Fashion is My Muse

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum and other Must-see Exhibitions for 2012

2012-01-24T20:15:00.007-05:00


Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum, photo by Ron Wood, copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum

The explosion of fashion exhibitions in museums has made it virtually impossible to see everything that there is to see. Discerning the extraordinary from the run-of-the-mill show takes work and this is my list of top choices for 2012.

1. Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection at the Bata Shoe Museum beginning May 10, 2012
The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto never disappoints. This jewel of a museum is headed by curator Elizabeth Semmelhack and she knows how to put on a good show. In Process to Perfection, the exquisite work of Roger Vivier, known for bejewelled and elegantly sculptural shoes and one of the 20th century's most important master shoemakers, will be displayed for the first time in North America. Loans from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will make this show into a shoe-aholic's dream display.

2. Schiaperelli and Prada: On Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning May 10, 2012
This exhibition at the Costume Institute of the Met in New York will explore the affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miucca Prada who come from two different eras. Curated by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, the title of the exhibition is based on Umberto Eco's books on the philosophy of aesthetics - On Beauty and On Ugliness and organized according to the book's outline by topics such as "On Art," "On Politics," "On Women," "On Creativity". The exhibition will run until August 19, 2012.

3. Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs at Musee des Arts Decoratifs beginning March 9, 2012
This exhibition tells the stories of two men of fashion, separated by a century, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, and will highlight their contributions to the fashion world. Designed to be an analysis rather than a retrospective, this parallel Vuitton-Jacobs comparison is intended to provide new insight into the fashion system during its pivotal periods, beginning with its industrialisation and ending with its globalisation, focussing also on its artistic professions and crafts, technological advances, stylistic creations and artistic collaborations.

I chose these exhibitions because they are about fashion game-changers. Each one - Vivier, Schiaparelli, Prada, Vuitton and Jacobs - brought a unique vision to the world of fashion. Plus, the curators behind these exhibitions are the best of the best....

Book Review: Driving with Plato

2012-01-20T08:45:00.001-05:00

Being born, starting school, getting a job, falling in love, getting married, having children, having a midlife crisis, retiring -- these are a sampling of the life markers that Robert Rowland Smith elucidates in his book Driving with Plato: The Meaning of Life's Milestones. Frankly, I never really had an interest in philosophy until I realized that fashion theory is deeply rooted in philosophy and ever since then, I've been immersed in it far deeper than I ever expected to be. This was one of the books I read over Christmas (in the midst of my existential crisis) and offers a charming introduction to philosophy.

Divided into chapters according to life's milestones, the book considers the meaning to key events in our lives. Written in an engaging and warm voice, Robert Rowland Smith offers an insightful, intelligent and witty analysis. In the introduction he says "If life is a mystery, then let's take advantage of everything at our disposal to shed a little light. Besides, where asking about the meaning of life is too large a question to be helpful, breaking things down into life's milestones can give us a little bit of traction. To drive with Plato is to take a fresh look at the moments that define the all too brief transit our car makes across the earth. There are some remarkable ideas to explore en route."

Title: Driving with Plato, The Meaning of Life's Milestones
Author: Robert Rowland Smith
Publisher: Free Press, New York/Toronto
Category: Non-fiction
Number of Pages: 235
Price: US $19.99, Canada $22.99 (hardcover)
E-book also available.
Link: Driving with Plato

What's new?

2012-01-16T19:30:00.004-05:00

Charlize Theron, Golden Globes 2012

Watching tv has become a guilty pleasure, especially with a list of deadlines and a stack of reading I'm supposed to do.... But I had to track the red carpet of the Golden Globes and took notice of the key trends:
* mermaid shapes
* headbands
* chandelier-like earrings
* spectacularly high heels often concealed by dangerously long hems

None of these trends work for me. From experience, I know that mermaid shapes mean the hem drags along the floor, causing a tripping hazard and picking up the dirt! Headbands give me a headache as do big earrings. And high heels only work if I don't have to stand up for more than 20 minutes or walk more than the length of a room.

In a way, the sea of elegant gowns was a bit of a yawn, but I did laugh hysterically when Ricky Gervais mentioned Kate Middleton = Oscars and Kim Kardashian = Golden Globes.

As I predicted, my inbox continues to surprise and 2012 is already shaping up to be an interesting year even though I seem to be in a blogging fog and I have yet to attend any exhibitions. I think reading the erudite writing of Baudrillard and Foucault is taking over my brain and sapping me of my blogging brain power. In lieu of blog posts, I'm working on a new project in my studio - making a tutu out of mesh and working on a book proposal (plus my thesis). In the works for Fashion is my muse! is a list of must-see fashion as art exhibitions for 2012. Stay tuned! As always, I welcome your comments and emails.

The Costumes for the Canadian Opera Company's Production of Tosca

2012-01-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

Eszter Sümegi as Floria Tosca and Mikhail Agafonov as Mario Cavaradossi in the COC’s production of Tosca, 2008. Photo: Michael Cooper

It's no secret how much I love opera, especially if there are lavish period costumes to drool over and the Canadian Opera Company's upcoming production of Tosca promises to deliver some eye candy.

This opera by Puccini is set in Rome in the early 19th century and is considered one of the best-loved operas of all time. The fiery and passionate heroine, Tosca, tries to protect the man she loves from the chief of police, but finds herself caught in a web of corruption, lust and betrayal and ultimately commits an act of murder. This COC production will showcase renowned Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka.

Eszter Sümegi as Floria Tosca in the COC’s production of Tosca, 2008. Photo: Michael Cooper

The exquisite sets and costumes for the COC production were designed by Kevin Knight. There are 117 period costumes made for the 9 principals, 40 members of the COC Chorus, 20 members of the children’s chorus and 14 supernumeraries (the extras of the opera world). Each costume for the female cast members took between 12 to 32 metres of fabric. Six different kinds of fabric were used including cotton, silk, wool, leather, suede and linen, all of which would have been available in the 1800s. There were 25 metres of trim on Tosca's cape in Act II. It took 4 garment-makers 12 weeks to stitch costumes. And the most curious fact of all - 6 different kinds of blood were tested before finding one that washed out of the costumes the easiest!

Tosca runs for 14 performances on Jan. 21, 25, 29, 31, Feb. 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 21, 23 and 25, 2012 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™. I'm already looking forward to opening night!

Note: Photos were provided courtesy of the Canadian Opera Company and are subject to copyright.

What's on my Mind

2012-01-09T07:30:00.006-05:00

Image by Ingrid Mida 2012, Quote by Thomas J. Watson

The desk in my office is relatively clear - for now. In a matter of days (perhaps even hours), it will be piled high with books and papers, and my calendar will be jammed. Given that I am a person who is easily bored and cannot sit still for long, that is the norm for me. But last month, I was burned out. When I looked up "burn-out" on Wikipedia, the inventory of symptoms seemed familiar, especially "the reduced sense of personal accomplishment and mental exhaustion". I hardly cared about any of the marvelous experiences I had in 2011 - attending the press previews of the McQueen and Gaultier exhibitions; interviewing Valerie Steele, Harold Koda, and Jeanne Beker; speaking about my work at the Costume Society of America conference, Concordia University and Ryerson University's Research Symposium; being interviewed on ArtSync tv and having my photographs published in a book of art..... None of it seemed to matter much, but, after a good rest (including a complete break from technology for 10 days), I feel like I've got my mojo back!

Life seems to have a rhythm of its own and fate sometimes seems to laugh in my face. I hardly know what to expect in 2012. I've already had two disappointments -- a grant application was turned down and a proposal rejected. And yet I know that I also have much to look forward to. I will keep my fingers crossed for the Fashion Tales research symposium in Milan and that my article on Fashion and Art will be accepted for publication in Dress Journal. What I do know for sure is that 2012 will include:
1. Research for my thesis (still in the proposal stage)
2. An exhibition of my work at Loop Gallery in May-June 2012
3. A trip to Versailles and Paris in the spring with Opera Atelier
4. A summer of research at the Royal Ontario Museum
5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute exhibition on Prada and Schiaparelli which opens on May 10, 2012

Whatever happens, there is no doubt that I'll be making LOTS of mistakes this year.... I'm dreaming big!

What's on The January Fashion Calendar

2012-01-04T10:30:00.001-05:00

The January calendar includes fashion weeks in Paris and Berlin as well as the closing of two not-to-be-missed exhibitions about fashion icons including:

Daphne Guinness

Daphne Guinness at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology ends on January 7th, 2012. Daphne herself was heavily involved in the production of this exhibition. She said "What draws me to fashion is art...and certainly not fashion as status symbol," and "This exhibition is done for the benefit of those out there, students or otherwise, who share this love." The show is hauntingly beautiful and many of the ensembles evoke a sense of fragile and fleeting beauty. Daphne uses clothing like armour -- attracting attention in doing so but also putting a physical barrier between herself and the world that hides her real self within these exquisite creations.

Grace Kelly Engagement

Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess at the TIFF Lightbox ends on January 22, 2012. Having seen this exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, I recall marveling at the elegance of the gowns on display. Grace Kelly embodied the elegance and restraint of a modern princess.

The Haute Couture shows in Paris run January 23-26, 2012, beginning with Versace at 10:30 a.m. on January 23rd and ending with Valentino on January 25th at 6:30 p.m. The complete schedule can be viewed here. How I wish I was going... instead I'll be in class (sigh)....

May 2012 bring good things your way....Live with passion and dream big!

