Okay, this is what the text on EmRata's printed words mini dress is all about
Emily Ratajkowski knows how to make a fashion statement. Case in point: her arrival on the red carpet at the WSJ. Magazine 2024 Innovator Awards in New York City last night [Tuesday 29 October]. The annual awards, held by The Wall Street Journal, honour industry leaders across a whole range of fields including fashion art, literature, entertainment, technology, music, philanthropy, cuisine and more.
This year's recipients include Marc Jacobs, Salma Hayek and Charli XCX – who received her Innovator award from none other than EmRata. The model/actor/podcast host/author (did we miss anything??) made sure to turn up for the occasion, wearing an ivory round neck, sleeveless mini dress. Simple it may sound, but the design, from JW Anderson's SS25 collection, was covered in printed words from neck to hem.
The text might not have been as lengthy as a Katy Perry song printed on a mile-long train, but it certainly served to keep all attention on EmRata as we tried our best to decipher the message.
And it turns out the printed text is an excerpt from English art critic Clive Bell's book Art, originally published in 1914. The essay, titled ‘Simplification and Design’ is considered a theoretical exploration of visual art. We wouldn't expect anything less from our gal, Em!
Emily explained her decision behind wearing the dress, telling WSJ, “I love Jonathan, and I just saw this dress when it went down the runway and was like, ‘I want to wear that.’”
The full text printed on EmRata's dress reads, “At the risk of becoming a bore I repeat that there is something ludicrous about hunting for characteristics in the art of today or of yesterday, or of any particular period. In art the only important distinction is the distinction between good art and bad. That this pot was made in Mesopotamia about 4000 b.c., and that picture in Paris about 1913 a.d., is of very little consequence. Nevertheless, it is possible, though not very profitable, to distinguish between equally good works made at different times in different places;”
Before continuing on the back of the garment, “and although the practice of associating art with the age in which it was produced can be of no service to art or artists, I am not sure that it can be of no service whatever. For if it be true that art is an index to the spiritual condition of an age, the historical consideration of art cannot fail to throw some light on the history of civilisation. It is conceivable therefore that a comparative study of artistic periods might lead us to modify our conception of human development, and”
Emily added black barely-there strappy heeled sandals and carried a minimal black handbag to her look, letting the dress remain the focus. Yep, sometimes less really is more.
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