Fashion History by Linda Welters Abby Lillethun

Author:Linda Welters,Abby Lillethun
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK

Figure 6.1 Empress Zoe (1028–50) holding the deed from the endowment of the church, Byzantine mosaic, eleventh century. Hagia Sophia. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY. The Byzantine Empress Zoe had her own personal cosmetics lab in the palace.

To form advantageous political alliances, Byzantine emperors sent their daughters as brides to foreign courts, as evidenced by Zoe’s engagement to Otto III. For the same reason, foreign brides emigrated to the capital. Irene of Hungary (1088–1134) was one of those brides. Her mosaic at Hagia Sophia features a much different style than Zoe’s, although it was created less than a century after Zoe’s (see Figure 6.2). Most obvious is that she wore her thick red hair in braids, a hairstyle seen in the West on female figures on the portals of French cathedrals ca. 1200. The fact that she did not cover her hair, as Zoe did, represents a change in fashion. Another new feature is her long trail ing sleeves, not the older closed sleeve worn by Zoe. Her sleeves bear decorative bands, not the pearl roundels seen on Zoe’s gown. Irene’s image is the first to show a Byzantine woman in the capital wearing such a dress (Ball 2005).

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