Holiday Greetings to all my Friends!

2011-12-21T08:55:00.000-05:00


Image by Robert Dolsneau 1912-1994 (Photoshop additions of text by Ingrid Mida)

It won't be a white Christmas in Toronto this year but you don't need snow to have a merry spirit and a happy heart! Here is wishing all my friends a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or happy holiday! See you in 2012!

Blogging and Baudelaire

2011-12-15T09:00:00.015-05:00

Gaga's Boudoir Window at Barney's New York by Ingrid Mida 2011

Poet Charles Baudelaire and theorist Walter Benjamin were fascinated by the concept of the flaneur, a figure who anonymously strolled through the city streets gazing into windows, embodying the concept of modernity in the specular relationship to urban space and consumer goods. I felt a bit like a flaneuse myself during my weekend jaunt to New York, strolling the city from the Museum at FIT (at 7th and 27th) up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (at 5th and 82) and stopping to admire the windows like this fabulous Gaga display at Barneys. The weather was glorious and I drank in the sunshine as if I'd recently been released from prison (which is what I equate the library I've been living in of late).

Stepping away from for a weekend was refreshing in so many ways and it re-energized me. I also thought of all the good things that have come my way from being a blogger - the people I've met, the exhibitions I've seen, the friends I've made.... I recently submitted an abstract for a paper called "Blogging, Benjamin and Foucault" to the Fashion Tales 2012 conference in Milan. In equating bloggers to Baudelaire’s and Benjamin's concept of the flaneur and drawing on Foucault’s theories on the aesthetics of existence, I hope to recast the blog as a creative portal and a form of conversational erudition. Call me crazy.... I don't know if it will fly, but sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff....

Pausing to Reflect

2011-12-08T07:30:00.002-05:00

It is my birthday tomorrow and I find myself in the midst of an existential crisis... Although I've been so busy of late that I've hardly had time to breathe, I find myself questioning the choices I've made and what I want for the future. Sometimes I wonder why I push so hard and then there are times I wonder if I'm doing enough.... I know this means it is time to step away from the fray and take some time to reflect. I wish you all a happy holiday season, filled with love and laughter, joy and delight!

But if you have nothing at all to create, then perhaps you create yourself.
Carl Jung

Creative Process Journal: If Marie Antoinette was a Blogger

2011-12-04T18:30:00.004-05:00

In this work, a dress once worn by Marie Antoinette from the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum is reimagined and recreated from a mash up of toile de jouey fabrics which depict an appropriated version of Fraggonard’s painting The Swing. This post-modern pastiche of the original dress is embellished with hot pink ribbons, a colour associated with third wave feminism. Instead of the panier and petticoat normally worn with a robe a la francaise, the dress is styled in a contemporary way with jeans and brogues to further emphasize the post-modern aspect of its creation.

In a nod to the construction of identity reflected in the phenomena of personal style blogs, the artist photographs herself wearing the dress while holding a mirror over her face. The mirror, a tool used by style bloggers to hide their identity, also symbolizes femininity. With further manipulation in Photoshop, multiple selves are depicted in the ballroom of the Palais Garnier in Paris as a play on the myth of photographic truth.

The title of the work, If Marie Antoinette was a Blogger, signifies the irony with which this project was conceived. In the post that would accompany the image, Marie Antoinette would quote theorist Michel Foucault on the aesthetics of existence from his 1984 work On the Genealogy of Ethics as follows:

“What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals, or to life. That art is something which is specialized or which is done by experts who are artists. But couldn’t everyone’s life become a work of art?...From the idea that the self is not given to us, I think that there is only one practical consequence: we have to create ourselves as a work of art” (350-1).

With a blog, everyone’s life can become a work of art today and therein lies the ultimate irony of Foucault's statement.

For further reading:

"Personal Fashion Blog: Screens and Mirrors in Digital Self-portraits" by Agnes Rocamora in Fashion Theory, Volume 15, Issue 4, December 2011

On the Genealogy of Ethics: An overview of work in Progress. In P. Rabinow (ed.), The Foucault Reader. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984.

Project Clock: +12 hours for final embellishments and finishing of dress, photographs, manipulation in photoshop and preparation of artist statement
Total to date: 65 hours

P.S. This is the final post of the Creative Process Journal for this project. I hope you enjoyed the journey!

What's on the Fashion Calendar for December

2011-12-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

In a month filled with holiday parties and festivities (not to mention a raft of deadlines), I find the reflective nature of art to be a balm to the soul. Here are some of the exhibitions I hope to visit this month:

Cecil Beaton 1948

The Museum of the City of New York presents the work of British-born photographer and designer Cecil Beaton (1904-80). The exhibition Cecil Beaton: The New York Years brings together extraordinary photographs, drawings, and costumes by Beaton to chronicle his impact on the city’s cultural life.

Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York

Daphne Guiness

Tom Ford once said: “Daphne is one of – if not the – most stylish women living." In an exhibition at the Museum at FIT, curator Valerie Steele collaborated with this fashion icon to present a selection of Daphne Guiness' collection of couture. Divided into six sections, the garments are organized into six themes including Dandyism, Armor, Chic, Evening Chic, Exoticism and Sparkle.

Museum at FIT, 7th Avenue at 27th, New York

In the exhibition Stieglitz and his artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe, the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints from Alfred Stieglitz's collection. These artworks were acquired by the Metropolitan in 1949 from Georgia O'Keefe. After reading the book "How Georgia Became O'Keeffe" by Karen Karbo and learning about their stormy relationship, I'm keen to see this exhibition, especially since many of the works were acquired by Stieglitz when the artists were relatively unknown.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street), New York

Blue Circus by Marc Chagall

The Art Gallery of Ontario presents Chagall and the Russian Avant-Garde: Masterpieces from the Collection of the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and features the work of Marc Chagall alongside his contemporaries of Russian modernism, including Wassily Kandinsky and Sonia Delaunay.
The exhibition of 118 works comes from the Centre Pompidou and features 32 works by Chagall and eight works by Kandinsky.

Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto

A Conversation with Jeanne Beker about Fashion and Art

2011-11-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

Jeanne Beker: AGO Collector's Series 2011

Jeanne Beker's personal art collection is whimsical, eclectic, and captivating - descriptors that can also be used for the woman herself. In a one-on-one interview with this fashion powerhouse, Jeanne and I had a lively conservation about fashion and art and she also gave me a tour of her favourite artworks now on display as part of the Art Gallery of Ontario's 2nd Annual Collector's Series Exhibition.

The Birthday Party by Marion Perlet

For Jeanne, each work of art in her collection evokes a memory. She said "They really serve as a kind of visual diary for me of my travels, certain stages I was going through in my life, of certain changing aesthetics I've had over the years." One of her favourites is an oil painting by Marion Perlet called "The Birthday Party" in which the artist painted her memories of her birthday party as a child. Jeanne said "This was a cherry pie but my girls always thought it looked like a pepperoni pizza. It sat right over our table in the kitchen of our old house and now it hangs in my dining room and it just makes me feel good. And yet, there is something about the look in their eyes, some of them look a little dysfunctional, or that they have their grudges or own stories to tell or their own feelings about themselves, their particular plight - they are your typical dysfunctional family I think."

Toller Cranston gave Jeanne her first artwork and encouraged her to start her collection. He told her to buy Canadian art and "just chose one artist that you really like and go with it." Jeanne followed that advice and has several pieces from Marion Perlet. She offers advice to other collectors and said "Just buy what you love. Don't buy as an investment."

Yves Saint Laurent by Andre Rau

Jeanne's collection also includes several exquisite photographs by David LaChapelle, Paul Alexander and Andre Rau that capture the intersection of the fashion and art worlds. Jeanne was surprised when I told her about my interviews with Valerie Steele, Chief Curator of The Museum at FIT and Matthew Teitelbaum, Director/CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario on the relationship between fashion and art. She said "I just think it is old fashioned to not see fashion as art. Of course, I'm talking about a particular kind of fashion. Fashion with a capital F, not fashion put out there for mass consumption."

Jeanne and I agreed that fashion and art have a complex relationship. She put it this way: "There are a precious handful of designers [that would quality as artists]. I'm certainly not intimating that all of fashion is art, not by a long shot. But I do think that there are some fashion creators who are, without question artists, in terms of the techniques that they have learned, in terms of the statements that they want to communicate or in what they are saying in their impact of their creations on humanity. I don't know what the definition of art is, if it is not that."

In closing my interview, I asked Jeanne if there was anything left on her list of things she wanted to do given her long list of accomplishments to date as television journalist, as well as author and editor. She answered "I'd like to return to the places I've been to for work that I didn't get a chance to explore on my own, but really what I look forward to doing in this next chapter is to continue doing a lot of things that I have done, but just do them better. I want to continue to make great television - but better; I want to write more books - but better." When I told her that she must have a wicked perfectionist streak because so many people look up to her and admire her that I cannot imagine her having to do anything better, she said "Sometimes I feel like I've barely scratched the surface in terms of my potential. I am turning 60 next year and that only gives me another 20-30 years to go, but who knows. Diana Vreeland didn't start editing Vogue until she was 60". I left utterly enchanted by Jeanne and her zest for life.

The AGO's 2nd Annual Collector's Series
AGO Art Rental + Sales Gallery
481 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
November 30, 2011 to December 19, 2011

For more information, see the AGO website link here.

