Viewing  Sargent’s sartorial skills at Tate Britain

John Singer Sargent’s skills as a stylist – as well as a portrait painter – come to the fore in Tate Britain’s flamboyant new show Sargent and Fashion. The artist used fashion as a powerful cipher to express identity and status, manipulating clothing and draping to evoke untold stories – frequently sensual. That daring challenged the prim and proper status quo to hint at the inner lives of his aristocratic subjects. Sixty of Sargent’s paintings are on display alongside historical garments, including some of the original pieces worn by the sitters.

We see how Sargent pulled, wrapped and pinned a black taffeta opera cloak to add drama to his portrait of Lady Sassoon, 1907, shown alongside the original garment, and how he managed to make Dr Pozzi look magnificent in just a sumptuous scarlet dressing gown. If only we could watch Sargent working his magic on a fashion shoot today.