Later this month, Frankfurt based museum Museum Angewandte Kunst is set to open doors to their latest exhibition in collaboration with Haitian couture icon Michelle Elie and Paris based label Comme des Garçons. During the past few seasons, many have noted Elie as one of the reigning queens of Couture Week as she can always be spotted in the streets and in the front rows serving the most inspiring yet flamboyant looks, many of which often happy to be Comme Des Garçons.
“Life doesn’t frighten me” traces the her journey in fashion and the spark of her love story with the brand beginning with her first purchase in 1997 from the brand’s Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body collection, to her fondness of how the brand’s clothing shaped her body during her first pregnancy, to the vast collection of pieces she holds in her closet today. The exhibition will showcase all of the key pieces that speak to her by means of defying ideal standards of beauty and body, while also touching on themes of representation not just in the world of Couture but fashion in general. Which was why she opted for each piece in the showcase to be worn by custom-made black mannequins made to resemble her.
The exhibition was set to open on April 2nd, but as a result of the current health crisis the opening has been pushed back to April 19th and will run until August 30th 2020. In the meantime the Museum’s director Prof.Matthias Wagner K and curator Dr. Mahret Ifeoma Kupka invites guests to virtual opening where one can get a taste of the exhibition online through the museum’s instagram channel.
If there’s one thing we’ll never tire of, it’s a great coffee table tome. And the latest offering from fashion journalist and fashion photography specialist Jérôme Gautier – Dior: New Looks – is the perfect kind of thing to lose yourself in on a wintry Sunday afternoon.
Since 1947, when Christian Dior first showcased the irreversibly influential ‘new look’, the house of Dior has been at the forefront of revolutionary design prowess, and this book chronicles some of the most beautiful moments of that time-spanning journey, resulting in a satisfyingly dense catalogue of breathtaking couture and iconic imagery.
From Irving Penn to Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Willy Vanderperre, Mario Testino and Patrick Demarchelier to name but a few – the list of revered photographers with work nestled between these pages is endless.
Given the recently announced departure of the brilliant Raf Simons from the house, this book comes at the ideal time. It is a chance to marvel at all that has come before, and appreciate the sheer amount of history that the new artistic director will have to shoulder in the future.
Peter Lindbergh, 2012; Christian Dior Haute Couture by Raf Simons, AW12
Dior: New Looks by Jérôme Gautier (Thames & Hudson) is out now.
Yesterday saw John Galliano present his first collection for Maison Martin Margiela. Showing in an office block near Buckingham Palace, at the end of London Collections: Men and not in Paris during couture week – which is fast approaching – could have been his attempt to lure fashion editors and avoid going head-to-head with Dior.
Designers Alber Elbaz, Christopher Bailey and Manolo Blahnik were in attendance, as well as photographers Tim Walker, Nick Knight and Craig McDean. Kate Moss also arrived to show support and see the collection, as did Anna Wintour who has been a long time champion of Galliano.
There were intricate, gold-encrusted gowns of course, but it was the black suits that really caught our attention. We can’t help but think that although stunning, the clothes will end up taking a back seat. No one can forget the controversy surrounding the designer for what happened almost four years ago, and there will be those who are less than happy with his return. However, his talent for design cannot be overlooked.
Twitter
Tumblr
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
