Chanel Mobile Art Container in Central Park

Contemporary art can be challenging. But add the association of Chanel with an art installation and the crowds will come. On October 20, 2008, the Chanel Mobile Art Container opened in Central Park. The space age installation, designed by award winning architect Zaha Hadid, has already been on view in Hong Kong (February 2008) and Tokyo (July 2008) with stops in London (May 2009) and Paris (January 2010) still to come.

Advance tickets were previously available online but like most people I tried to get in on the day we were in the city. Even though it was only 10 am, I was told that tickets were "sold out" for the entire day and if I wanted tickets, I'd have to arrive before 8 am the next morning for same day tickets. (The other option was to wait in the "stand-by line" which could mean waiting 30 - 90 minutes). Even though we partied until midnight that night, we arrived at 745 am and were about 20th in line, receiving tickets for 830 am. While waiting to be admitted, I asked the security personnel if they were able to keep their uber-cool Chanel jackets. The answer was NO!

At the appointed time, we were admitted in groups of 6 and asked to leave our coats and handbags at the coat check. Then we received an MP3 player and were told to follow the narrator's instructions. She told us when to stand, where to walk, what to think....

Although we had heard that the installation was loosely based on the quilted Chanel handbag, I'd have to say that any connection with the handbag or Chanel was very minimal, except in a few cases. One artist had a video piece of naked women fighting over the quilted bag. Another showed photographs of models covered in leather with the chains stuffed into the model's mouth. And another artist made photos of naked models wrapped in Chanel chains bondage style.

With the narrator guiding people through the work, viewers were forced to look at this challenging contemporary art for a specified period of time. At the exit, we were given exhibition catalogues and postcards. Too bad they weren't handing out coupons for free purses!


Chanel Mobile Art Container October 20 - November 9, 2008
Central Park Rumsey Playfield (enter at 69th or 72nd street entrances)
www.chanel-mobileart.com

Marie Antoinette and Jeff Koons at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

On my way to the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the display of Jeff Koons sculptures, I stopped in my tracks in front of a beautiful cabinet that seemed to belong in Versailles. I bent over to examine the label and sure enough, it was a cabinet that once was a treasured possession of the French Queen of Fashion! This lovely secretary on stand which is "believed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette" was apparently entrusted to furniture dealer Dominique Daguerre for safekeeping in October 1789 shortly after the mob invaded the palace. It seemed like a gift that I would find such a treasure when I wasn't even looking for it.


And when I got to the roof, the sculptures by Jeff Koons conceived especially for the site were like a present of art. And in spite of the fact that there were rules against photography, everyone was openly doing so. The view of Central Park was simply spectacular. (Sadly the show ended on October 26th).

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York City
212-535-7710

Marie Antoinette Painted by Elizabeth Peyton

I was in New York on the weekend and did a fair share of gallery hopping including a retrospective of Elizabeth Peyton's work at the New Museum of Contemporary Art. "The Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton" show, sponsored by Banana Republic, features about 100 of her intimate portraits of friends, family and figures from the worlds of art, fashion and politics.

I knew that she painted rock stars but I wasn't aware that she was also fascinated by royalty. What a lucky coincidence for me to discover two paintings of Marie Antoinette painted by Elizabeth Peyton.
This small 8x6 inch oil painting by Elizabeth Peyton from 1995 is called "Marie Antoinette between Germany and France on her Way to be Married".


This oil painting of Marie Antoinette by Elizabeth Peyton from 1994 is titled "Marie after Vigee LeBrun".

I have always admired Elizabeth Peyton's loose, emotive style and had bought a book called "Elizabeth Peyton" (Rizzoli, New York, 2005) several years ago. Not having seen any of her work except in the book, I had the mistaken impression that Peyton's portraits would be on huge canvases and at the show I was surprised to see the small, intimate size of her paintings.

It inspired me to try Peyton's free and loose style of brushwork and I dashed off a painting based on photos of Anne Hathaway dressed as "Queen Anne" in W Magazine last month.

I would recommend a visit to the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York to see the show of Elizabeth Peyton's work which spans two floors. The show is on until January 11, 2009. But if you cannot go in person, I recommend buying the book "Elizabeth Peyton". It is definitely the next best thing to being there.

