curves, and uniform surfaces.
The Exposition Universelle, otherwise known as the world fair, set the tone for the next fifteen years, cementing a passion for modernist design framed within bounds of the Art Deco movement. Opulence, symmetry, precision, and style were the features of the day.
Limoges vase by Camille Fauré CC by 3.0
See some of our designs that are most influenced by the Art Deco movement.