P.S. Jeanne Beker's interview of Harold Koda as part of the Bata Shoe Museum's Founder Series Lecture was published yesterday in the Toronto Star. The link is here.

What to Wear to Interview Jeanne Beker

2011-11-28T10:00:00.006-05:00

Jeanne Beker (Source: CP24 News)

Although I have an enormous stack of work on my desk, I am obsessing what I should wear to interview Jeanne Beker today. The Art Gallery of Ontario Annual Collector's Series highlights the personal art collection of notable Canadians and Jeanne Beker is the curator of this year's exhibition which opens to the public on November 30th.

Even though I've interviewed people like fashion scholar Valerie Steele, rock star curator Harold Koda, and Director/CEO of the AGO Matthew Teitelbaum, there is something about meeting Jeanne Beker that makes me nervous. On days like today, I really wish I had an assistant.

I have prepared my questions carefully and now I'm staring into my closet..... I'm leaning towards my black Prada suit or maybe a Balenciaga jacket -- something that feels like fashion armour....

I'll be posting my interview with Jeanne Beker on Fashion is my Muse! Stay tuned.

The AGO's 2nd Annual Collector's Series
AGO Art Rental + Sales Gallery
481 University Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
November 30, 2011 to December 19, 2011

For more information, see the AGO website link here.

Creative Process Journal: The Dress

2011-11-26T17:30:00.001-05:00

It's been one of those weeks.... I sort of feel like I've been to hell and back and so spending some time in the studio was a dose of joy. This is the dress - a post-modern pastiche of Marie Antoinette's dress from the Royal Ontario Museum.


Post-modern Marie Antoinette Dress by Ingrid Mida 2011

Post-modern Marie Antoinette Dress Back by Ingrid Mida 2011

It's a mash up of 18th century and contemporary style with heavy doses of pink in reference to third wave feminism. I made the skirt to accommodate paniers and without them it drags at the sides somewhat, but that's all I had time for. Besides if Marie Antoinette were here today, she would probably wear jeans or a miniskirt under this get-up.

Post-modern Marie Antoinette Shoes by Ingrid Mida 2011

Instead of the pink Converse shoes, I decided to go with these patent leather pink and cream brogues with a heel by Bass. I fancy I can wear them myself - perhaps with my upcoming interview with Jeanne Beker of Fashion Television!

Project clock: +10 hours
Total to-date: 53 hours

How Georgia Became O'Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living

2011-11-23T08:30:00.012-05:00

There are many, many books on the life and work of Georgia O'Keeffe - so many in fact that there are multiple pages of listings on Amazon.... Her visionary brilliance as an artist, her fierce independence as a woman, and her turbulent relationship with Alfred Steiglitz give her a mysterious aura that fascinates us all. It is almost a wonder that there is anything left to write about her. And yet, this did not faze Karen Karbo when she decided to put her own spin on the life of this artistic legend.

Karen Karbo is the author of The Gospel According to Coco Chanel and How to Hepburn. She has a unique gift for biography, crafting a narrative that both delights and amuses the reader, as well as mining that person's life for nuggets of inspiration and life lessons. (Read my January 2010 interview with her here). When Karen wrote to me about her new book, I knew that I had to put down my scholarly journals and get this book, especially since Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers were a huge source of inspiration in my earliest painting attempts. Not yet available in Canada, I ordered How Georgia Became O'Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living on Amazon and it has been my company in the wee hours of the morning during my latest bout of insomnia.

Although I am not yet finished the book, I've read enough to know that this is another gem. Karen has a unique voice and is both frank and funny in her analysis of the realities of Georgia's life. One passage that encapsulates Karbo's style of writing is this analysis of Georgia's defiance of conventional standards of feminine beauty:

"With her fabulous rawboned frame, straggly brows, and schoolmarm's bun, her black vestments, man's shoes, and odd assortment of hats and turbans, O'Keeffe was out there. There was no one like her, then or ever. A few months before she left her teaching post in Canyon, when someone mustered up the nerve to timidly ask her why she wore her hair that way, O'Keeffe said, "Because I like it." Freeing herself from the endless demands of looking like other women released her into a parallel, and freer, universe. After people adjusted to her curious look, they accepted it and expected nothing else." (pg 13)

This is a book to add to your Christmas wish list!

Paul Klee on Art

2011-11-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

I like living (All is Vanity series) by Ingrid Mida 2011

I've been reading a lot about the theories of practice based research in the arts and came across this beautiful passage written by artist Paul Klee:

"The artist has studied this world of variety and has, we may suppose, unobtrusively found his way in it. His sense of direction has brought order into the passing stream of image and experience. This sense of direction in nature and life, this branding and spreading array, I shall compare with the root of the tree.

From the root the sap flows to the artist, flows through him, flows to his eye.

Thus he stands as the trunk of the tree.

Battered and stirred by the strength of the flow, he moulds his vision into his work.

As, in full view of the world, the crown of the tree unfolds and spreads in time and space, so with his work.

Nobody would affirm that the tree grows its crown in the image of its root. Between above and below can be no mirrored reflection. It is obvious that different functions expanding in different elements must produce vital divergences.

But it is just the artist who at times is denied those departures from nature which his art demands. He has even been charged with incompetence and deliberate distortion.

And yet, standing at his appointed place, the trunk of the tree, he does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths. He neither serves or rules - he transmits.

His position is humble. And the beauty at the crown is not his own. He is merely a channel.

...The creation of a work of art - the growth of the crown of the tree - must of necessity, as a result of entering into the specific dimensions of pictorial art, be accompanied by distortion of the natural form, for, therein, is nature reborn."

Source: Paul Klee in On modern art (1948) London: Faber and Faber p. 13-19 as quoted in Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in the Visual Arts by Graeme Sullivan, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005

Worn Fashion Journal Issue 13

2011-11-18T00:01:00.007-05:00

Cover of Worn Fashion Journal Issue 13

For some people, the number 13 is associated with bad luck. But in my case, it seems to be quite the opposite. I have a charm bracelet that once belonged to my mother with the number 13 as one of the charms and I also have a charm necklace that I bought in Paris a few years back and it too contains the number 13. I consider both pieces to be lucky and I also feel lucky that my book review for the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition was one of the featured articles in Issue 13 of Worn Fashion Journal.

Worn Fashion Journal is a twice yearly publication that offers a culturally rich and diverse approach to the world of fashion. Taking a scholarly perspective (especially in terms of rigorous editorial standards), it covers fashion trends and history as it relates to culture, arts and life. It is a unique bridge between a magazine like Elle and a journal like Fashion Theory. And although it is not widely available, issues of Worn can be purchased from their website.

I'll be wearing my "lucky 13" necklace today when I give a talk at Concordia University on art and fashion this afternoon. I'm wishing you all good luck and a good weekend!

Creative Process Journal: Constructing the Dress

2011-11-17T07:00:00.004-05:00

Marie Antoinette Dress Back (in Progress) by Ingrid Mida

With all the work I did on the process journal for this project, the actual construction of the dress almost seems like an afterthought. But it is time to bring this project together.....

Marie Antoinette Dress Front (in Progress) by Ingrid Mida

In writing this post, I realize that I should have taken more photos of individual steps, but my time in the studio seems so limited that stopping to take photos is an interruption of the flow.

The construction process was complicated by the fact that it took me a while to remember how to sew with fabric. Mesh handles differently than fabric and I'd been working with mesh for so long that I had to redo certain parts more than once.

Marie Antoinette Dress Side (in Progress) by Ingrid Mida

One part that has not worked are the sleeves. Although they look fine in this photo, they sort of feel like mitts because the fabric is so heavy. I spent 3 hours just on these sleeves and at the end of the day ripped off the "ruffle" so I can rework them with a lighter fabric or lace.

Dress Sleeves (in Progress) by Ingrid Mida

The next part of construction involves the panniered skirt. Wish me luck!

Project Clock: +15.5 hours
Total to date: 43 hours

Jean Paul Gaultier at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts

2011-11-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

Corcirico ensemble for men Haute Couture Fall Winter 2011/2012 collection Jean Paul Gaultier

This men's haute couture ensemble from Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2011 line is one of the additions to the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. This exhibition which was curated by Nathalie Bondil and Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art opened yesterday at the Dallas Museum of Art. To read more about Gaultier's design aesthetic and this exhibition, read my article in Vintage and Modern here.

Photo credit: Photo by Patrice Stable courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier

Creative Process Journal: Marie Antoinette and Elsa Schiaparelli

2011-11-13T09:00:00.002-05:00

Insect Necklace by Schiaparelli

Sometimes inspiration comes from the least likely of places. Earlier this week, Harold Koda, chief curator of the Costume Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showed a slide of Elsa Schiaparelli's Insect Necklace during his talk as part of the Bata Shoe Museum's Founder's Lecture Series. The surrealist whimsy of this piece captivated me and I had to know more.

According to the Met's website, this piece came to the museum via the Brooklyn Museum's Costume Collection and was created by Elsa Schiaparelli in 1938 for the fall pagan collection. "This iconic necklace epitomizes Schiaparelli's Surrealist tendencies, perhaps more than any other design she executed because of the unreal idea of insects crawling on your skin as a fashion statement." The necklace was worn by Millicent Rogers - one of Schiaparelli's "best clients who was brave enough to wear her outré designs."

As unlikely as the connection between this necklace and Marie Antoinette is, a light bulb went off in my head when I reviewed accounts of hygiene practices in the 18th century.

