Fashion Doll Stylist: exhibitions

Showing posts with label exhibitions. Show all posts

Friday, December 3, 2021

Thierry Mugler Couturissime

Me and the girls are back from Paris where we took a little time to rest and recharge our creative batteries. The highlight of our trip....Thierry Mugler Couturissime, now on through April 24,2022 at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs.

If you were in fashion in the 1980's, Paris was the place to be. Many of the legendary greats including Yves Saint Lauren, Emanuel Ungaro, Courreges, Pierre Cardin, Hubert de Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld and even Mme. Gres, were still alive and captivating audiences with their catwalk shows. But hot on their their heels was a movement of young designers otherwise known as the "Createurs de Mode" ushered in an exciting new era dominated by the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Claude Montana, Kenzo and....Thierry Mugler.

Combine science fiction with the movie idols of the 1930's and you've got the look of the "darling of Paris fashion" as Mugler was affectionately called back in the 1980's. Shoulders of mammoth proportions, the waists drawn in to the point of breathlessness and when the hair, makeup, sets and special effects are added, the end result had all the drama and splendor of a Hollywood motion picture. "I like strong women," Mugler was quoted as saying. "Strength is a very important feeling for me, but I suppose my inspiration, or some of it, comes from the woman in the street, the theater or from traveling." His women were "femmes fatales" who like to make a grand entrance.

While strolling through the exhibition, I was delighted to see the inspiration for Integrity Toys' armor for the "Mothership" doll!

Mixed in with 140 garments are snippets of videos from his 1980's and 90's catwalk shows. This exhibition took me back to a time when fashion presentations were on par with pop concerts. It was a time when models were drop dead gorgeous and really knew how to show off clothes right down to the fingertips of their bejeweled gloves. It was a time when the time "createur" was synonymous with out-of-this-world genius creativity in the purest sense.

And now, ladies and gentlemen.....on with the show!!!

And how can we talk about Thierry Mugler without rocking to the beat of a George Michael video!!!

Except for the videos, all photos property of Fashion Doll Stylist 2021.

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Saturday, October 30, 2021

Patrick Kelly-1980s Fun

While working on the tutorial for the man’s shirt, my girls wanted me to take a small break to tell you about an exhibition they attended at the De Young Museum in San Francisco… “Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love” (now through April 24, 20220. This exhibition celebrates the career and legacy of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) who was also a dear friend of mine many years ago in Paris. I met Patrick six months after he arrived and I was blessed to watch him rise from struggling artist status to the rising catwalk star he became within five years. Together in our circle of friends, we laughed, we cried, we worked hard to scrape up money for the rent. We sipped champagne, we ate his fried chicken we were invited everywhere and yes we did party hardily….But we all worked as hard as we kicked up our heels. I have very vivid memories of this jovial, generous, incredibly creative person and am still amazed when I think of how he became a legend in the field of fashion design before my very eyes.

First presented by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2014, this exhibition, now on America’s west coast, presents 79 fully accessorized ensembles, dating from 1984 to 1990. Many are from the Philadelphia Museum’s archive of Kelly’s work while others represent new acquisitions from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s costume collection. The exhibition’s sections and themes include the “Runway of Love,” highlighting the designer’s heart-shaped embellishments to his clothing, often composed from his signature buttons.

”Fast Fashion” includes designs that Patrick Kelly assembled quickly to sell on the streets of Paris after he moved there in 1979. He dressed his model friends in body-conscious knits, which they would wear around the city, becoming living advertisements of his vision. These dresses quickly caught the attention of an editor at French Elle magazine, which featured Kelly’s fashions in a six-page spread in February 1985, as well as the Paris boutique Victoire. His first collection was purchased by New York City's prestigious store, Bergdorf Goodman, who found Kelly’s designs fun, chic, affordable, and Parisian. The section “Beyond Design'' explores Patrick Kelly’s originality and unique vision through the presentation of his humorous fashion sketches, provocative runway show invitations, and personal portraits styled in collaboration with the world’s greatest photographers. Among the most poignant and private artworks are those in collage, which include tributes to his parents and his muse, Black American entertainer and activist Josephine Baker.

