The Prince and the Dressmaker

The Prince and the Dressmaker is set in a loosely historical Fin de Siècle (end of century) Paris. The art and literature of “Fin de Siècle”—a term that often refers specifically to the end of the 19th century in Europe—encompasses work made with a sense of decadence and hope for the future as well as emerging from concerns over social collapse and despair. Wang chose the former interpretation and created a visual world inspired by the lush aesthetics of the era with its hopes for progressive social change. In a nod to late 1800s Paris, Wang’s illustrations of Trippley’s mimic the architecture and aesthetic of a real department store in Paris called Le Bon Marché (meaning “the good market” or “good deal” in French) which opened in 1888, taking up an entire city block.

As shown by the King having to pull rank on a middle-class department store owner in Chapter 11, Wang’s version of 19th-century Paris captures the inherent ideological tension of an era that simultaneously privileged antiquated notions of monarchy and aristocracy and made space for emerging bold and progressive ideas of more contemporary city. This combination, reflected in The Prince and the Dressmaker, creates a