Design For the Real World: Mirror

Studio 360
The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

Design critic Veronique Vienne tells us how pieces of reflective glass in 18th century France sparked a culture of narcissism.

When Louis XIV built his famous palace in Versailles, he challenged craftsmen to build larger mirrors to line the walls of the palace gallery, in what is now called the Hall of Mirrors. “People had never looked at themselves in a mirror from head to toe,” Vienne explains. “They sort of fell in love with their reflection. And capitalizing on this, Louis XIV invented fashion. People became prisoners of their vanity, prisoners of their ego.”

(Originally aired October 13, 2001)

Invest in independent global news

The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!