Thursday, March 13, 2014

Fashion in the Museum: Upcoming exhibitions for Spring 2014

There can be no doubt that fashion exhibitions are in fashion, and the list of upcoming exhibitions of fashion in the museum is long.  I've highlighted some the exhibits that I am keen to see in spring 2014. 

Charles James Gowns photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1948

Charles James: Beyond Fashion
May 5 - August 10, 2014
Curators: Harold Koda and Jan Glier Reeder
Premise: “Charles James was a wildly idiosyncratic, emotionally fraught fashion genius who was also committed to teaching. He dreamt that his lifetime of personal creative evolution and the continuous metamorphosis of his designs would be preserved as a study resource for students.  In our renovated galleries, we will fulfill his goal and illuminate his design process as a synthesis of dressmaking, art, math, and science.” (Harold Koda) 
On display: 75 notable garments created by James from 1920 until his death in 1978
Exhibition Catalogue link here


Cover of Dries van Noten - Inspirations
Dries van Noten -- Inspirations
March 1 - August 31, 2014
Curator: Pamela Gobelin
Premise: "about everything that sparks the creative process" (Pamela Gobelin) 
On display: 150 garments paired with 200 artworks, photographs, film clips "that have triggered the designer’s imagination throughout his life and career"
Exhibition Catalogue link here



Cover of Coming into Fashion: A Century of Photography
Papier glacé or A Century of Fashion Photography at Conde Nast
March 1st to May 25, 2014
Curated by: Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis. 
Premise: thematically considers the links between photographers that have shaped the images of Vogue magazine
On display: 150 original prints from leading fashion photographers from 1918 to today plus 15 ensembles of haute couture from the Palais Galliera
Exhibition link here



Cover of Elegance in a Time of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s
Elegance in a Time of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s 
February 7 - April 19, 2014
Curator: FIT Deputy Director Patricia Mears and special consultant G. Bruce Boyer
Premise: "how clothing creators of the 1930s, despite the crippling financial crisis and dire political environment, spearheaded new stylistic ideas and wed them to emerging technologies"
On display:  Womenswear and menswear from the 1930s
Online exhibition link here
Exhibition link here