pastiche

[ pa-steesh, pah- ]

noun

1. a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
2. an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc., taken from different sources; hodgepodge.

pastiche

/ pæˈstɪtʃəʊ; pæˈstiːʃ /

noun

1. a work of art that mixes styles, materials, etc
2. a work of art that imitates the style of another artist or period

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastiche¹

1700–10; < French < Italian pasticcio pasticcio

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastiche¹

C19: French pastiche, Italian pasticcio, literally: piecrust (hence, something blended), from Late Latin pasta paste ¹

Example Sentences

For sure, it’s a dreamy pastiche of the era’s moody, existential movies.

From Los Angeles Times

“As a gay filmmaker, queer cinema is often a pastiche. We recycle pop culture through our personal lens, and it comes out and makes this new thing. You don’t see a lot of it in American cinema. The show is sort of Almodóvar-ian. It’s melodrama, then it’s comedy, then it’s a drama and then it’s a thriller, then it’s soap.”

From Los Angeles Times

The venue has been transformed into the Kit Kat Club, the Weimar era Berlin nightspot, where the naughty pastiche score by John Kander and Fred Ebb gets to strut its decadent stuff.

From Los Angeles Times

The 1989 blockbuster “Road House,” was something of a pastiche.

From New York Times

Hence, a remake of the film, some might argue, is destined to be a pastiche of a pastiche.

From New York Times

Related Words

• collage
• compilation
• hodgepodge
• reproduction