Specialists claim that the world today is experiencing spiritual revival, and believing in something pure and sublime becomes more wide-spread in the society. Be that as it may, after two millennia of existence Christianity still remains a hot and, moreover, fashionable subject. Whether affected by the then deteriorating medical condition of the Pope John Paul II or the disastrous Asian tsunami, inspired by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ or Dan Brown's bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code, many designers have been expressing their spirituality during the recent Fall 2005 fashion season.
Among the first to show their interest in the matter were DSquared's Dean and Dan Caten who featured a Baptist church theme in their men's fall/winter collection. To present their new range, the Canadian twins created a set full with pews and a cross and started the show with a rendition of the gospel hit Jesus loves me which then turned into a Kayne West's hip-hop hit Jesus Walks. Jackets, shirts and ties were embellished with Christian religious symbols and inscriptions like «Jesus loves even me». 7,500 limited edition t-shirts saying «Learn to love thy brother» had been produced and sold at the end of the show and throughout European stores to raise funds for the Tsunami victims.
Italian designer Riccardo Tisci used the struggle of good and evil as the theme of his Fall 2005 presentation and the crucifix as the highlight of the set, which comprised a life size cross, an altar with a Bible, dried leaves, rose peddles and numerous desks. The fallen angels, dressed in all black, were trying to addle the good angels in white gowns and to lead them astray. The collection, executed mainly in black and white, featured long chiffon gowns along with black dresses and skirt suits, velvet riding pants, long trench coat, tulle ruffle skirts, stain dresses, and capes.
The new clothing range of Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent was affected by the Roman Catholic Church as well as by seriousness and solemnity of the vestments, including baptismal gowns, robes of the cardinals and communion lace. Among the church-inspired items were a coat with a chaste turtlenecks, a black suit jacket with an above-the-knee pencil skirts, a gold and black empire gown trimmed with lace, and a baptismal lace gown.
The latest controversy between fashion and religion was caused by French designers Marithe & Francois Girbaud who based their new spring/summer 2005 print campaign on Leonardo da Vinci's Christ's Last Supper. The “innovative” version of the 15th-century fresco depicted the 12 apostles and Christ himself as females and two of the apostles embracing a bare-chested man in jeans. Both in France and Italy the ad was banned after the Roman Catholic Church complained that the content of the posters was offensive.
Religion and spirituality have been accompanying us throughout the history of mankind, and as long as they stick around, you can observe their recurrent manifestations and reflections in fashion.