New Museum of Contemporary Art
235 Bower at Prince Street, New York City, USA
212-219-1222

Out of the Vault: Marie Antoinette's Dress

Marie Antoinette's dress has been on display at the Royal Ontario Museum for the past two weeks. It was supposed to go back into the vault tomorrow but the response has been so great that they've extended the display until November 16, 2008.

When I saw the ad in the Globe & Mail newspaper, I cringed. They advertise this dress as having been "worn by the 18th century French queen, Marie Antoinette". If you've been following my blog postings, you will know that this is not a certainty. This dress may or may not have belonged to Marie Antoinette. They do know that the gown was altered to remove the paniers. I also believe that the bodice was altered as well as it is too plain and the neckline too high for the style of the period. Judge for yourself, visit the Royal Ontario Museum before November 16th.

Royal Ontario Museum www.rom.on.ca
100 Queen's Park Circle (Avenue Road & University Avenue), Toronto

Marie Antoinette and her Portraitist, Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun

This portrait of Marie Antoinette, entitled La Reine en Gaulle (The Queen dressed in a Gaulle), caused a scandal when it was shown at the Paris artist's salon of 1783. The traditional accoutrements of royal portraiture - the grand habit de cour, the royal jewels, and the heavily powdered hairstyle - were absent. Marie Antoinette was portrayed in a white muslin dress and the reaction to this break in tradition and convention was vociferous.

Critics and the public thought that Marie Antoinette was "wearing a chamber-maid's dust cloth". Generally it was thought that the Queen violated "the fundamental law of this kingdom, that the public cannot suffer to see its princes lower themselves to the level of mere mortals (Mademoiselle de Mirecourt)."

The painting was withdrawn from the salon and replaced with another, hastily executed painting called La Reine a la Rose. The substituted painting showed the Queen in more a traditional blue-gray silk robe a la francaise and pearl jewels. Unfortunately the damage had already been done by the first portrait of the queen "dressed up like a serving girl" and fueled further speculation about the Queen's respect for the throne and her loyalty to France.

Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, the Queen's portraitist, preferred to dress her sitters in more natural styles of dress. In her published memoirs, she recounts how she gained the trust of her models in order to allow her "to dress them after my fancy" aiming for the beautiful drapery of Raphael and Domenichino. She also wrote that she "detested the powdering of hair" and how she convinced the Duchesse de Gramont-Caderouusse not to put powder in her beautiful black hair when she sat for her portrait.

Le Brun painted many self-portraits and her affinity for simple gowns and unpowdered hair is evident in how she portrays herself. This self-portrait completed in 1781 (two years prior to the salon fiasco), Le Brun wears a white muslin gown, adorned only with a coral-coloured bow, and styles her hair simply without powder.

Le Brun's influence on French fashion was substantial. Le Brun was considered to be "one of the major painters at the epicentre of art and fashion" of the time and that "perhaps more than any single individual in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, Vigee Le Brun influenced the development of women's costume" with her preference for "a more natural look". (Memoires secrets pour servir a l'histroire de la republique 1777-89, vol. 16, pg. 226).

Women's 18th Century Court Dress in Versailles

The strict rules for admission of women to eighteenth-century French court required a woman to prove a title of nobility reaching back to 1400 (although special dispensation was made for "favourites" like the King's mistress). The regulation of court dress was a legacy of Louis XIV's plan to bring the aristocracy into line and the guiding rule was "Persons of Quality must now become Persons of Taste". Dress etiquette allowed nobles to visibly demonstrate their place in society and for many, a brilliance of style in dress became their reason for being.

For presentation at court, women had to wear le grand habit de cour (the grand habit). Full court dress consisted of a heavily boned bodice with short sleeves, a full skirt over a large hoop, and a long train. This ensemble was all made of the same fabric, typically silk or satin brocade. The skirt alone typically required 20-25 yards of fabric. Trimmings included lace, ribbons, bows, embroidery, beads, sequins, and sometimes even jewels. A tailleur de corps (always male) made the whale-boned bodice and train, a courturiere made the skirt, and a marchand de mode (like Rose Bertin) provided the trimmings, lace and adornments for the ensemble.

