Walking into The Costume Institutes new fashion exhibit, I am immediately struck by a gorgeous Jean Paul Gaultier evening gown from his Spring/Summer 2001 collection. The dress is corseted, in pink silk satin with silk tulle overlay and seed-bead embroidery. The back however, is no ordinary back, the entire thing, from the top down, is laced up with silk ribbon, and nothing underneath. It is, in the designers own words, “the ultimate backless dress”. The exhibit, made possible by Manolo Blahnik, is very small. The selection of designers is also unfortunately limited, and I was surprised by some of the pieces chosen, many of them didn’t seem relevant, and some were just ugly
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Of course there were those dresses I wanted to break through the glass and run out with. For example an evening dress by John Galliano for Christian Dior from his Spring/Summer 2000 collection in burgundy silk changeant taffeta, and an Alexander McQueen “Oyster Dress” in ivory silk chiffon and silk organza.
One of the oldest pieces was a Charles Frederick Worth court silk gown and train from 1888 featuring ostrich plumes, sequins and stones as well as green, pink and ivory velvet. There was a Paul Poiret gown called “Theatre des Champs-Elysees” from 1913 with a raised waist tunic, rhinestones and a tulle overskirt in ivory, and a red silk taffeta Madame Gres evening gown from 1979 with a gathered poof on the left shoulder.
The walls in the exhibit had glass cases holding accessories like Maniatis Bottier thigh-high fetish boots in red leather, a Philip Traecy/Alexander McQueen “Chinese Garden” headdress made from cork, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel moon boots from his Fall/Winter 1993-94 line. If you haven’t gone to this exhibit, add it to your list of must see’s. The collection is beautiful and offer a rare glimpse into some of the worlds finest couture.
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
