On curating fashion...

My first fashion exhibit was in Los Angeles' MOCA Grand Avenue venue in 2006.  The expo was appropriately titled,  SKIN + BONES: PARALLEL PRACTICES IN FASHION AND ARCHITECTURE.  The correlation between fashion and architecture was thoughtful and unrivaled thanks to the show's curator, Brooke Hodge.  It was a delicious exhibit.  Just to give you an idea...there were pristine Pucci mannequins dressed in couture by Viktor & Rolf, Alexander McQueen and Issey Miyake etc. . .collaborating space with creations by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Zaha Hadid, Herzog & de Meuron. . .(Click here for a complete list).  
After a few hours of thorough admiration (no probing allowed of course), I walked myself over to the gift shop (more of a book store really...) And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I found myself gleefully overwhelmed by the array of fashion books on sale next to the exhibit's impressive catalogue.  I was lucky to have a good job at the time and well as expected, at the end of my visit, I left with about $200.00+ worth of books and fashion documentaries.


My first time was fabulous, but I am expecting to be blown away by the Alexander McQueen retrospective this year. SO, lets mark our calendars for the McQueen show and the other upcoming fashion exhibits around the world.  And if we can't make it to all of them, well there are always those enticing catalogues. Enjoy my finds below...any additional suggestions?

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Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700–1915
Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Resnick Pavilion.
When: 2 October 2010 - 27 March 2011
Curated by: Sharon S. Takeda, Senior Curator and department head, and Kaye D. Spilker, Curator, LACMA's Costume and Textiles department.
NOTES: {The exhibition tells the story of fashion's aesthetic and technical development from the Age of Enlightenment to World War I. It examines sweeping changes in fashionable dress spanning a period of over two hundred years, and evolutions in luxurious textiles, exacting tailoring techniques, and lush trimmings}. Text by LACMA.

Photos from The Los Angeles Times: (from left to right) 1} A 1780–85 velvet jacket, with paste stones, foil, sequins and metallic-thread-embroidery appliqué trim.  2} Special archival mounts in nonreflective aluminum drawers hold the museum’s 18th-century shoe collection. 

Yohji Yamamoto (solo show)
Where: The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.
When: 12 March - 10 July 2011
Curated by: Ligaya Salazar
NOTES: {This retrospective, experienced through a series of site-specific installations throughout the V&A and beyond, includes Yamamoto's menswear for the first time. The main exhibition space houses over 60 creations and a multi-media timeline which reveals Yamamoto's wider creative output}. Text by V&A


Photo credits (from left to right): 1} Red and black boiled wool jacket and skirt, Autumn/Winter 2009, Photography by Nick Knight & Art Direction by Peter Saville. 2} Photo by Ronald Stoops for V&A 3} Portrait of Yohji Yamamoto by Koichi Inakoshi.

Rodarte: States of Matter
Where: The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), @ the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
When: 4 March - 5 June 2011
Curated by: MOCA Associate Curator Rebecca Morse.
NOTES: {The exhibition will feature more than 20 pieces from Rodarte’s Spring 2010, Fall 2010, and Fall 2008 runway collections, and original ballet costumes designed by Rodarte for the feature film Black Swan.} Text by MOCA


Photo credits (from left to right): 1} Photo by Autumn de Wilde  2/3} Photos by Carmel Wilson/Cooper-Hewitt and Mimi Ritzen Crawford/Getty Images  4}  Photo of Kate and Laura Mulleavy (RODARTE), source unknown.

Video below of last year's RODARTE exhibit in New York's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET), New York, USA.
When:  4 May 2011 - 31 July 2011
Curated By: The head of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, Andrew Bolton.
NOTES: Check out Anna Wintour's interview for BBC news.


Photo credits (from left to right): 1} Photo by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue's Nobel Farewell, a tribute to Alexander McQueen‘s final collection for the July 2010 issue. Styled by fashion editor, Grace Coddington. 2}  Alexander McQueen, photographer...I believe it is also a Leibovitz shot.

