It's that time of year again.
It's when I trek to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to visit the Costume Institute's exhibition.
This year, it puts two Italian female designers front and center: Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.
courtesy of Models.com via the shades and scarf |
It begins in a dark room. A few benches invite you to sit and view a short film directed by Baz Luhrmann: In a fancy dining room, two women are in deep conversation. The woman on the left is Miss Schiaparelli, and the lady on the right is Miss Prada. They talk about their beginnings as designers, and their views on design. Miss Schiaparelli is feisty, while Miss Prada is reserved.
Here, I slowly understand why the show is called, "Schiaparelli-Prada: Impossible Conversations". This "girl talk" would never have happened {at least not in the current time} because Miss Schiaparelli passed away in 1973. She is played by actor Judy Davis, with her actual words lifted from Miss Schiaparelli's biography, "Shocking Life." Miss Prada is played by the real Miss Miuccia Prada who is still at the peak of her career.
Later in the exhibit, I find out that Miss Schiaparelli hated talking to designers, and Miss Prada rarely talks about fashion with other people. I wonder, though, if they ever met?
So kudos to the Costume Institute for making this fictional exchange highly believable, engaging, and impressive as it follows the heels of last year's Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.
The exhibit is divided into three sections, and pieces by both designers are grouped side by side to point out similarities of design even in different eras.
Part 1 is called "Waist Up, Waist Down":
via fashionologie.com |
via wallpaper.com |
Also in this section is "Neck Up, Knee Down".
via fashionologie.com |
via wallpaper.com |
Part 2 is entitled "Hard Chic, Ugly Chic, Naif Chic":
via The World News Magazine |
via wallpaper.com |
via artnet.com |
"Naif Chic" uses the sugary sweetness of children's clothes and translates this to clothing for the "not so young".
Part 3 is called "The Surreal Body":
via wallpaper.com |
The mannequins are enclosed in glass boxes and many of the dresses are more playful with the use of feathers, fabrics printed with an image of a lobster or medicine pills.
via The World News Magazine |
Noteworthy also are the masks on the mannequins made by Guido Palau.
This week, our blah to TADA! crafts will take inspiration from this exhibit. See you tomorrow!
Very interesting...I would've liked to see this exhibit, but that's a LONG trip from Ohio by car. I do not like the masks!!! I prefer the headless mannequins. ♥ Fashion is really intriguing to me...
ReplyDeleteHello Marfa! The MET's Costume Institute really do a wonderful job :)
ReplyDeleteI know, some of the masks are a little scary, but Guido Palau is certainly making a niche for himself by making these. I agree, fashion is very intriguing -- I'm not big on brands or follow designer collections, but I'm fascinated by their thought process and inspirations.