Dolls.Fashion.Art: paris

2014-08-17

Exhibition report - Les Années 50 at Palais Galliera

And here comes the next one! This was the exhibition that made me want to go to Paris in the first (as if I needed much of a reason anyway...): Les Années 50 at Palais Galliera.

Though the title says "50s", it's actually about the the years from 1947 to 1957, from when Dior created the New Look and with it the silhouette of the 50s. The exhibits are not arranged in a chronological fashion, but like a fashion magazine, by theme. The great thing is, nothing is behind glass, and you can get really up close to a lot of the exhibits, and of some things like the evening dresses, you can also see the back of the dress - which is often just as interesting!
So it starts with the iconic design that today is seen as what started the New Look - Dior's "Bar" suit, together with two other late 40s designs that already show the typical line. One is a delicious redingote coat dress by Jacques Fath, that once belonged to none other than Lily Daché. Wow. After that follows a big line-up of day wear - suits, dresses and coats for all seasons. Some are accompanied by photos of models wearing them, one was worn in a French film... All this is accompanied by old fashion magazine covers that also set the scene, small displays of matchin accessories like hats, gloves, shoes and handbags and there's also a nice display of French sewing patterns of the time. The other rooms show cocktail dresses, grand evening gowns (what a joy - the embroidery work on some of them is just crazy, like the "Palmyre" dress by Dior!), a few items of lingerie (a guepière of course!) and stockings, and casual / beach fashion / swimwear. Most items are Haute Couture, but there are a few mass produced items as well as early Prêt-à-Porter, which also started at the time. So there's plenty to see - give it two hours, even though it isn't big by way of rooms. I am also totally in love now with Fath's designs - they were among my favourites in the exhibition. Also, the wonderfully draped, timeless evening and cocktail dresses by Dessès - just breathtaking.

If you want to get a bit of a look, this little film gives you a good glimpse at the exhibition. There are also some great images on this page, just click on the photo on the right at the bottom.

There is also an excellent book to go with the exibition that is well worth the price. One of the two dresses on the book's cover is shown in Vogue of October 1954, the issue of which I have:

Here it's just shown without the shoulder straps. Gorgeous silver embroidery!

If you go, I recommend to buy the ticket online, you can print it at home. It's set to a specific entry time. That way the can make sure that not too many people get in a the same time. As everything stands free and is mostly not behind glass, it is understandable that they don't want too many people go in at once. And the nice thing is, as high-profile exhibitions go, this is not expensive at all - the admission is only 8 Euros!

Exhibition report: Dries Van Noten - Inspirations at Les Arts Decoratifs

I spent the last weekend in Paris, just for the purpose of seeing two great exhibitions (and yes, to eat some great food as well... :-) ), so it's time to report a bit!

First off: Dries Van Noten - Inspirations at Les Arts Decoratifs. No photos were allowed, as usual, so I can't show you any, but check out this link, there's a quite a few images! I must admit, though I knew the name, I did not have an idea at all about Van Noten's work. But it looked interesting, and after a fellow VFG member had already posted her comments, I decided that it mus be worth it - oh, and how it was! The exhibition shows in themed groups, by what he was inspired for his designs. It was created by him, and he basically went through the museum's collections (just imagine... I think if they'd let me loose in there, they wouldn't get me out again!) to choose what he wanted - it's a similar concept to the excellent Christian Lacroix exhibition of a few years ago, and I think it's a great idea. It let's you see what makes a designer tick, what inspires him. And of course, you get to see so much eye candy. A lot of his own designs, but also the work of other designers, historical fashion, folk fashion, art, paintings, films - all kinds of things. The inspirations were as diverse as they get - Dior's New Look (yes, with the Bar suit), the film "The Piano", a garden of flowers, oriental traditional fashions, Bollywood films, dandies of the 19th century... What stood out for me, that throughout the exhibition, the other designer of whom there were the most fashions shown was Elsa Schiaparelli. Her amazing designs cropped up in many different inspiration themes. The one after her was probably Dior, who featured with classic designs too. There were displays in muted colors and there were true riots of color, like with the garden theme (imagine a display chock full of haute couture evening gowns, with flower embroideries etc. and in all colors you can imagine!). What also struck me, there was a suit that had once belonged to the Duke of Windsor on display. I can only say - boy, he was small - and slender. It would probably fit me...
And what do I think about Dries Van Noten? I may not like all of his designs, but there's a lot to like, and I love how he uses color, and isn't afraid to use bright colors and mix them wildly. It's just a joy to see that. And it's wonderful to see a designer who takes his inspirations from such a variety of things. Be it another designer, a piece of art, a feeling, a film - and in that way, he is an artist as well.
The exhibition has just been prolonged until November 2nd, so if you get a chance, go see it!

And of course a visit to Paris wouldn't be a visit to Paris if we didn't to a lot of walking around and exploring bits we hadn't seen before. What always amazes me about Paris is the fact, that just by taking a little side lane, you get away from all the tourist hubbub in a minute and end up in a completely quiet, authentic part of the city! This time, we found our way to the "other" side of the Marais - basically between the Rue Saint Antoine and the Seine. It's old, historic, looks like what we think of as a cliché of Paris - but it is just authentically like that! There is also a set of four quiet courtyards, the entrances to which one could easily miss, that have all sorts of little antique shops, art galleries, cafés and more. It's called Le Village Saint Paul.