Compose two styles

Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.

How to divide the work

Composition
Follow Art Deco: Centered, symmetrical composition
Type
Set in Art Deco's manner (Tall, narrow geometric display type), and let Flapper's lettering (Geometric capitals used as another decorative band, never as a slogan) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
Material
Ground in Art Deco's material (Black, gold, ivory; repeated hairlines); bring in exactly one thing from Flapper (Light silk, beadwork, fringe, with the weight gathered at the hem).
Colour
Build on #17140f, #c8a65b, #f0e6cf and admit one accent from #eae6de, #6b655c, #1a1815.

Where they fight

These two are already listed as related, so the join should come easily.

Caution

  • Art Deco Too much ornament turns theme-park. Let white space carry the dignity.
  • Flapper Adding fringe over a nipped waist destroys the straight line the whole idea rests on and leaves a costume that merely signals the decade.

Image prompt

An original image that takes its structure from Art Deco (Style, 1920s–1930s) and its accent from Flapper (Style, 1920s). Structural cues: Symmetry; Radiating lines; Stepped motifs; Gold and black. Accent cues, used sparingly: Straight shift dresses; Bobbed hair; Dropped waists; Beads and fringe. Composition: Centered, symmetrical composition. Type and lettering: Tall, narrow geometric display type. Let one material quality come from the second style: Light silk, beadwork, fringe, with the weight gathered at the hem. Mood: Luxury, Exhilaration, Rebellion, Play. Color: build on #17140f, #c8a65b, #f0e6cf with a single accent drawn from #eae6de, #6b655c, #1a1815. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.

Related entries

  • Art Deco 1920s–1930s / Style / Historical Styles

    Stages urban luxury with repeating geometry and a metallic sheen.

  • Flapper 1920s / Style / Fashion History

    The 1920s woman who made the body's liberation visible in a straight silhouette, a short hem and bobbed hair, wearing the same period spirit that Art Deco gave to geometry.

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