Double statue of the princesses Luise and Friederike of Prussia (1795 - 1797) by Johann Gottfried SchadowAlte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Princess Luise and later Queen of Prussia was no Regina George - but she played in the same league as Regina when it came to influence.
Regina, who? Regina George! From "Mean Girls": someone pranks most-popular-girl-in-school Regina George by cutting two... let’s say ‘strategically placed’ holes in her vest. Shrugging, Regina styles it out and, the next day, every girl in school is wearing a vest with the same two holes in it.
For Luise it was a scarf, more precisely a chin band. According to the sculptor, Johann Gottfried Schadow, Princess Luise wore an elaborate scarf in her hair that she tied under her chin the day the sisters posed for him to hide an unsightly swelling.
Queen Luise with her sons in Luisenwahl Park (1886) by Carl SteffeckAlte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
So graceful did she make it look, that it started the next hot fashion trend among the young ladies of Prussia. Even if the story is apocryphal ...
Portrait of Queen Luise of Prussia (1798) by Johann Friedrich TielkerKupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
and some say Luise was just following an existing fashion from France ...
Cup with the Profile Image of the Crown Princess Louise of Prussia (ca. 1800) by UnknownKunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
it is still an indication of just how remarkable the impact of an influential icon can be on society at large.
Double statue of the princesses Luise and Friederike of Prussia (1795 - 1797) by Johann Gottfried SchadowAlte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Being immortalized in marble helped, of course. These days you’re more likely to find your next fashion megastar while thumbing through your feed in Instagram.
#HistoryOfUs series
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz
www.smb.museum