This elaborate and cumbersome gown made it difficult to move gracefully. According to the Marquise de La Tour du Pin the weight of the dress made it impossible to raise the foot in heels three inches high, so the correct movement was to take little gliding steps.

The grand habit was worn for the most formal court occasions such as presentations, balls, baptisms, and marriages of members of the royal family.

Given that Marie Antoinette grew up in a more informal court environment in Vienna, is it any surprise that she rebelled against such rigid dress etiquette and preferred the chemise a la reine, a simple white muslin gown?

(Source: Dress in Eighteenth-Century Europe, by Aileen Ribeiro, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2002).

Marie Antoinette, Madame Deficit

At the height of her glamour (prior to the birth of her first child), Marie Antoinette spent a fortune on clothes, accessories and pouf hairstyles. Although she received an allowance of 120,000 livres per annum to cover these expenses, she often spent far more than that. In one year alone, she ordered 172 new gowns and in 1786, she earned the nickname "Madame Deficit" for spending more than twice her allowance. Her shy, indecisive husband covered her overages without complaint.

According to Madame de Campan's memoirs, Marie Antoinette typically ordered twelve grand habits, twelve robes with paniers and twelve undress robes each season. Everything was given away at the end of the summer and winter seasons to make room for the new. There were three rooms allocated in Versailles for her clothing.

During the Revolution, almost everything belonging to Marie Antoinette was confiscated or destroyed and that is why the dress on exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum which "may or may not belong to Marie Antoinette" is such a rarity.

It is believed that the dress was given to a member of the court who took it to England and passed it down through that family, with alterations taking place and the dress being worn by its new owner in the 1880s.

In 1925, the dress was sold by Christies Auction House to the Royal Ontario Museum for 450 English pounds. The dress is unsigned but has been dated to 1770-1780 and is believed to have come from the marchande de modes of Rose Bertin. It also matches a description of an ivory silk dress worn by Marie Antoinette as noted in Rose Bertin's records.

Is this really Marie Antoinette's Dress?

Is this really Marie Antoinette's dress as the Royal Ontario Museum claims?

In my view, the bodice is altogether too plain and the neckline is too high. And why is the bodice unadorned with ribbons, bows or embroidery?

Compare the bodice to that illustrated in this engraving from the Galerie des Modes, a type of fashion portfolio published in France the later part of the 18th century. The decolletage and the adornments on the bodice are markedly different between the two dresses even though they are dated to be within the same time period (1770-1780).


This Galerie de Mode image from 1778 is said to be of Marie Antoinette in the grand habit de cour. The dress is lavishly adorned with lace, diamonds, pearls, ribbons and tassels.

Yesterday at the lecture on Marie Antoinette's Fatal Flair for Fashion at the ROM, Caroline Weber, author of "Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution", admitted that "the dress may or may not have belonged to Marie Antoinette and may or may not have been from the marchande des mode of Rose Bertin."

The facts that lead the ROM to believe it is Marie Antoinette's dress include:
1. the dress is scattered with embroidered wildflowers, one of the Queen's favourite motifs
2. the peacock feathers in the embroidery are representative of royalty
3. the description of the dress seems to match an entry in Rose Bertin's records that describes "an ivory silk dress"

I would have liked to question Ms. Weber about the bodice and the attribution to Marie Antoinette, but time did not permit. If this was Marie Antoinette's dress, I would hazard a guess that the remodelling of the dress in the 1880s not only included narrowing the dress to remove the paniers but also significant alterations to the bodice.

The dress will be on display at the Royal Ontario Museum for one more week - until Sunday, October 26, 2008. See for yourself and make your own conclusion.

Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park Circle, Toronto
www.rom.on.ca

Book Review: Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Not only am I passionate about fashion, I am also a passionate reader. The stack of books beside my bed wobbles precariously every time I add more books to the pile. I read widely - everything from serious non-fiction to chick lit. I am not fussy about the topic so much as I am about the quality of the writing. I demand writing that is clear, to the point and engaging.

