Tron-spiration: the otherworldly fashion of Erté
So, seeing as people enjoyed my post about the influence of Tron 1982 on Alexander McQueen, I figured I should do some more posts about costume history and Tron.
Even if you are unfamiliar with the man, you have almost certainly been exposed to his art in some way or other. The work of graphic artist and designer Romain de Tirtoff, known by the French pronunciation of his initials "R T", left an indelible mark on our perception of the 1920s Art Deco period.
I happen to think it also left a mark on the costuming of the Tron 1982 movie, be it less directly.
(This one may just be my favorite example, actually. Many thanks -or perhaps apologies- to @greetingsprogram1982 for putting this datapusher lady on my dash and sparking this post!)
Now, there are more parallels to be drawn (see below), but I don't think the work of Erté was necessarily a direct influence on Tron.
Rather, I feel like Erté often drew characters and costumes that wouldn't feel out of place decked out in circuits on the ENCOM system, with their graphic lines, sweeping drapery and extravagant headdresses. Mostly designed for the stage, Erté's fashion embodies a sense of being intended for another dimension entirely. His work is a visual fantasy of a different world; graphic, luscious, permissive, and dripping in the technological optimism of Art Deco and the 1920s. And well... isn't that a mindset quite close to the vibe of Tron?
In other words, I can easily see cultural osmosis pulling the 1982 concept artists to similar stylistic ideas...
Now, I realize most of the examples I have shown are fairly muted in color, which was not a deliberate choice! Erté has more to offer than that. Tell me honestly that you can't see some ENCOM system Datapushers rocking these outfits:
And to round it out... the later Tron media leaned away from the 1982 style that so echoed Erté and the fashion of the Art Deco to me, but there is something left of it...
(Somehow, I always end these posts with Radia? But well, fair is fair, she is the only modern Tron character who'd fit in an Erté illustration xD)
Anyway, if you enjoyed this, there's a pretty good collection of a lot of Erté's graphic work online here, and this auction website still shows a number of the costumes that were made to his design (a few of which I featured).
