horatia
taittinger
snippets of my work
standing orders
I’m Horatia Taittinger, a London-based writer and researcher currently studying Fashion Histories and Theories at Central Saint Martins.
My work explores fashion history, subcultural style, pop culture, and visual media, often through themes of nostalgia and cultural memory.
Through both academic and personal writing, I’m interested in the emotional and cultural significance of clothing.
Historian and writer, currently studying fashion histories and theories at Central Saint Martins.
2. Sentinelle, observation
I follow garments on patrol through time.
3. Renseignement, analysis
I write academically and editorially, shifting between close visual analysis and cultural commands.
4. Commandant, authority
Clothing produces power.
5. Stratège, method
My practice is part research, part observation.
6. Chiffreuse, code
Fashion is a language that is learned and misread.
7. Maréchal, strategy
Fashion is deployed.
the madonna whore binary in possession (1981)
Produced shortly after the breakdown of Żuławski’s marriage to the actress Małgorzata Braunek and set in a divided Cold War Berlin, the film follows the collapse of Anna's (Isabelle Adjani) and Mark’s (Sam Neill) marriage.
What begins as a story centred around infidelity gradually mutates into something much more obscure; their domestic space becomes consumed by hysteria and horror.
click here...
december 2025
empire lines
It focuses on the double-breasted, frogged pelisse and dolman, tracing their journey from 15th-century regiments to their contemporary “military chic” iteration on the stage and the runway.
Through its questioning, this exhibition shows how a symbol of authority and discipline is repeatedly appropriated or subverted by civilians, subcultures and designers.
The exhibition also examines changing attitudes to authority and uniformity and how militaria have long fascinated the fashion world. By concentrating on one distinctive silhouette, the show makes broader cultural shifts visible: from imperial propaganda to second-hand reuse, from counter-culture styling to nostalgic revival.
The overarching theme can be summarised as: military dress in fashion, seen through the lens of the hussar jacket, and its role in negotiations of power, identities and nostalgia.
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the second hand trade and its origins (sort of)
The contrast between the upper and working classes was reflected in their wardrobes: while the wealthy could afford bespoke tailoring or the latest ready-to-wear fashions, the working class relied heavily on the second-hand clothing trade or handed-down clothing. Second-hand garments passed through multiple hands, moving from the affluent to the impoverished and undergoing transformation, reuse, and reinvention at every stage.
This recycling economy not only dressed the poor but also revealed a form of sustainable, localised consumption in an era long before the concept of fast fashion.
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sprezzatura and the male form
However, nothing about male fashion at the time was genuinely effortless, from voluminous puffed sleeves and padded doublets to carefully tailored codpieces. Renaissance male fashion was a masterclass in extravaganza.
Men in this period began their dressing regimen with a foundation garment: the chemise. For elite men, these shirts were made from linen fabrics such as cambric or lawn (Edwards, 2020, p.16). On top sat the doublet, which in the first half of the century was the quintessence of masculine elegance, particularly when made of lavish velvets or slashed at the fabric's surface to accentuate texture. The chemise was then pulled through the slashes to create small puffs. The bottom half was short, with full trunk hoses attached to the doublet. Lastly came the gown; these were usually fur-lined and sometimes featured intricate gold or jewelled bead designs. In the late 16th century, men opted for jerkins over their doublets: short, close-fitting jackets with sleeves attached with ties.
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