In an out of print book from 1932 called The Elegant Woman, From the Rococo Period to Modern Times by Gertrude Aretz (translated and with a preface by fashion scholar James Laver), the author wrote about the lack of hygiene in 18th century, including the rank odour of the lack of bathing that was covered up with heavy doses of scent. "Marie-Antoinette was not altogether a vain and coquettish woman, nor was her elegance altogether consistent. Her clothes were rich and beautiful, but somewhat negligently put on, and she was often careless and untidy in her dress. Her personal cleanliness was not very strict, especially before she became Queen, and she used her bathroom but seldom..... The Rococo period, with all its luxury, was a period of dirt and lack of hygiene." (pg. 62-63)

The elaborate pouf hairstyles of the period were crafted out of false hair, pins, dye, grease, and powder and then laden with accessories like feathers, flowers, jewels, and even such implausible additions as vegetables and small ships. Aretz wrote: "It goes without saying that with such complicated coiffures elegant ladies could not pay much attention to cleanliness of the head and hair. Indeed, very little consideration was given to personal hygiene in the eighteenth century. The hair was very rarely washed, perhaps once a year or even not at all. Elaborate coiffures were expected to last for weeks, and it was no rare occurrence for vermin to nest in these monstrous edifices of hair and to attack their owners in a terrible way." (pg. 76) Caroline Weber in her book Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette wore to the Revolution also wrote about the "Queen's hallmark hairstyles" and the "special head-scratchers (grattoirs) made from ivory, silver, gold, and even sometimes decorated with diamonds" (Weber: 111).

Our perceptions of the grandeur and beauty of this period are no more than illusions. And this I think is the key to adding a subversive element to my recreation of a robe a la francaise. Funnily enough, it seems to tie in rather nicely to my previous dress sculptures made out of mosquito mesh - which originated from a play on the word "fly" as a reference to both the pest and the tag word for "cool".

I am going to appropriate Elsa Schiaparelli's insect necklace and reinterpret it in the context of the 18th century as a reference to "all manner of vermin" that crawled out of the elaborate pouf hairstyles of Marie Antoinette's time (Weber: 111).

Sources:
Aretz, Gertrude. The Elegant Woman: From the Rococo Period to Modern Times. London: Geroge G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1931. (Translated by James Laver)

Weber, Caroline. Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Collection: Elsa Schiaparelli Necklace 2009.300.1234
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80093782
sourced: November 12, 2011

Project Clock: +3 hours
Project Clock to date: 27.5 hours

Creative Process Journal: Artists and the Disembodied Dress Form

2011-11-10T10:50:00.003-05:00


Marie Antoinette Dress by Rita Brown and Isabelle de Borchegrave

As an artist, it is important to understand artistic precedent - where one's work fits compared to what has been done before and what is happening now. The disembodied dress form has been used by quite a number of artists in the past including Mimi Smith, Yonka Shonibare, Leslie Dill, Isabelle de Borchegrave and Rita Brown, Issey Miyake, Cathy Daley, Jana Sterbak, Caroline Broadhead, Mira Schor and Lun'na Menoh.

What is it about the dress without a body that makes it such a powerful artistic statement? Is it because the dress is a readily understood symbol for femininity?

According to Mira Schor, the "idea of the dress as the subject of art" arose in the 1970s and in her own work she said "I saw [femininity] as a free-floating identity outside of the individual woman, that she could put on or take off", from "Mira Schor," M/E/A/N/I/N/G Online, #4 Feminist Forum (2007).

In Susan Brownmiller's book on Femininity, she suggested that critical thought about the dress form arose around the time that women were able to freely chose between wearing pants and dresses in the 1970s. She wrote "I think my friends returned to dresses because they felt that life was getting gray without some whimsical indulgence in the feminine esthetic." (pg. 80)

Catherine Ann Laird analyzed the work of Jana Sterbak and Cathy Daley in her masters thesis called "Redressing Femininity: Power and Pleasure in Dresses by Jana Sterbak and Cathy Daley" (Carleton University, 2009) and suggested that these artists were "deeply transgressive" in an attempt to "redefine or redress femininity."

As an artist myself, I can attest to the fact that is can be difficult to step back and see one's own work objectively. I have made things - paper corsets, mesh dress sculptures, paintings of dresses without bodies but with the suggestion of movement - without really understanding where the ideas came from or what I was trying to say. Often times, my artist statement has come together after the work is completed. I know that many artists work this way, but for this project, since I'm documenting the process as I go, my work is a lot more reflective. I now know that at the root of what I do are two dominant themes - 1. the construction of femininity through fashion and 2. vanitas. For this particular project, the dress I'm making is meant to symbolize Marie Antoinette. The shape - with the exaggerated panniers - embodies the feminine. How I alter the dress to incorporate an element of post-modernist subversion requires more thought....

Looking at the artistic precedent of the dress form in an in-depth way is not possible within the scope of a blog post and so I'll suggest that if you are interested in reading more on this topic, here are some related books to consider:
Addressing the Century: 100 Years of Art & Fashion by Hayward Gallery Publishing, London, 1998.
Femininity by Susan Brownmiller, Linden Press, New York, 1984.
Yinka Shonibare MBE, Prestel-Vering, Berlin 2008

Project Clock: +3 hours
Time to date: 24.5 hours

Harold Koda on Fashion in the Art Museum at the Bata Shoe Museum Founder's Lecture

2011-11-09T08:30:00.002-05:00

Harold Koda (Photo by Karin Willis)

Last night, Sonja Bata introduced The Founder's Lecture series at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto as being part of a new initiative to bring "one truly outstanding personality" related to fashion to speak about their work. Harold Koda, the "rock star of fashion curators", is the curator in charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, was the first speaker in the series.

Harold's talk was entitled "The Arrangement: Fashion in the Art Museum" and traced the history of the costume collection at the Met from its earliest incarnation in 1947 as a resource collection for the fashion industry through to the present as one of the largest costume collections in the world.

The history of the Costume Institute is a story of personalities - from Diana Vreeland through to Richard Martin and Harold himself. An engaging speaker, both brilliant and humble, Harold kept all of us in rapt attention throughout his talk.

Not shy about the necessity of raising funds to support the Costume Institute, Harold mentioned the strategies used by the museum to create excitement and raise funds for the collection. He gave credit to Diana Vreeland for recognizing that the annual party needed to have a high and glamorous profile in order that people would pay a lot of money to attend. He gave credit to Richard Martin who had the idea to create conceptually developed themes to generate audiences. Harold did not take any credit for himself, but he should have -- for his intra-museum collaborations for shows like "Dangerous Laisons" and his foresight in developing exhibitions of women of style like Jacqueline Kennedy and Nan Kemper as well as monographic designer displays like Chanel and Alexander McQueen.

Although fashion is one of the industries that drives the world economy, it seems that there is an uneasy relationship between fashion and finance and I was impressed that Harold addressed this head on. He said that when the museum presents a monographic designer exhibition (like Chanel), they often receive criticism as if there has been some kind of "collusion between high culture and the museum". And this problem is "complicated by fashion brands curating their own shows" in which the "concept never becomes as lucid as having someone outside the house reflect on it." Although the museum has to ask for the cooperation (and often sponsorship) of the fashion house, he made the point that "we are not working for the fashion company...we ask for access to their collection and archives...but there is a type of firewall between curation and the company."

Harold also talked briefly about the relationship between fashion and art and he mentioned that art is something that "elevates us beyond our daily experience". He gave examples of a few designers that he feels do this including Hussein Chalayn (and his airplane dress), Roberto Capucci who used "dress as a medium for sculpture" and Jean Paul Gaultier who uses "fashion as a vehicle for some other narrative". He said that the pattern for collecting at the Costume Institute is "focused more and more on the objects that have artistic virtue but are estranged from the experience of daily life".

To read more about Harold's views on the relationship between fashion and art, visit Fashion Projects here for the transcript of our conversation.

To join the Bata Shoe Museum and be at the front of the line for other illuminating talks and their upcoming show on Roger Vivier, visit their website here.

Creative Process Journal: Cutting the Fabric for the Marie Antoinette Dress

2011-11-08T08:45:00.001-05:00

Cutting the fabric for the Marie Antoinette dress (Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011)

Yesterday was the day to cut out the pieces for the robe a la francaise. Although I'd made a dress in this style in mesh once before and was able to use the pattern from that project, this time was a little bit trickier. As a post-modern mash up of fabrics, the intent was not to use a single fabric for the entire gown but to mix up the colours. Using different fabrics is a statement about authenticity and veracity making it clear that this is not Marie Antoinette's dress. But which colours for which pieces? I had to recut some pieces more than once because the beige print did not have the same pop as the other more vibrant fuschia pink and brown, or the lime green and fuschia.

The cut pieces for the Marie Antoinette dress (Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011)

I was so intent on this process that I did nothing else for six hours straight. I was so energized by this project that I did not even notice the time and I did not take a washroom break nor did I have lunch! As much as I love reading, for one day I loved NOT reading....

Number of hours: 6
Project time clock: 21.5

Creative Process Journal: Post-modernism, Cindy Sherman and Marie Antoinette

2011-11-07T07:30:00.003-05:00

Cindy Sherman Untitled 225 (1990)

Post-modernism describes a philosophical movement holds that there is no absolute truth because realities are relative and dependent on the parties involved and their interests. In other words, the way in which people perceive the world is subjective. Inherent in the definition is a questioning of the boundaries between categories like male and female, straight and gay, white and black.

