Valerie Steele in Moscow

In BlogMay 14th, 2010

Blog 6
Almost as soon as I returned from Tokyo, I set off again for Moscow, where my book The Corset was just published in Russian.  I arrived the day after the terrible bombing in the Moscow subway, so I anticipated lockdown conditions, but everyday life continued.  My hosts were really terrific and I had a wonderful trip.  Moscow is an amazing city.  I am a huge fan of Bulgakov’s  The Master and Margarita so I went to see Patriarch’s Pond, where the novel opens. I also saw Bulgakov’s apartment with all the graffiti drawn on the stairwell by his fans.

In addition to giving several talks (including one at the new art center, The Garage), I was able to see an exhibition of couture dresses from the collection of Tatiana Sorokko (lots of beautiful Ralph Rucci, a lovely evening dress by Madame Grès, Westwood, Gaultier, etc.) at the decorative arts museum.  I also saw an amazing private collection of shoes.  It turns out that some of the most fabulous objects at the Shoe Museum in Romans (France) are single LEFT shoes – and the collector in Russia has the matching RIGHT shoes.

The Museum at FIT has had a really active series of public programs this spring.  Caroline Weber spoke about her book Queen of Fashion (April 19), and as part of our fashion culture series, I was in conversation with Prabal Gurung (April 12), Kate and Laura Mullheavy of Rodarte (May 4) and André Leon Talley (May 6). Work on Japan Fashion Now continues full speed ahead, along with all our other exhibition and publication projects, not to mention next September’s Couture Council awards luncheon, our application for accreditation by the American Association of Museums, etc., etc.

I also zoomed over to Berlin for two days to give a lecture on “Museum Quality: The Rise of the Fashion Exhibition.”  At the Kunstbibliothek, I saw Heidi Rasche’s latest exhibition on fashion photographs and illustrations from the 1960s.  May Day was celebrated with demonstrations in Berlin and all the stores closed (rats!), but, to compensate, there were a lot of great art events.  Back in New York, I went to the opening of the Brooklyn Museum’s costume exhibition – filled with masterpieces by Charles James, Worth, and  Schiaparelli – and curated by Jan Reeder, who also wrote the catalogue.

PS. To the person who asked about my eyeglasses: They are hand-made in France for Selima Optique.