“Mississippi in Paris” features Patrick Kelly’s work that boldly addressed the designer’s upbringing, including imagery drawn from his experiences with racism in the United States and his personal collection of racially charged memorabilia. These included bandana as well as golliwog dresses, the latter of which was adapted as his logo. (A golliwog is a fictional and racist Black character that first appeared in a British children’s book in 1885.) Kelly’s adaptation of this symbol would prove extremely controversial in the United States, as the golliwog has always been considered a symbol of racism. Yet for Kelly, there was power in owning these images and putting a positive spin on the to honor Black Americans.

“Hot Couture” is a playful tribute to Patrick Kelly’s muses and the iconic couturier Kelly revered. Many of his own presentations parodied the work of famed couturiers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Gabrielle Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Madame Grès, the designer whom Kelly held in highest regard. A master at draping and manipulating fabric into Greek goddess–like gowns, Madame Grès inspired Kelly’s much more practical knitted jersey dresses with wraps that tied around the body in various ways.

In 1988, shortly after receiving financial backing from the fashion powerhouse Warnaco, Patrick Kelly became the first American and the first Black designer elected into the elite Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. Membership in this exclusive group allowed Kelly to present his ready-to-wear collections in the tents at the Musée du Louvre. The section titled “Lisa Loves the Louvre” features designs from this Spring/Summer 1989 collection, for which Kelly fantasized that the museum’s most famous resident, Mona Lisa, invited him to show his latest designs. His collection was a spirited evocation of all his favorite Lisas, from Billie (Holiday) Lisa to the otherworldly Mona Lisa.

The exhibition’s final section, “Two Loves,” is a tribute to Patrick Kelly’s loves, America and France, which were also embraced by his muse Josephine Baker. The designs in this section come from Kelly’s final Fall/Winter 1989–1990 collection and pay homage to cultural icons from both countries, including the Eiffel Tower and the cartoon character Jessica Rabbit. The rousing finale is an allusion to the Casino de Paris music hall, where Baker performed during the 1920s, and which Kelly transforms into the Casino de Patrick.

Sadly, Patrick's career was cut short by his premature death on January 1, 1990 due to complications related to AIDS. Since his passing, Patrick Kelly’s aesthetic signatures have become part of the lexicon of fashion, and the designer himself has served as a symbol of hope and rallying cry for other designers of color. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s presentation of Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love marks the first time that Kelly’s work has been presented by a West Coast museum and allows further opportunity to unpack the social, cultural, and political contexts behind Patrick Kelly’s work.

We first reported on Patrick Kelly back in 2014 at the opening of his retrospective in Philadelphia. That post which you can find by clicking HERE, includes more photos of his work as well as a short tutorial on creating easy knit dresses. At that time, I also uploaded a tutorial on how to make his signature cocoon coat for your doll.

If you are anywhere near the San Francisco Bay area, I highly recommend this exhibition.

Background photos and video clip for this post: Courtesy of De Young Museum for Patrick Kelly Runway of Love Exhibition. October 23, 2021-April 24, 2022.

De Young museum: Golden Gate Park \ 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118 \ 415.750.3600 \ Hours: Tuesdays – Sundays, 9:30 am–5:15 pm

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Thursday, December 17, 2020

Gabrielle Chanel-Fashion Manifesto

Me and the girls had really looked forward to returning to Paris this autumn. After two years of closing down for expansion and renovation, the City of Paris Fashion Museum (aka Palais Galliera) finally opened its doors to a glorious exhibition, “Chanel: Manifesto de la Mode." Unfortunately Covid hit and the French borders closed. The show still opened in October, but without the usual large throngs of American and Asian tourists. But scarcely a month later, the museum was once again closed due to a new set of lockdowns and curfews. And that’s really unfortunate because the show, which looks at the work of Mademoiselle Gabrielle Chanel, is a wonderful tribute to the woman behind one of France’s most celebrated fashion icons of the 20th century.