Caroline Weber's book on Marie Antoinette: "Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution" is exactly my kind of book and a must read for both history buffs or fashion fans. From the introduction through to the footnotes, I was utterly entranced by the skillful writing. She weaves a thoughtful and well-researched argument about how Marie Antoinette's choices of clothing and accessories became instruments of politics and power. I could not put the book down.

Caroline Weber will be at the Royal Ontario Museum tomorrow, Saturday, October 17th, from 1-2 pm giving a lecture called "Marie Antoinette: Fatal Flair for Fashion", followed by a book-signing. Tickets are $20 for members and $23 for non-members. The movie "Marie Antoinette" by Sophia Coppola will be shown at 230 pm.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
Caroline Weber
Picador Press, Henry Holt & Co, New York, 2006

Marie Antoinette's Revolution in Equestrienne Attire

Louise-Auguste Brun, Marie Antoinette on Horseback (1781-82)
Reunion des Musees Nationaux

Although much is made of Marie Antoinette's choices of gowns, hairstyles and accessories, one of the Dauphine's most rebellious fashion choices is rarely written about. After learning to ride in order to accompany her husband and grandfather on the hunt, she abandoned the long flowing skirts of a sidesaddle rider and adopted slim breeches as part of her equestrienne habit.

Women often wore breeches for riding, but they were typically covered with petticoats and skirts. Fashion dictates at the time disapproved of breeches because they allowed women to "assume the poses and gestures of men". At the time, it was believed that straddling a horse threatened a women's reproductive organs.

Her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa, begged her to give it up:
"Riding spoils the complexion, and in the end your waistline will suffer from it and begin to show more noticeably. Furthermore, if you are riding like a man, dressed as a man, as I suspect you are, I have to tell you that I find it dangerous as well as bad for bearing children -- and that is what you have been called upon to do; that will be the measure of your success."

In 1771, Marie Antoinette commissioned her portrait of herself in a masculine-style riding outfit by Josef Krantzinger. While this painting has been lost, it is believed that the artist captured "her joy so effectively that even her mother was mollified when she saw the painting, declaring it one of the most true-to-life images she had yet seen of her daughter" (Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber, Picador Press, 2005, page 87).

In the painting of Marie Antoinette on horseback shown above by Swiss-born court painter Louise-Auguste Brun, she is dressed in the blue habit of the hunt at Versailles. She rides her horse astride and her horse is drawn up into a bold rearing stance, in bold imitation of the heroic and mythologizing equestrian depictions of the Sun King, Louis XIV.

Marie Antoinette's defiance of traditional riding garb did not harm her reputation at this point in time (although it would later haunt her as "proof" of her lesbianism and insatiable thirst for power). People were tired of the excesses of the King's favourite, Madame DuBarry, and the abuses of the ruling caste.

Parisians were enchanted by the young Dauphine and around 200,000 people turned out to catch a glimpse of her on a procession through the city in June 1773. Perhaps they hoped Marie Antoinette would lead them into a new age like the another French cross-dressing equestrienne, Joan of Arc.

Marie Antoinette's Dress at the ROM: Photos

This magnificent dress is believed to have been worn by Marie Antoinette in 1780 or thereabouts. It is known to have come from Rose Bertin's atelier, where Marie Antoinette acquired most of her gowns and accessories. Purchased by the Royal Ontario Museum in 1925, the dress has not been exhibited for many years.

Currently on display until October 26th, the dress is a marvel to behold. Because it is behind glass and displayed in low light to preserve the fragile textiles, it is difficult to convey the beauty of the intricate embroidery, applique, beading and delicate workmanship in my photos. It is known that the dress was altered to make it narrower to conform with London fashions of the 1880s.

There is one thing that I find odd about the dress: the plain unadorned bodice with a relatively high neckline. The bodice neckline seems higher than it should be for 1780, especially as the corsets worn at that time tended to push the breasts upwards and into a decollette. I also find it quite surprising that the bodice has no ornamentation or embroidery. Given that most of the portraits of Marie Antoinette show incredibly ornate bodices, I wondered if this is in fact her dress. Or did she chose an unadorned bodice to showcase the incredible royal jewels? Or could it even be possible that the panels that were removed to make the dress narrower were reworked into a simpler bodice for the new owner?