In postmodern art, this perspective has broad implications. There is a sense that everything has been done before and thus post-modernist expression often includes techniques like appropriation, bricolage, collage, pastiche, the use of text as a central artistic element, performance art, and the nostalgic borrowing of past styles and themes in a contemporary context. The use of irony, pastiche, parody and subversion are also common.

Photographer Cindy Sherman is an example of a postmodern artist in that her self-portraits capture her dressed in the role of another person but are not really about her or any other real person. They embody a critique of culture and ask the viewer to consider practices of looking, agency, and female identity.

For my creative project "Marie Antoinette Slept Here", I am trying to incorporate post-modernist aspects into this work. The dress itself is a bricollage mash up of fabrics and a nostalgic referencing of the 18th century in a contemporary context. Making it more than just a dress will require more thought and more work on my part.

Some off the top of my head ideas I'm considering include:
* using the dress in a photograph taken in Versailles to create the illusion that the dress was worn there
* making a t-shirt using the obsession collage from an earlier post to wear underneath the dress in lieu of a corset
* incorporating Converse sneakers like was done in Sophia Coppola's film version of Marie Antoinette
* donning the dress myself and taking self-portraits in Cindy Sherman style
* making a necklace of safety pins in lieu of the ribbon that was typically worn with a robe a la francaise
* all of the above!

Project Clock: +1.5 hours To-date: 15.5 hours

Convergence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Fashion

2011-11-04T09:55:00.002-04:00


Ruth Dukas Paper Dress (Photo from the Toronto Telegram November 16, 1967)

Remember this post back in February where I wrote about a display of paper dresses at the Costume and Textile Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum? It just goes to show you that you never know where a blog post might lead....

Not long after I wrote about that paper dress (pictured in the photo above), I received an email from the designer's son asking for a copy of the photo for his mom. Well long story short, I ended up doing an oral history interview with the designer, Ruth Dukas, for the ROM archives. As it turns out, Ruth only made one paper dress in her career, but was in fact renowned for the exquisite embroidery and beading of her evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

During the course of my research into Ruth's career as a designer during the 1960s, I fell in love with research and 1960s fashion, plus ended up back in grad school for a second masters degree.... On Saturday, I will be speaking at Ryerson University about the career of Ruth Dukas and the issues related to oral history projects.

This event called Convergence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Fashion reflects the interdisciplinary nature of scholarly fashion research today. Speakers from Ryerson, York and University of Toronto will present their research in three panels including - Narratives of Femininity in Fashion; Canadian Content? From Local to Global; and The Spaces in Fashion: Conditions & Contexts. The plenary talk will be given at 4:30 pm by Kate Strasdin of the University of Southampton and The Royal Ontario Museum’s 2011 Gervers Fellow.

The event takes place tomorrow - Saturday, November 5, 2011 at Ryerson University, 40 Gould Street, Kerr Hall South, Room 251, from 9 am to 5:30 pm. I will be speaking at 11 am and attendees are welcome to come anytime during the day. The event is free and open to the general public. More details are available at www.ryersonfashionsymposium.ca.

Check out the amusing interview with Dr. Alison Matthews David, the organizer of the symposium, on Worn Fashion Journal's blog called "Embrace Your Inner Fashion Nerd".

Creative Process Journal: Bricolage and Choosing Fabric

2011-11-03T07:13:00.005-04:00

The Swing by Fragonard

Bricolage is a French term that literally means "making do", using whatever materials are on hand. This term can also be used to describe the cultural practice of taking items and using them in a way that they were not intended to create a subversive or resistant meaning - like taking safety pins and using them for body ornamentation.

My choice of fabric for the Marie Antoinette dress project is a form of bricolage. I purchased some toile de jouy fabric in Paris about two years ago (remember this post?) and it has sat in a drawer in my studio ever since. As upholstery fabric, it was a little too thick to embroider easily, and it has sat unused - until now. Although it is on the heavy side, I am hoping the weight of the material will give the dress a quality of gravitas. Since the dress will require over 20 metres of fabric, making do with materials on hand is a relevant cost consideration.

Toile de Jouy Fabric from Paris

This fabric references the iconic painting of the 18^th century called “The Swing” by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) from the Wallace Collection. In this painting, a young woman dressed in a peach-coloured silk gown sits in a swing hung from a tree in a fantastical dream-like garden while her lover admires her from below. One shoe flies off of her foot as she flies through the air. Painted in 1767-1768, the painting embodied erotic connotations at the time, but the dominant hegemonic reading of this work has changed to now represent romance and femininity. And while the painting as a referent predates Marie Antoinette’s reign as Queen of France and the fabric does not replicate the image, but reinterprets it, the reference embodies the frivolity and romantic notions of the period. As well, the vivid pinks in the fabric tie into the pink of third wave feminism.

I'm going to have to think about how to add a subversive or resistive element to how I use this fabric.... That part is still up in the air at this point.

Project Clock: plus 1 hour (painting and fabric analysis)

Total to date: 14 hours

A Conversation with Valerie Steele on Fashion and Art

2011-11-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Valerie Steele 2007 Photo by Aaron Corbett (Courtesy of Valerie Steele)

Dr. Valerie Steele is a renowned fashion scholar. She is the Director and Chief Curator of the Fashion Institute of Technology, editor of the journal Fashion Theory and has written numerous books including The Corset: A Cultural History; Paris Fashion; Fifty Years of Fashion: New Look to Now; Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power; and Women of Fashion: 20th-Century Designers. She has curated more than twenty exhibitions including the current exhibition at FIT called Daphne Guinness.

In August, I spoke with Valerie about the convergence of fashion and art as part of my series of interviews with curators on the topic. The transcript of that interview was published on Fashion Projects and can be found here.

What's on the Fashion Calendar for November?

2011-11-01T07:20:00.008-04:00

Queen Alexandra in Court Dress
Courtesy of the ROM and subject to copyright

November is another hectic month!!! Here is what's on the fashion calendar:

November 4 - Opening of the Grace Kelly exhibit at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. Last year, I went to London to see this exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Read my review here.

November 5 - I will be speaking about my research on Ruth Dukas, a Canadian designer of evening wear in the 1960s, at the Ryerson University Graduate Research Symposium called Convergence. Speakers will present their research in three panels including - Narratives of Femininity in Fashion; Canadian Content? From Local to Global; and The Spaces in Fashion: Conditions & Contexts. The plenary talk will be given at 4:30 pm by Kate Strasdin of the University of Southampton and The Royal Ontario Museum’s 2011 Gervers Fellow. This event is free and held on campus. More details are available at www.ryersonfashionsymposium.ca.

November 8 - Harold Koda, Chief Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be coming to Toronto as the Bata Shoe Museum Founder's Lecture Series to talk about Fashion and the Art Museum. The transcript of my interview with Harold Koda will be published on Fashion Projects next week. Tickets for the event are available through the Bata Shoe Museum.

November 11 - Kate Strasdin will be giving the 20th annual Veronika Gervers Memorial Lecture called "A Royal Wardrobe Unlocked: Queen Alexandra 1863-1910" at the Royal Ontario Museum from 530-630 pm. Kate has been studying the ROM's collection of Queen Alexandra’s clothing. According to the press release, the Museum’s holdings "include significant evening garments from her earliest years as Princess of Wales to the more stately examples she wore as Queen. These objects offer a sparkling snapshot into the world and wardrobe of one of the most famous women of the nineteenth century." For more information on this free event, visit the ROM's website here.

November 13 - The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier opens in Dallas at the Museum of Art. This exhibition was developed by the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and this will be its first stop on its tour of the world. There will be some new exhibition additions including a motorcycle suit with headlights costume for Pedro Almodovar's 1993 film "Kika" and a menswear outfit from the recent Gaultier Haute Couture Fall Winter 2011/2012 collection. My review of the MMFA exhibition and my interviews with curators Thierry Maxime Loriot and Nathalie Bondil are on Fashion Projects.

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni

2011-10-29T23:59:00.002-04:00

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni (Photo by Bruce Zinger)

Opera can be such a serious affair but in the case of Opera Atelier's presentation of Don Giovanni, the goal was laughter. Director Marshall Pynkoski introduced the opening night production by equating Mozart's character of Don Giovanni to Warren Beatty which in and of itself caused much mirth. He also said that the two ways to create a comedic opera were 1. speed and 2. youth. By filling his cast with attractive and trim young singers, dancers and actors, and by keeping a lively pace, he achieved both goals and the audience responded with laughter throughout the show and with a standing ovation at the end.

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni (Photo by Bruce Zinger)

Award-winning designer Martha Mann created costumes that achieved that difficult balance between period dress and modernity. Although the colours were subdued, and sometimes bordered on somber, the effect was harmonious. Subtle details like sequins and lace allowed the lighting effects to dance over the costumes, adding another dimension of sparkle. Of particular note were the glorious men's outfits, particularly the brocade vests and the velveteen breeches worn with fabulous thigh-high (Puss in boots style) boots. Another highlight were the swirling cloaks with colourful satin lining on the cuffs and hoods for the masquerade. With such a simple garment, the mastery of cut was evident in the movement and dimension created by these glorious cloaks.

Set designer Gerard Gauci did his usual magic with immense trompe l'oiel panels. His sense of humour was evident in the painted corner of the drop that curls to reveal the back of the canvas and the sheets of music that appear to float to the floor. Small details like a painted bush lifted up to reveal Act II added to the fun.

