Liubov Popova

(1889, Krasnovidovo, Russian Empire–1924, Moscow))

Production Clothing for Actor No. 3, 1921
Paper, gouache, ink, collage, and varnish on paper, 33 × 25.3 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
(exhibited September–November)

Production Clothing for Actor No. 5, 1921
Colored wax pencils and graphite on paper, 35.6 × 30.7 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
(exhibited December–January)

While the Tuta aimed to be a universal product—equally suitable for men, women, and children, for everyday and evening wear—Russian constructivist artists from the group LEF (Left Front of the Arts) designed clothes based on their function. As labor played a key role in the new ideology, work clothes (such as overalls) were crucial: their form was dictated by the specifics of the professions. The first example of such work apparel was the prozodezhda (production clothing) for actors created by Liubov Popova when she worked with Vsevolod Meyerhold. It was inspired by Meyerhold‘s concept of biomechanics, in which the actor’s body was regarded as a machine whose movements must be calculated and honed in order to pre-program the effect it would have on the audience.