While studying the dress, I heard one visitor remark that the dress was much "smaller" than she expected. She explained that she had envisioned "something larger than life" given the notoriety of Marie Antoinette. But to get a real picture of what the Queen looked like in this dress, one has to imagine the paniers and a pouf hairstyle which would have created a significantly wider and taller silhouette.


Take note of the opulent train. It is known that Marie Antoinette studied with a French dance master to learn to walk gracefully at court. Even if this is not in fact her dress, whoever wore it must have been a vision of loveliness.

Photo Credit: Ingrid Mida, copyright 2008 (Not for reproduction without permission)

Patricia Harris Gallery of Costumes and Textiles
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park Avenue
Toronto, Ontario Canada
www.rom.ca 416-586-8000

Marie Antoinette and the Pouf

Marie Antoinette's husband, Louis XVI,was crowned King of France on June 11, 1774. All eyes should have been on the King, but instead were on Marie Antoinette and her pouf hairstyle.

Although Marie Antoinette's gown was "covered in sapphires, other gemstones, and ornate but fanciful embroidery", it was her hairstyle that drew the most attention. With heavily-powdered hair teased high above her forehead and topped with a cluster of white ostrich feathers, her face appeared to be the midpoint between the top of her hair and the hem of her gown. It was the debut of the pouf.

Developed in conjunction with hairdresser Monsieur Leonard, the pouf consisted of a scaffolding made from wire, cloth, gauze, horsehair, fake hair, with the wearer's own hair teased high off the forehead. On top of this huge confection of hair was a display of feathers, flowers, vegetables or other objects designed to express a topical message. For example, Marie-Antoinette commissioned a huge pouf showcasing an intricate hairdo displaying a French frigate that won a key victory against the British in June 1778.

The pouf was not an easy hairstyle to adopt. The underlying contraption was heavy and difficult to sleep in. Marie Antoinette would have had to wrap her head in a huge bandage-like wrap and sleep semi-upright. And since grease was used to "glue" the hair in place, the pouf was impossible to wash and fostered breeding grounds for vermin. But this did not stop other women from emulating the French Queen of Fashion. One lady of the court declared "I shall never again wear anything but vegetables! It looks so simple, and is so much more natural even than flowers!"

Unfortunately, the pouf also corresponded to a time of bad harvests and harsh winters (1774-75). Appearing at the opera, theatre and parties in her wedding cake-like coiffure, Marie Antoinette flouted her fashion-plate lifestyle in the face of a starving nation. No doubt it was particularly horrifying to hungry peasants that the whiteness of the pouf coiffure came from flour. Popular opinion turned from admiration to distaste and Marie Antoinette's willingness to consider more serious matters was questioned. It was the beginning of the end for this fashion icon.

Marie Antoinette's Corset Rebellion

To French aristocrats, a tightly corseted body represented "the norms of stiffness and self-control" expected of the ruling caste. Marie-Antoinette's position required her to wear a form of corset called a grand corps. This more rigid form of corset was the "mark of supreme distinction". Only France's greatest princesses had the right to wear this undergarment on a regular basis. Other noblewomen were allowed to wear it only on the day of their presentation at court and after that, only at specially designated formal functions. This corset was stiffer than a regular corset and made breathing, eating and even moving one's arms difficult.

The grand corps was described by the Marquise de La Tour du Pinto be "a specially made corset, without shoulder straps, laced up the back, but tight enough so that the lacings, four fingers wide on the bottom, allowed for a glimpse of a chemise of such fine batiste that it would be readily apparent to everyone if one's skin underneath was not sufficiently white...The front of the corset was laced, as it were, with rows of diamonds."

Marie Antoinette did not like wearing the grand corps, especially as the corsets she was used to wearing in Austria were far more flexible. A few months after arriving in France, she rebelled against wearing the grand corps and since she was thin enough to wear her gowns without this tortuous undergarment, she went without. This rebellious act was considered a breach of etiquette of considerable proportions. The court took to whispering about Marie Antoinette's misshapen waist and right shoulder and this gossip was repeated far beyond the court eventually reaching her mother Marie Theresa, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. It took diplomatic intervention by the Austrian ambassador to convince Marie Antoinette to resume wearing the grand corps on a regular basis.