Although the opera is sung in Italian, I didn't need to look at the translation. The actors movements, gestures and changes in their voice conveyed the story beautifully. In fact, I think I've seen this opera several times before, but I don't ever remember enjoying it so much.

Opera Atelier's Don Giovanni is playing at the Elgin Theatre this week only:
October 30, November 1, 2, 4, and 5, 2011. The production will also be travelling to Ohio later this month. For tickets and more information, visit the Opera Atelier website. And by the way, Opera Atelier will be performing in Versailles in May 2012!

Photos provided courtesy of Opera Atelier and are subject to copyright.

Creative Process Journal: Marie Antoinette and Chick Lit

2011-10-27T20:45:00.012-04:00

Marie Antoinette and her ladies in waiting from the movie Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola

One of the best thing about being a grad student is having access to online academic journals..... And given how much I like to read, it is almost like getting my daily dose of candy. One article that helped me gain a better understanding of the most recent wave of interest in Marie Antoinette is called "Marie Antoinette: Fashion, Third-Wave Feminism, and Chick Culture" by Susanne Ferriss and Mallory Young which was published in Literature Film Quarterly in 2010.

In this article, the authors trace the popularity of Marie Antoinette as an icon of fashion to the rise of chick culture and third wave feminism. They identify Antonia's biography called Marie Antoinette The Journey (2001), Caroline Weber's book Queen of Fashion (2006) and Sofia Coppola's movie Marie Antoinette (2006) as being pivotal to the transformation of the woman who was once considered a "heartless, elitist, anti-revolutionary wicked witch" into a "sympathetic, unfairly maligned victim" (Ferriss and Young: 98). The authors present the argument that this revisionist account of Marie Antoinette is representative of a "third-wave feminist aesthetic focused on youth, fashion, sexuality, celebrity and consumerism." (Ferriss and Young: 99).

Fashion figures heavily into their analysis of the books and film and the authors consider how a ceremonial change in dress symbolized a "re-fashioning of self". For example, there was a stripping of her Austrian identity as Marie Antoinette crossed the border from Austria into France with her nakedness becoming "a metaphor for her psychic vulnerability" (Ferriss and Young: 102). As well, the authors consider other aspects of fashion in the movie such as the use of pink as a "signature colour of postfeminism" and as the shoes by Manolo Blahnik as having a "strong chick-culture connection" (Ferris and Young: 104-105).

Marie Antoinette Movie - Converse Sneakers

There is a lot of meaty content in this article but of note here are two items:
1. The Converse shoes in the film's shopping scene were not a mistake (as some articles/websites would suggest). The authors posit that "Coppola consciously admits and laughs at her own use of contemporary fashion imagery." (105)
2. Marie Antoinette's love of fashion and her lavish consumption is considered to be "evidence of her playful, endearing, queen-next-door charm" and is pivotal to the understanding of the movie as a revisionist account and alignment with chick lit culture and third-wave feminism. (106)

This scholarly article was both entertaining and enlightening. I equate reading it to a light-bulb moment. I now understand why "the attitude toward the infamous queen might provide a clue to the Zeitgeist during any period in Europe and America since her own time," as Caroline Weber suggested in her book and is emphasized by Ferriss and Young (99).

Bottom line - I think that I need to incorporate a pair of Converse high-tops into my Marie Antoinette dress installation.....

Works cited:
Article: Marie Antoinette: Fashion, Third-Wave Feminism, and Chick Culture
Authors: Suzanne Ferriss and Mallory Young
Source: Literature Film Quarterly, 2010. Vol. 38, Issue 2, p98-116

Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
Author: Caroline Weber
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, New York, 2006.

Project Clock: Article review and synthesis 3 hours
To date: 13 hours

Meet me in Florence at the Costume Colloquium

2011-10-26T09:30:00.016-04:00

Courtesy of the Costume Colloquium III

From Iowa to Florence... it's a big leap but hey it doesn't hurt to have big dreams.... Florence Italy will be the host city for the Costume Colloquium III: Past Dress-Future Fashion which will take place November 8-11, 2012. This international, interdisciplinary and intercultural symposium is intended to promote the exchange of knowledge related to costume and dress.

If you have a paper, unpublished research, new creations and/or practical experience, relating to the theme, consider submitting an abstract before the deadline of October 31, 2011. The topics of interest include:
I. The remaking or recreating dress from the past: yesterday and today
II. Patterns from the past and the fashions of today: which aspects of a certain historic past?
III. The past relived through dress:
    . in institutional collections (public and private)
    . in a social context (pageantry, parades and historical reenactment)
    . in didactic experiences (fashion and design course and schools)
IV. The vintage phenomenon and recycling of styles
V. Conservation, restoration and the presentation of collections: new tendencies and innovative methods
VI. Fashion documents and archives
VII. Dress collecting: goals and accessibility
VIII. Information regarding costumes and dress accessories

Of course, being in Florence the symposium will take advantage of the rich cultural history of the region and will include exclusive behind-the-scene visits, tours, and visits to some of Florence’s historic monuments and sites, including the current installation of historic dress and contemporary fashion at the Costume Gallery of the Palazzo Pitti.

Costume Colloquium III: Past Dress – Future Fashion is the third in a series of bi-annual conferences dedicated to the discussion of fashion, fabric, styles, techniques, conservation and the may topics associated with dress history and contemporary costume creation, use and design. Costume Colloquium I (2008) was a tribute to renowned dress historian Janet Arnold, while Costume Colloquium II (2010) centered on themes related to Dress for Dance. The 2012 edition will focus on the broader analysis of influences of historical styles on current and future fashion trends.

Shall we meet there?

For further information visit the website www.costume-textiles.com or send an email to info@costume-textiles.com

Creative Process Journal: The Nature of Obsession

2011-10-24T21:00:00.035-04:00


Marie Antoinette Obsession (Digital Collage by Ingrid Mida 2011)

Obsession is defined in the Webster's dictionary as "the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image or desire." Under that definition, it is clear that I am obsessed - with the dress that is believed to have been worn by Marie Antoinette and that is now part of the Royal Ontario Museum's collection. What it is about that particular dress that haunts me I cannot articulate clearly... It might be because that dress was the reason I discovered that the world of fashion had a scholarship beyond what I knew from fashion magazines. But it is clear that I am not alone in my obsession with this dress or Marie Antoinette.

It was not long after the doomed Queen of France lost her head that others became obsessed with her. In the middle of the 19th century, Empress Eugenie became obsessed with Marie Antoinette. In an article called The Empress's New Clothes, Fashion and Politics in Second Empire France, the author, Therese Dolan, writes Eugenie "wished to connect her personal image with what she perceived to be the political astuteness and personal courage of the beheaded queen." Eugenie's imitation of Marie Antoinette influenced the revival of 18th century styled fashions including the exaggerated silhouette of enormous skirts and other accessories like the fichu and mantillas. (Dolan: 26-27)

In an article called Marie Antoinette Obsession published in the University of California Press by Terry Castle (Volume No. 39, Spring 1992, p 1-38), he refers to several case histories of women becoming obsessed with Marie Antoinette:

In the case of "Helene Smith", she claimed in a state of hypnotic trance to have had three previous lives, one of which included Marie Antoinette. At such times, she would "pantomime with a handkerchief or an imaginary fan, pretend to take snuff, mimic the action of throwing back a train, and address those present as though speaking to members of a court." (Castle: 2) Observers of her trance-like behaviours as Marie Antoinette believed that Smith's "embodiment as queen was often convincing, if not moving." (Castle: 2)

Castle also refers to an article from 1907, in the British Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, in which an anonymous author described having seeing an apparition that she believed "to be the ghost of the French Queen" which had appeared to her repeatedly since childhood. The writer of this article called "Dream Romances" admitted that she could not think of any "plausible explanations" for her visions. (Castle: 2-4)

In 1911, a book called "An Adventure" was published by Macmillan in which the authors "Miss Morison" and "Miss Lamont" described seeing an apparition of the queen and several members of her court in the gardens of Versailles near the Petit Trianon. It was later revealed that the authors of this book were in fact two academics, Charlotte Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, the principal and vice-principal of a college in Oxford. These two respectable women faced a great deal of ridicule after their identities were revealed and yet even in the "face of exquisite public ridicule" they maintained their beliefs and spent many years trying to validate their claims. (Castle 5-6)

The point of Castle's article is not to point out the oddity of this obsession but instead to ask the question "What was it about Marie Antoinette - and Marie Antoinette alone - that she should become so extraordinarily present, more than one hundred years after her death, to four presumably intelligent, well-educated and otherwise conventional women?" (Castle: 8)

And while I disagree with the balance of Castle's argument (which delves into Freudian analysis and homoerotic attachment), I think he poses an interesting question. Why have so many succumbed to an obsession with Marie Antoinette?

Works Cited:
Marie Antoinette Obsession
Author: Terry Castle
Source: Representations, No. 38 (Spring 1992) pg. 1-38
Published by: University of California Press

The Empress's New Clothes: Fashion and Politics in Second Empire France
Author: Therese Dolan
Source: Woman's Art Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Spring - Summer, 1994) pp. 22-28
Published by: Woman's Art, Inc.

Project Clock: + 4 hours (research, article analysis, digital collage and blog write-up)
Total to date: 10 hours

Creative Process Journal: Marie Antoinette Slept Here

2011-10-22T06:00:00.013-04:00


Marie Antoinette: Victim or Villain (Digital Collage) by Ingrid Mida October 2011

This is the launch of my creative process journal for a new project called ..... Marie Antoinette Slept Here.

