Want to improve your fashion sense? Follow architecture.

It may seem contradictory for fashion and its fleeting trends to have any relation with something as permanent as architecture. However, the different branches of the design world are all closely informed by each other, and the work of a sculptor or architect can influence the work of an industrial designer or stylist, even unintentionally. In modern times most communication is done over the internet, but exhibitions, galleries, conferences and other social events helped to connect these different categories of design together for centuries. The design process is remarkably similar between fashion stylists and architects, producing preliminary sketches, drafting careful blueprints and obsessing over material selections. As such, if you want to improve your fashion sense, take inspiration from the geometries, colours and design concepts being used in architecture.

Here are some examples throughout history of architecture and fashion trends developing together:

Rococo | 1730s

Amalienburg Hall of Mirrors in Munich, Germany and François Boucher’s ‘Madame Bergeret’

The Rococo style originated in France around 1730 and spread quickly across Europe. Its soft curves, light colours borrowed from nature and intricate floral motifs made it an elegant symbol of nobility, and it was applied to both architecture and the high fashions of the time. By 1760 it had largely been replaced by more austere neoclassicism.

Art Deco and Hollywood Glam | 1920s

Silent film star Gloria Swanson and the Red Room at One Wall Street, NYC

Gloria Swanson’s gold-coloured dress became an icon of the Roaring ’20s. Cosmetics took off on a mass scale during this time and a sense of Hollywood glamour was embraced as a symbol of self-worth. This was also reflected in the Art Deco architectural movement that reached its peak in 1929. Flowing lines and geometric motifs were shared equally between architecture and fashion. Strong colours such as jewel tones and gold were used to convey a sense of wealth and grandeur, preserved in the opulent halls of New York City’s banking towers.

Mods and Modernism | 1960s

London in the 1960s saw one of the greatest cultural shifts of the mid-20th century. Artists, designers and architects aimed to create a new, more progressive society, characterized by avant-garde design in both architecture and fashion. Stylists of the ‘Mod’ movement embraced stark geometries and high contrast palettes and statement pieces, breaking from traditional standards, and not just in terms of aesthetics. In architecture, a similar principle of social revolution took charge as London was rebuilt after the destruction of World War II, with towers such as Centre Point showing off a state-of-the-art prefabricated concrete facade in a chevron pattern, towering above the brick Victorian lowrises around it as a beacon of Modernity.

Wall Street Chic and Postmodernism | 1980s

Lobby of the Millenium Hilton New York by Roche Dinkeloo & Associates

By the 1980s, the Modernist movement in architecture had largely been cast aside. Its obsessions with rationalism were perceived as creatively and intellectually stifling, and architects began to look to the past for inspiration. Every borrowed design element would come with a twist; guided by “irony” and “wit”, as critics would describe it. Fashion of the 1980s would finally break the staid formality that had somehow lingered through the previous decades, despite attempts of certain countercultures to get rid of it. Fashion had become big and extravagant. Wide shoulder pads, neon colours and shiny materials, not to mention sportswear, rock and hip hop styles. The revival of Wall Street made pantsuits a symbol of female empowerment. The 1980s was a time of experimentation and excess, both in fashion and architecture, and “more” really meant “more.”

Minimalism | 2020s

Federal House in Australia, by Edition Office

Architecture today has become a lot more recessive than before. More effort is put into fitting in or complementing the surrounding environment, maximizing views, and harmony of materials. This “minimalization” of architectural concepts reflects the minimalism of today’s fashion trends. Refined versions of classic pieces reduce the chance of clothing becoming “outdated,” in the same way the more successful concepts of Modernism have been reworked for the contemporary architectural era. There is a greater concern for sustainability, using more natural materials both in architecture and in clothing. Most things are reduced to their simplest but most effective forms, from geometry in architecture, to the composition of a stylish outfit.

The translation of design concepts and practices between the fields of architecture and fashion makes architecture an effective source of design inspiration for your wardrobe. Instead of obsessing through magazines, see what shapes, colours, patterns and materials are being used in today’s architectural works, and implement similar ideas in your outfits. Design trends and tastes inevitably change over time, but keeping up with practices in architecture can help you to stay on top of the fashion game.