In today’s article I will talk to you about art. But not any kind of art : fashion exhibitions. Recently I’ve noticed that a lot of fashion designers are exposing their creations. Four of them caught my attention.
The first one opens it’s door today, it’s the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition in the Grand Palais in Paris. It will lasts until August the third. Jean Paul Gaultier is a designer I admire. He broke the code of the fashion industry, he created unique pieces such as the corset that was made for Madonna. His signature is recognizable in each of his creations, he re invented the marinière, his talent is also solicited in the making of costums for artists, dancers etc… For exemple he created dresses for the Moulin Rouge, dresses made for dancers who danced the French Cancan.
To me he’s one of the free men who understands women. He made sexy, sometimes outrageous, outfits in order to empower women, to make them feel sexy. His goal in the making of such pieces is not to be provocant, or to make women appear vulgar in order to seduce men. No, what he wants is women to like themselves, that when we look at the mirror wearing his clothes we say » Damn I look good ! « . I do believe that the most important before trying to seduce anyone is to be deduced by ourselves. JP Gaultier designed many amazing dresses, but also masculine outfits. He likes to play with the ambiguity of gender, his pieces, and sometimes the models he have choosen, are androgyne. He puts everyone at equality, and I think that only a talented person is able to achieve such a thing : spread equality, liberty, fighting against discrimination, and allow us to be who we are through fashion. It’s another proof that fashion isn’t for superficial people. It can reunite us around social issues, opens debates, and hopefully solve them.
The second exhibition really marked me. It was the Jeanne Lanvin exhibition in the V&A Museum in London. This exhibition touched me for different reasons : the designer was a woman, her creations are simply amazing, and it comforts me with the idea that even after death we can be remembered.
I admire her for the powerful woman she was, and for a great talent. Being an indecent woman at the time she lived was difficult, and she managed to make herself a name and a brand.
Her creations remind me of paintings. Look at this dress, it’s surreal ! The embroideries, the structure if the dress, the fabrics used… It’s a very old picture, but if one day someone shows up on the red carpet with a dress like that I wouldn’t think » Oh that’s old fashioned ! « . No I would think its vintage, elegant, simply wonderful. And that’s the word I will use to describe this exhibition about her creations : wonderful.
I think it’s atemporal, like her name. That’s why the name Lanvin has bright days ahead, it won’t fade because what Jeanne created is universal : beauty.
Since the 14th of March you can see the Alexander McQueen exhibition, always in the V&A Museum.
This exhibition is also moving, the designer died prematurely in 2010. Bu even if his life was too short, he had the time to created pieces we will remember !
Alexander had this weird dark side, sometime morbid. And it’s noticeable In his creations.
Look at the shoes, it killed me when I saw them. How model are supposed to walk with it ?? Then it hit me : it’s not pret a porter, is a piece of art. Each of his creation is a piece of art. It’s unique, and has one purpose : to make us react. And it always work !
He has also made more » classic » things, like these dresses. I say classic but the word is wearable. The golden one in the middle, I don’t know why, but I think it soul feet perfectly in a movie about the royalty during the 16th Century. Indeed I think this dress is majestic. Without playing with the words I would feel like a queen wearing this McQueen art piece.
This one looks like a cloud, or cotton I don’t know. It’s like a deconstructed purity, a young woman who wants to emancipate. She’s young and innocent, she’s always done what everyone expected her to do, but now all that she wants is to discover the world, to fly. The movement of the dress reminds me of the songs of a swan… Yeah I’m weird sometimes …
The last exhibition is about Karl Lagerfeld. No need to introduce him, everyone knows him.
This exhibition is in Germany, in Bonn, and it started on March the 28th. I love his drawings, and what’s impressive is that he realizes them in like a minute !
Lagerfeld is well known for his work for the Maison Chanel, but he has a long carrier behind him, and he workes for many prestigious Maisons such as Patou, Chloe, Balmain. Now he’s at the head of Fendi, and also have his own brand. The exhibition exposes his drawings, and also his creations such as bags, dresses etc… It’s also a way to see fashion evolution through the years, and it’s adaption to society transformations.
Karl Lagerfeld fashion shows always leave their marks. He has this gift to create remarkable things, not only in haute couture but in art. For example his last show during the Paris fashion week when he decorated Le grand Palais like if it was a Brasserie. He had this idea last year, and set everything. I mean just having the idea is pure genius !
I hope you liked this article, and that you will have the chance to see those exhibitions. I which I would see them all… Fashion is a word that touches all of us. Indeed we daily wear clothes, and even if they are not made by the greatest fashion designers, they are the ones who influence the textile industry. Even if they are many creations of many fashion designers that I can’t find beautiful I’m amazed by the work done. Seamstresses, there wouldn’t be a fashion industry without them. This world create employment ( make up artists, models, photographs, fashion press… ), it allows many young talented people to express their gift, and more important it spreads dream. Indeed, when you see a fashion show, or the campaigns of the brands, you see the life you wish you had, the dress you which you could wear etc… I think it’s great that such a thing exists, it allows me to escape, just for a while, from monotony, and suddenly everything becomes possible.
Chronicles of Ada 