Later in her life, Marie Antoinette took to wearing a thin white chemise dress with a ribbon sash. This airy, ruffled informal dress did not require a corset and was widely copied.

Sources:
Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber, Picador, New York, 2006
Marie-Antoinette Style, Adrien Goetz, Assouline, New York 2005
Corsets and Crinolines, Norah Waugh, Routledge Theatre Arts Books, New York 2004
The Corset, A Cultural History, Valerie Steele, Yale University Press, 2001

Marie Antoinette's Minister of Fashion: Rose Bertin

Marie Antoinette Dress, back view (copyright of Assouline, NY)

I saw the dress today. It was utterly breath-taking! A truly magnificent creation and a work of art. While doing some research on the clothing of this period I found this image of the dress in a book called Marie-Antoinette Style by Adrien Goetz (Assouline, New York, 2005).

Note the beautiful fabric and exquisite embroidery on the train. According to Goetz, Marie Antoinette was known for her great love of fabric. She had a distinct preference for pastel colours (greens, liliacs, and pinks), bouquet motifs and heavy brocades.

The ROM purchased the dress from the Christie's auction house in London, England in 1925. It was attributed to Marie-Antoinette based on the knowledge that it came from the atelier of the Queen's celebrated fashion merchant, Rose Bertin.

The Rachel Zoe of her time, Rose Bertin was a marchande de modes - the equivalent of a modern day stylist. She did not make dresses but completed ensembles and advised on how the wearer could best enhance their dress and coiffure. Apparently her fees were astronomical and Bertin was so well known at court that she was given the moniker of "Minister of Fashion".

Marie-Antoinette often gave away gowns to courtiers at the end of each season and it is believed that this dress made its way to England in such a fashion. It was remodeled around 1870-80 to remove the paniers that would have been worn in 1780s.

Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park Circle, Toronto
www.rom.on.ca 
416-586-5700

Marie Antoinette's Dress Goes on Display

Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette, by Martin van Meylens the Younger

1767-1768, Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna

Very few artifacts belonging to Marie Antoinette are still in existence. A gown that may have once been worn by this fashion icon will be on display from October 11 to the 26th at the ROM in the Patricia Harris Gallery of Costume and Textiles.

"Dating back to the 1780s, this beautiful two piece court dress would have sparkled throughout the glittering palace of Versailles. Known as a fashion icon, Marie Antoinette's sense of style is apparent in the rich satin fabric, silk floral embroidery, ribbon appliques, spangles and glass stones." (ROM website).

                                    On Saturday, October 18th, Caroline Weber will be giving a talk about her book "Queen of Fashion: What Marie-Antoinette wore to the Revolution". Tickets for the lecture are $20 for members, $23 for non-members.



Royal Ontario Museum
Bloor Street West at Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario Canada    416-586-8000

Textile Museum Shadow Box Auction Online Gallery

Stays of Georgiana, Mixed Media (8x8), copyright: Ingrid Mida, 2008

This piece is currently on display at the Textile Museum of Canada's annual Shadow Box Auction in Toronto. Bids begin at $175 and can be placed over the phone, in person at the Museum (October 13-30), or at the gala event itself which takes place the evening of Thursday, October 30th. All proceeds benefit the programs at the Museum.

I called this piece "Stays of Georgiana" in tribute to the Duchess of Devonshire who might have worn such a garment.

Check out all the artwork in the online gallery.

Textile Museum of Canada Shadow Box Auction

www.textilemuseum.ca
55 Centre Avenue (one block east of University, south of Dundas)
Toronto, Ontario
416-599-5321

info@textilemuseum.ca

Paper Dress Series: 1598 Gown

copyright Ingrid Mida, 2008

This is my latest paper dress creation inspired by a gown worn by Dorothea Savina von Neuberg in 1598. Note the long train on the back of the skirt which would have dragged on the ground.