Enchanted Palace
Where: Kensington Palace, London, UK. 
When:  26 March 2010 - 08 January 2012
Curated By: Historic Royal Palaces curator, Alexandra Kim + other collaborators...
NOTES: Participating designers include...Paul Costelloe, Dame Vivienne Westwood, Bruce Oldfield, Zandra Rhodes, Maria Theresa Fernandes, Boudicca...and WILDWORKS.
{The Enchanted Palace reveals the emotion and drama running through Kensington Palace’s history. Contemporary fashion collides with the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection and real stories from the palace to create stunning installations, fashioned by leading designers}. Text by the Enchanted Palace.


Photo credits (from left to right): 1} Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe: Dress designed by Bruce Oldfield. 2} Photo © Rex Features, Dress by Vivienne Westwood.



The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk
Where: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, (Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion), Montréal, Canada.
When: 17 June - 2 October 2011 
Curated by: The exhibition has been initiated by and is under the leadership of Nathalie Bondil director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It is curated    by Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, along with Florence Müller, fashion historian and teacher at the Institut de la mode in Paris.  This Exhibition is organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with the maison Jean Paul Gaultier.  (MBAM)
NOTES: {The exhibition will highlight Gaultier’s eclectic and impertinent sources of inspiration through a selection of 120 haute couture dresses and ready-to-wear pieces (women’s and men’s) made between 1976 and 2011}. Text by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.


Photo credits (from left to right): 1} Jean-Paul Gaultier: Women's ready-to-wear, Spring/Summer 2011 2} Jean-Paul Gaultier: Haute-Couture, Fall/Winter 2010-2011. 3} Michel Comte/Jean-Paul Gaultier, W Magazine, 1992.

UNRAVEL. Knitwear in fashion
Where:  Mode Museum Provincie Antwerpen (MoMu), Antwerp, Belgium
When: 16 March - 14 August 2011
Curated By: Emmanuelle Dirix & Karen Van Godtsenhoven
NOTES: {Top pieces by national and international designers and labels (Ann Salens, Vivienne Westwood, Sonia Rykiel, Missoni) historic couture pieces (Schiaparelli, Patou, Chanel) as well as more avant-garde and cutting edge pieces by established designers and newcomers on the international fashion scene (Sandra Backlund, Maison Martin Margiela, Mark Fast), will sit side by side to reveal the richness and diversity of knitwear in high fashion...} Text by MoMu. Read more HERE.


Photo Credits: 1} Tilda Swinton in Sandra Backlund, ANOTHER Magazine S/S 2009. Photo by Craig McDean. 2} Marlene Dietrich wearing a Schiaparelli sweater in the 1930's German film, Der blaue Engel. 3} A design by Sonia Rykiel, Fall 08.  4} Sandra Backlund, FW 2010. Photo by Kristian Bengtsson

Phenomenally...

Dr. Maya Angelou received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama earlier this week. Doesn't she look gorgeous in these shots? Photos by Paul Bishop, 1954. 


Every time I feel a little blue, her poem, 'Phenomenal Woman' always cheers me up...

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size 

But when I start to tell them, 

They think I'm telling lies. 

I say, 

It's in the reach of my arms 

The span of my hips, 

The stride of my step, 

The curl of my lips. 

I'm a woman 
Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That's me.

I walk into a room 

Just as cool as you please, 

And to a man, 

The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. 

Then they swarm around me, 

A hive of honey bees. 

I say, 

It's the fire in my eyes, 

And the flash of my teeth, 

The swing in my waist, 

And the joy in my feet. 

I'm a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That's me.  

Men themselves have wondered 

What they see in me. 

They try so much 

But they can't touch 

My inner mystery. 

When I try to show them 

They say they still can't see. 

I say, 

It's in the arch of my back, 

The sun of my smile, 

The ride of my breasts, 

The grace of my style. 

I'm a woman  

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That's me.  

Now you understand 

Just why my head's not bowed. 

I don't shout or jump about 

Or have to talk real loud. 

When you see me passing 

It ought to make you proud. 

I say, 

It's in the click of my heels, 

The bend of my hair, 

the palm of my hand, 

The need of my care, 

'Cause I'm a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That's me. 

From the book, And Still I Rise, 1978: Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou.

Bizarre beauty...

inspiration for the weekend...


