The exhibition American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion opened on November 5th at the Museum at FIT. Curated by Patricia Mears, American Beauty is a very personal view of American fashion, focusing on designers who are technically innovative. Francisco Costa, Narciso Rodriguez, Thom Browne, Maria Cornejo, Yeohlee Teng, Jean Yu, and Charles Kleibacker were among the designers featured in the exhibition who attended the opening reception. The fascinating Daphne Guinness also saw the show, as did John Galliano, who visited the Museum the next day.
Patricia has also written a book to accompany the exhibition.
Other publishing news: I have an essay on Marc Jacobs in the book Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture. Do you think that means that I will finally get invited to Marc’s fashion shows in New York?
The Museum at FIT held its annual Fashion Symposium on December 4-5 on the theme American Style. Speakers included Caroline Millbank on “The Origins of the American Look,” Kohle Yohanan on “The Small Town Girl and the Femme Fatale: Claire McCardell and Valentina,” and Patricia Mears in conversation with designer Charles Kleibacker.
In Blog December 15th, 2009
Blog2
Back again! This is like keeping a diary – and forgetting to write anything for a couple of weeks… Fortunately, there have been some memorable events recently to jog my memory.
Together with members of the Couture Council, I made a field trip to visit the designer Prabal Gurung. When I saw his collection during New York fashion week, I was struck by how modern and elegant it looked, and how enthusiastically it was received by the fashion press. Visiting designers’ ateliers is one of the best parts of joining the Couture Council, and everyone who came really liked Prabal and admired his designs. He was so articulate (and talented) that I asked if he would speak at FIT as part of our Fashion Culture program next spring, and he said “yes” – so make a note to come see him!
Then I swept uptown to attend a private luncheon in honor of Donatella Versace. The ultimate fashion look on this occasion was sported by Daphne Guinness, who wore truly vertiginous shoes by Nina Ricci. Later that evening, I went to a book signing for Pamela Golbin’s catalogue on Madeleine Vionnet. Clearly, I will have to get to Paris before her exhibition closes at the Musée de la Mode, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see so many dresses by one of the greatest fashion designers ever.
The following evening, I attended the Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars, where Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Stephen Jones, Frieda Giannini, Renzo Rosso, and others were honored. Awards ceremonies have their longueurs, but Iman gave an absolutely stellar speech and Simon Doonan made us laugh out loud. Sadly, the next day I was tortured at the dentist, who used phrases like “a bloody mess” to describe my mouth.
Late the following week, I flew to Mexico City to give a talk about the Museum at FIT. The Universidad Iberoamericana was holding a big design conference, so I met a lot of interesting scholars and artists from around the world. I also got to experience a little bit of the Day of the Dead, when fashion designer Lydia Lavin took me to a cemetery.
So now I’m back at the salt mines, and tomorrow we have the opening reception for Patricia’s glorious new exhibition, American Beauty.
In Blog November 6th, 2009
December 4, 2009 “Introduction,” Symposium on American Style. Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC
In Appearances October 21st, 2009
October 30, 2009 “A Fashion Museum: The Care and Exhibition of Fashion,” lecture at Universidad Mexico del Norte Americana, Mexico City.
In Appearances October 21st, 2009
