Medieval Modernity: How Armor, Aesthetics, and Escapism Define Today’s Culture – James Denman

One of the highlights of the new Louvre couture show (apart from its first-of-its-kind status, it is the museum’s first fashion exhibition in its 231-year history) is a corner where the Balenciaga dress designed by Demna in 2023 is juxtaposed with French armor from 1560.

The juxtaposition is relevant to the exhibition and indicative of the current moment. In this chaotic ‘age of the orc’ moment, who has felt the need for their armor, with its sharp edges and heavy metal styling?

The exhibition at large is an exploration of couture, one of France’s greatest gifts to the world, and part of a broader trend and renewed interest in what one could call ‘medieval stylings’. And not just in fashion but in design and in music.

The Medieval era—spanning from the 5th to the 15th century—is challenging to encapsulate within 500 words. Yet, its mood and artistry, set against a backdrop of relentless warfare and sporadic outbreaks of devastating pestilence, resonate with our recent history. Let’s just say it wasn’t all love beads and mead.

The last major revival of its stylings occurred during another period of tumult, the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this time, bands like The Fool dressed like jesters, and prog rock dived into myth and lore to fuel a 23-minute odyssey. The through line? Escapism and fantasy.

That tension of craft and savagery is one of the reasons Medieval stylings have become their own ‘core core’ aesthetic. Everyone from Chappell Roan, to Zendaya, to Cards Against Humanity has played off and with the aesthetic in the last year. Loewe had armour props in oneS/S ‘25 campaign. Wonderhood Studios had 2025 predictions driving entirely around theMedieval trend. Teenage Engineering took the sounds of Medieval Instruments and turned them into a synth. While their campaign to launch it fused Ken Russells The Devils, with AlenjandroJordosky’s Holy Mountain. Both films are deeply indebted to exploring the dark ages via a healthy dose of acid. You’re seeing this trend across packaging, poster design, film title designet al. Under Armour’s recent collaboration with Equipo FC shows how brands that already have sharp edges to them can leverage the trend. (Also, it demonstrates that the brand has found its sense of humor. A welcome change).

While much of this is simply looking for new inspiration that breaks out of our stifling design Orthodoxies that have made much of our design language staid, the Louvre’s example illustrates the deeper unlock. Sharp edges, armor, codes, and a sense of arming ourselves against savagery underpinning this moment aren’t an anomaly. In medieval times, great powers clashed. The Age of Enlightenment was a dim thought away, unlocked by significant
technological change that created its own network effects.

We live in interesting (medieval) times, just like then. Its rising influence suggests a growing appetite for design and ideas with more profound narrative significance.

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