The concept is a riff on celebrity culture. As a society, we seem so entranced by celebrities - what they wear, where they go, what they do. The tabloid newspapers and media sites that are fueled by the activities of celebrities are proof of that. And I have to admit I'm guilty of that too - with my ongoing fascination with Marie Antoinette. As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, it was those initial posts I wrote about the dress at the Royal Ontario Museum which initially sparked the popularity of my blog. I continue to get hits and emails about Marie Antoinette to this day.

My idea is to make a robe a la francasie that is inspired by the dress belonging to the ROM, but constructed in a post-modern way. I will imagine the dress as it was before alteration to recreate the exaggerated silhouette of the time using a mash up of fabrics that I purchased in Paris several years ago. This choice of fabric will be a form of textual poaching in that the meaning will be renegotiated to reflect a critique of culture.

While I am making the dress, I will use process work to consider how to strengthen the metaphor and develop it into a conceptual art piece. I will alter the dress in some way - perhaps through embroidery, paint or in some other intervention - to make more than just a dress. It will be a statement about celebrity culture and our fascination with this woman. I will post regular updates as I create this dress for a December 5 deadline.

Project Clock: 5 hours for initial concept development + 1 hour digital collage = 6 hours

It all started with Marie Antoinette

2011-10-19T17:15:00.005-04:00


Marie Antoinette's Dress (Property of the Royal Ontario Museum)

Life is funny. If someone had told me that one day I'd be interviewing curators and that people in New York would be talking about a speech I'd given on the topic of Fashion and Art, I would have laughed at the improbability of it all. And yet, that is now my reality and it is all because of a dress.....

Back in 2008, I was new to blogging. All I knew at that point was that I wanted to write about fashion, art and books. It was a slow beginning. And then one day, I saw a dress at the Royal Ontario Museum that may have been worn by Marie Antoinette. It is probably the only such dress in existence and is believed to have survived because it was customary for royalty to give away their clothing after the season. The dress had been altered in the 19th century and was purchased by the ROM in 1925 by the ROM's first director, Charles Trick Currelly, from an antiques dealer in London, England. I became obsessed with this dress and wanted to understand what it might have looked like before it was altered (actually I'm stilll obsessed with this dress and will soon begin to post about a creative project inspired by that dress). I started reading everything I could about Marie Antoinette and 18th century dress and discovered a whole world of fashion scholarship that I had not even known existed. By immersing myself in the topic, I taught myself costume history. (The one thing I learned from my first master's degree was how to teach myself anything although I have since taken courses in costume history). And although fashion had been my muse in my art practice for several years before this juncture, I also began to make replicas of period dress in paper, in fabric and in mesh. I attended lectures and exhibitions about costumes and textiles. As I gained knowledge, I began to write about what I saw - at first for my blog, then for newsletters and then for journals and now for my masters of fashion thesis.

There was a time when I worked in finance that I had an unshakable confidence in what I was doing. They called me the Blonde Barracuda - probably because I was fearless in speaking my mind. But when I left that career to care for my sick little boy and tend to my dying father, my self confidence evaporated. It seemed that people no longer were interested in what I had to say because I was a stay at home mother.... And even after I forged a new career as a photographer and then as an artist, something still didn't fit. As much as I enjoyed the process of creation, I did not feel intellectually engaged or challenged as an artist and my days in the studio were too solitary. But what this immersion in art has done is helped me to understand the common visual vocabulary and processes shared by both art and fashion.

After attending the Costume Society of America mid-west conference last weekend, I feel like I have found my people... I speak the language of fashion academia and I'll be reshaping my speech into an article to submit for publication. Who knows maybe one day I'll actually be brave enough to actually talk to Hamish Bowles and Anna Wintour ....

P.S. I received permission from Valerie Steele and Harold Koda to publish the transcripts of our conversations on fashion and art on Fashion Projects.

When Does Fashion Become Art?

2011-10-18T01:30:00.009-04:00

Alexander McQueen Jungle 1997-1998

This is the abstract for my Keynote Address at the Costume Society of America Mid-West Conference presented on October 14, 2011 at 4 pm at the University of Northern Iowa:

When Does Fashion Become Art? by Ingrid Mida

Clothing can be a visual mirror of our inner selves. We each get dressed in the morning and make choices how to present ourselves to the world. We construct our identity with our choice of clothing and accessories and signal our belonging or not. This expression of identity through dress makes it a ready subject for artistic practices and interpretation and both artists and designers have considered notions of the body and identity as articulated through fashion.

There has been much debate about whether fashion is art. Fashion scholars such as Sung Bok Kim, Sandra Miller, Anne Hollander and Elizabeth Wilson have considered the question. In my interviews with four museum directors/scholars, including Matthew Teitelbaum of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Nathalie Bondil of the MMFA, Valerie Steele of FIT and Harold Koda of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there was no consensus. This was not surprising given that fashion designers themselves do not agree on whether fashion is art.

It was an instinct – as a result of my work as an artist - that led me to frame the question in a different way. Instead of asking “Is fashion art” it seemed to make more sense to ask “When does fashion become art?” After all, both fashion and art require the translation of an idea into another form. Both disciplines share a visual vocabulary and process-oriented development. Both fashion and art also have commercial aspects driving their conception and both can include multiples in a series or collection.

But, not all fashion is art. What falls into the realm of fashion is just too broad for that statement to be true, especially when fashion can include both garments of haute couture and trendy mass-produced items.

Changing the question to “When Does Fashion Become Art?” leaves open the possibility that some fashion might be considered art. This is especially true when contemporary art is defined by the expression of an idea or a concept. The object – whether painting, sculpture, video, installation or clothing – is important, but only in terms of the manifestation of the idea. In our post-modern world, the boundaries have blurred and the conception of what is art has changed.

Ideas expressed in terms of fashion are accessible to audiences in a way that contemporary art often is not. One does not have to be a fashion scholar or understand the complex and divergent theories of how fashion works to decipher the language of clothing. We do it unconsciously every day and to me, it is this quality that makes fashion as art such a powerful statement.

Some curators have embraced the concept of fashion as art. Recent noteworthy exhibitions of this type have included The Concise Dictionary of Dress at the Blythe House, London in May 2010, Rodarte, States of Matter at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles in March 2011, McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in May 2011 and The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art in June 2011.

Within each of these exhibitions, fashion was presented as a means of conveying a specific conceptual premise. This premise was not just a source of inspiration, but was a message or statement about society, identity or the body. And it is this aspect of fashion – when the form of expression is based on a thematic premise -- that defines for me the point at which fashion becomes art.

Notes:

To read the transcripts of my interviews with Nathalie Bondil and Matthew Teitelbaum, please visit Fashion Projects (www.fashionprojects.org). I have requested the permission of Harold Koda and Valerie Steele to post the transcripts of our conversations there as well. This will be my last post about the conference as it is time to move on to other things...

Report from the Costume Society of America Mid-west Conference in Iowa

2011-10-16T07:15:00.006-04:00

It was a whirlwind weekend in Iowa and I'm happy to report that my speech went well. Although I've given talks and presentations before, I felt a different level of expectation as the keynote speaker and I was nervous. Luckily the hours before were so busy that I hardly had time to think about it. My presentation on When does Fashion Become Art? went very well. There was a lively discussion about the issues I raised in my speech and I had many people come up to me afterwards to say how much they enjoyed my talk. I also had several profs suggest that I have my paper published. And one of the CSA organizers thought that it would be a topical choice of theme for a conference. Unfortunately, the talk was not taped and nor did anyone take photos....

But it was a wonderful experience for me for many reasons. I made some new contacts and hopefully some new friends, I learned about some new directions in research, and I also had a good time. The organizers of the event - Annette Lynch, Carol Colburn, Amy Rohrburg, Darrell Taylor, and Linda Grimm of the University of Northern Iowa - thought of everything. We were enlightened with 8 research papers and 3 invited speakers, entertained with dance and theatre performances, catered to with far too much good food and made to feel welcome in their community. It made me wish that I didn't live quite so far away.

Although all the presentations were first rate, some of the research talks that I particularly enjoyed included:

Dressing for Love, War and Suicide by Linda Pisano of Indiana University. This asssociate professor of Costume Design talked about her experiences in delivering three interpretations of costumes for the play Romeo and Juliet to give it a contemporary edge. These three modern interpretations were radically different from traditional period dress giving a new edge and life to the play.

In their talk about A Woman of Considerable Influence, Ann Braeten and Jacqueline Wayne Guite of the North Dakota State University talked about the suffragist movement in North Dakota. The movement was led by Kate Selby Wilder and her clothing was examined in context to her work for that movement. What was particularly interesting about this talk was their examination of cartoons from the period as a way of understanding how people viewed the suffragist movement at the time.

Barbara Trout of the University of Nebraska gave a talk on Transparency: Space, Dress and the Female Form. Transparent fabrics reveal and transmit light but they also elevate, seduce, and elude. Barbara reviewed the history of transparent fabrics which goes back as far as the early 17th century. She also discussed the use of transparency by designers like Vionnet, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace and others. I found her reflections on transparency as an aesthetic tool particularly relevant to my work with mesh as it has an element of transparency making the articulation of seaming an important consideration during construction.