I am not a fan of clowns and goofy shoes, but the mystique of circus life has always intrigued me. Two years ago I read the famed book, Water for Elephants and a few weeks ago I browsed through the 544 pages of The Circus, 1870s-1950s. I am fascinated with the history of the Circus...I mean how can one not fantasize about chariot races, equestrian elegance, super-humans, wild animals and mustached ring masters etc...But presently, I must admit that I am most in awe over 21st century contemporary-performance-craft and the bizarre couture-like-physique it extracts from its continuous commitment to transform itself into a lasting art form...and of course I am talking about Stockholm's illustrious talent, Cirkus Cirkör. One day I will see a live performance...I must...


IMAGES BELOW: (left):Cirkus Cirkör; photo by TOBIAS FISHER  (right)From the exhibit, Personalities of the circus. Photo by STANLEY KUBRICK, March 1948. (Can also be found in Taschen's circus book.)

Cirkus Cirkör's current piece, Wear It Like A Crown is at the Södra Teatern (Stockholm, Sweden) until the 24th of February. 

Related pics below...1)Inside jacket pages from Taschen's The Circus, 1870s-1950s  2)Photo by Marisol Correa of Cirkus Cirkör performer, Jesper Nikolajeff   3)Cirkus Cirkör poster, photographer unknown. 4)Ensemble for Wear It Like a Crown. (Henrik Agger, Louise Bjurholm, David Eriksson, Jesper Nikolajeff, Fouzia "Fofo" Rakez, Anna Lagerkvist) Photos by Mattias Edwall.

photos below of Cirkus Cirkör's previous piece Inside OUT 
Photos by Kicki Nilsson.  Absolutely yummy...

Tick Tocking chandeliers...

Dresses The Colour of Time is an installation in London's Kensington Palace (the Cupola Room) for the exhibit, Enchanted Palace. The piece was designed by the fashion label Boudicca and it consists of four mechanical (deconstructed : constructed) dress forms suspended from chandeliers...The exhibit runs through January 2012...if only I ...


NOTE: The images for this post were borrowed from various blogs...I do not know their original source. FYI: Official photography was produced by Richard Lea-Hair for the Historic Royal Palaces.


I will be adding Brian Kirkby and Zowie Broach, the creative minds behind BOUDICCA, to my inspiring collaborations list.

Bastille Day. Paris. 1970.

Until about a month ago, I had never heard of Rufus Wainwright.  I stumbled upon one of his songs one evening while listening to KCRW's Eclectic24.  I wrote his name in my sketchbook an then put him aside for later.  A few days ago, Mark and I were at Boite Noire scouting around for films to rent for the week and I came across the documentary, Rufus Wainwright PRIMA DONNA, the story of an Opera.  I rented it out of curiosity.  Seven days later, I realized that we had yet to watch the film and it had come time to return it...well I played it for about five minutes and then I stopped it.  I called Mark at work and told him that I was not going to return the movie because he just had to watch it with me.  We didn't mind paying the late fee the next day because it turned out to be a fabulous film.   I am not going to summarize the film...but believe me...Rufus is a character! (As some of you might already know).  And yes...this "pop" (I use this word loosely) singer did create an OPERA..the real thing...not a music video or movie about an Opera...AN OPERA...rent the documentary.  Better yet, start saving now and let's go to the New York City Opera in the Spring of 2012...hint hint Kelly. I am now a Rufus fan.  If Wikipedia's facts about Mr. Wainwright are correct, we share the same birth date...so he is probably moody, gregarious when he wants to be...but phenomenally an ARTIST...Today I purchased his 2002 album, Poses from itunes...it is lovely.

Synopsis: An opera (with a French libretto) about the diva, Régine Saint Laurent, a soprano who loses her voice and six years later attempts a return to the stage. It is set on Bastille Day in 1970 Paris. 

NOTES

: Rufus Wainwright was born in Rhinebeck, New York but grew up in Montréal. 

: Prima Donna first premiered in Manchester's 2009 International Festival.  NOTE: Why didn't Prima Donna premiere in Montréal?

: Read Interview's article, "Rufus Wainwright, Curtains Pulled"

: Read article from The New York Times, "The Diva has Issues"

: Photos by Clive Barda.  Billboard by I want design.