I, personally, was not able to see this show. But a crew of dolls who remain in Paris…upon learning there was an exhibition featuring the work of Chanel— called on some of their contacts and voila! They were able to see the show and then filed this report. I should point out to you, though. They got all dressed up in the Chanel inspired outfits I've made for them over the years. These were not those designs by Mademoiselle herself, but rather, her very successful successor, the late Karl Lagerfeld! Nonetheless, for those of you who love Chanel (and what fashionista doesn't), this exhibition is an enlightening insight to the woman behind the famous brand.

Portrait of Chanel by Horst P. Horst (1937)

“Genius is the ability to foresee the future,” Coco Chanel often said. But even Mademoiselle, as she was often called, could never have imagined that 50 years after her death her name would be the worldwide symbol of chic. One of the best known fashion names of all times, Chanel is unique. It is the only house that has remained faithful to the spirit of its namesake without compromising the original image. Suites, bags, watches marked with golden intertwining double C’s, perfume inscribed with the number five—all have remained on the hit parade of best selling luxury items around the world for nearly a century.

Chanel focused her efforts on the world of high fashion and introduced comfort, ease and practicality in clothes…concepts totally foreign to fashion at that time. She first opened a millinery shop, but set her sights on something bigger within a few short years. With the help of a wealthy boyfriend, she went from hats to dresses in Paris but closed it at the onset of World War I. She reopened after the war and by 1928, launched her couture house at 31, rue Cambon (which still stands and serves as the Parisian flagship). She rose to become a major force in fashion until the onset of World War II. Her success was based on the simple observation that what she liked for herself would appeal to other women. Involved in a scandal with a German soldier during the war, she retreated to Switzerland in exhile and did not reappear on the fashion scene until 1954. Then at the age of 71, she made the bold decision to reopen her fashion house. She was greeted with hecklers who insisted she was out of touch with modern times and would never success. But once again, she regained her throne in fashion after her lady like dresses and boxy suits became best sellers, particularly in the United States. She died in January 1971 and with the arrival of (the late) Karl Lagerfeld, the notoriety of the brand was revived and lives on today.

The exhibition which is scheduled to reopen on January 6 through March 14, 2021, is comprised of 350 garments divided into ten themes, each with a different portrait of Gabrielle Chanel.

It sprawls over an exhibition space measuring 4500 square feet over two floors of the newly renovated Palais Galliera. It is largely chronological, recounting Chanel’s early beginnings with emblematic pieces like her sailor blouse in jersey (1916). From there, it tells the story of her little black dresses and then explodes on a glamorous note with her own renditions of the Roaring Twenties’ flapper girls.

The second part of the exhibition is most familiar to modern fashionistas: Chanel’s braided tweed suits, the two-toned shoes, the quilted handbag, the costume jewelry and pearls which round out her iconic signature. The extreme simplicity of her suit was a manifesto of Chanel’s vision of the modern woman. Every aspect of its construction was designed to respect the female anatomy with a perfect balance of the silhouette and a concept of elegance. The jacket was made so soft and light, it felt more like a cardigan. Instead of nipping the waist, the skirt rested on the top of the hips, angled slightly backwards. It was comfortable, mobile and allowed complete freedom of movement.

Chanel saw accessories as an essential element of a harmonious silhouette. They supported her vision of fashion. Launched in February 1955, the “Chanel handbag” is recognizable by its shape, the flap with its twist lock clasp, but most of all, the quilting. The shoulder strap is a jewelry chain or chain threaded with leather to prevent the metal clinking, allows the bag to be carried in the hand or slung over the shoulder. Joining the Chanel bag as a must-have accessory is the Chanel pump. In 1957, the two-tone sling back shoe added the finishing touch. The original shoe was beige and black and the perfect marriage of function and form. The beige leather gives the illusion of lengthening the leg while the black toe protects against traces of the weather. The asymmetrical strap and the moderate height of the heel were designed for comfort and freedom of movement.

This exhibition is an invitation to discover a universe and a style that are truly timeless. For your fashion pleasure....The following link takes you behind the scenes at the museum for a close and personal look at this exhibition.