Petra Slinkard from the Indianapolis Museum of Art talked about a Seattle based performance troupe called Friends of the Rag. This group which formed in 1972 combined elements of wearable art with performance. Their name was a pun on the trend towards groups naming themselves "Friends of" - "everyone was friends of something - friends of the earth, friends of the whale". Their surrealist like costumes were on display in the UNI Gallery and were not only funny but thought provoking.

I am on my way home today. As much as I enjoyed my time here, truly there is no place like home!

Yves Saint Laurent - Classicism and Transgression - A Talk by Laurent Cotta at the Bata Shoe Museum

2011-10-13T07:30:00.002-04:00

Yves Saint Laurent Pant Suits

Laurent Cotta, the fashion historian, curator and genius behind this summer's Madame Gres exhibition in Paris and the 18th Century in Contemporary Fashion at the Grand Trianon in Versailles (among his many other accomplishments) spoke last night at the Bata Shoe Museum about Yves Saint Laurent.

Monsieur Cotta explained how Yves Saint Laurent combined elements of classicism and transgression in his designs for women, reviewing Yves Saint Laurent's career from his early days at Dior through the 1960s and 1970s. This period was a pivotal time in the history of contemporary fashion for women and Saint Laurent led the way. Yves Saint Laurent believed in comfort, ease and elegance for women and was innovative in his designs - often achieving a heightened degree of femininity through the seemingly paradoxical use of masculine attire like "le smoking" and the pant suit.

I took copious notes as my thesis will be about the radical changes in fashion for women in the 1960s. I also asked Monsieur Cotta what he was working on for next year. Although the Gallera Musee de la Mode et du Costume is closed for renovations until 2013, he said he was working on an exhibition about the History of Haute Couture and also an exhibition on the private archives of Balenciaga. These exhibitions will be shown at other venues in Paris next summer and I will look forward to seeing them.

But first to Iowa where I will close my speech with a quote from Pierre Berge about fashion and art.

"I don't know if fashion is art, but it needs an artist to make it."

The Keynote

2011-10-10T20:45:00.008-04:00

Fiona dress by Judith & Charles

I have had so many ideas for posts but no time to write them.... Between caring for my family and cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my extended family, doing course work, reading, research, studying for a test, yoga, practicing and re-writing my keynote address for the Costume Society of America conference later this week, there hasn't been much time for anything else....

Of course, there was one thing I absolutely had to make time for and that was picking out a dress to wear for the keynote. I wanted something to signify confidence.... and this red dress was it! Made by the Canadian label Judith & Charles, it makes me look like I know what I'm talking about. And after nearly 6 months of thinking about my keynote, 5 drafts of my speech, 4 interviews with curators Nathalie Bondil, Matthew Teitelbaum, Valerie Steele, and Harold Koda, 3 long practice sessions with my slides, 2 sleepless nights and 1 red dress, I think I'm finally ready!!!

The Great Coat and the White Cat

2011-10-07T07:30:00.001-04:00

The Great Coat by Jacqueline Treloar

Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. William Shakespeare

The Great Coat and the White Cat, is artist Jacqueline Treloar's exploration of loss and celebration of memory at the Artscape Triangle Gallery. This talented Toronto artist and former textile designer (and friend) created this majestic yet whimsical great coat as a pivotal focus of her exhibition.
The exhibition commemorates her mother Lucy Treloar, and centres on The Great Coat, a dramatic 1950s style floor-length double-layered garment embellished with beading and decorative trims. It evokes the sheltering and protective elements in that the large and wide collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain.
Intended as a vehicle of recognition and thanks, the coat is made of various synthetic translucent fabrics. The outer layer carries images of the memorial cards the family received upon the death of her mother on September 9, 2010. The inner layer carries the personal written messages and texts from inside the cards.
The accompanying paintings complement the coat, portraying places and times experienced by Jacqueline's mother and family in England.

The Great Coat and the White Cat
Artscape Triangle Gallery
33 Abell Street
October 5-30, 2011
Gallery Hours: 12-6 pm

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 8, 2011 from 2-4 pm
Artist Talk: October 22, 2011 at 4 pm
Website: www.jatreloar.com

What's on the Fashion Calendar for October

2011-09-30T08:00:00.008-04:00

Saena Afternoon Scent Collection

October is chock-a-block with fashion and arts related events:

October 1-2: This is the last weekend to see The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibition is a celebration of the 30 years of visionary and groundbreaking fashion creations by Jean Paul Gaultier under the premise that there is no singular standard of beauty. The exhibition will move on to venues in Dallas (November 13 - February 12, 2011) and San Francisco (March 24 - August 19, 2012). My review of the show can be read on Fashion Projects here.

October 1 from dusk until dawn: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is Toronto's all-night celebration of contemporary art. The menu of activities is too long to recount here, but one of the highlights will be a live performance called SLEEP as part of Gullivers' Rehearsal: Drawing into Performance at Loop Gallery.

until October 5: Paris Fashion Week. I had two invitations to Paris Fashion Week this year neither of which I could accept.... Sigh! I am intrigued by the work of both of these talented young designers as they seem fresh and vibrant in their own way. I've mentioned Saena before as she appeals to my romantic side. Saena Chun is based in Berlin and creates modernist confections like the gorgeous dress shown above. The other designer who has caught my eye is Andrew Majtenyi who has created an edgy and fashion forward collection inspired by the Medieval trial of Katherina Hetzeldorfer in 1477. I am especially sorry to miss this one since I am currently doing research into how fashion designers reference history.

October 14: I will be giving the keynote address at the Costume Society of America mid-west conference on the topic of When Does Fashion Become Art?

October 17-21: The Spring/Summer 2012 Collections of LG (Toronto) Fashion Week Beauty by L’Oréal Paris will take place in their new home at the David Pecaut / Metro Square. The SS12 Collections will include more than 40 shows and presentations filled with local talent.

October 20: The launch of my project tentatively titled The Swing on this blog. I chose to do a creative project for one of my grad courses called Design, Text and Ideas and will be posting regular updates here as part of my progress reports for that assignment. This work takes its inspiration from the 18th century painting by Fragonard which is in the Wallace Collectio n. I will create a dress sculpture in a post-modern mash up of fabrics and using embroidery or other means as interventions to make the work into a conceptual art piece.

October 29: Opera Atelier’s 2011-12 Season opens with a glittering new period production of Don Giovanni designed by Martha Mann and my friend Gerard Gauci. The new production will be presented October 29, 30, November 1, 2, 4, and 5, 2011, at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto and will also be performed in Columbus, Ohio on November 25 and 27, 2011.

Photo provided courtesy of Saena.

Finding Balance

2011-09-28T05:00:00.002-04:00

Do you ever wish there were more hours in the day? Lately I've been feeling that way as the hours and days fly by in a blur. Finding balance in my life when I'm juggling so many roles means I have to make choices. I find I am saying no much more often than I used to.

One lovely invite that I really wish I could accept is to see Saena's capsule collection in Paris. I discovered Saena - a sophisticated and romantic line of women's clothing and accessories - this summer when I was in Berlin. The designer, Saena Chun, completed an internship at Celine and then worked at Sonia Rykiel as well as Chloe before beginning her own label in Berlin. "Every woman has the desire to have something special in her wardrobe, something that only belongs to her and no one else - this one favourite garment, which gives her the confidence to get through the day." Between her major collections, Saena works on various projects that reflect her creative spirit and artistic perspective in collaboration with other artists.

Instead of going to Paris, I'll be finalizing my keynote address for the Costume Society of America mid-west conference, doing research, trying to narrow down my thesis topic and hoping to find a new equilibrium in my life.

Thank you so much to all of you who sent me emails, Facebook messages and left comments on my last post. It means more to me than words can express to get so many kind and thoughtful words of support and encouragement. I know I can do it, but it is not going to be pretty and it is definitely not going to be easy!

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

2011-09-25T08:30:00.000-04:00

Alice in Wonderland in the Rabbit Hole

It feels like I've fallen down the rabbit hole.... I feel disoriented, alone, and often confused. What I thought I knew is not what I know now....

Since I already have a graduate degree in another discipline, I'm surprised at how disoriented I feel in the Master of Arts, Fashion program. I thought I knew a lot about fashion history but what I've discovered is that I know a lot less than I thought I did. Fashion theory seems to be deeply rooted in sociology theory but also encompasses a range of other disciplines from philosophy, history, visual culture and economics - which translates into a lot of reading! Besides that, as a mature student, the logistics of going to university are a lot different that it was the first time, especially since this time I have a family and an elderly mother to care for. Add to that a perfectionist streak and there are moments when I'm a little bit overwhelmed. More than once, I've asked myself "What have I done?"

I'm sure that in due course I'll get used to this different rhythm and figure out how to make time for friends, for my art practice, for blogging, for my life.... In the meantime, I've got reading to do!

Picture credit: http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/alice/2.2.html

Fashion and the Art Museum: A Talk by Harold Koda

2011-09-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Harold Koda

On Tuesday, November 8, 2011, Harold Koda will be speaking on the subject of Fashion and the Art Museum as part of the Bata Shoe Museum's Founder's Lecture Series.

Harold Koda has served as the Curator-in-Charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since June 2000. He is the author of 19 books including Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed.

He has curated and co-curated many exhibitions including Balenciaga (1986), Fashion and Surrealism (1987), Jocks and Nerds (1989), Fashion in Film (1990), Splash! (1991), Giorgio Armani: Images of Man (1990), Paper Clothes (1991), and Halston: Absolute Modernism (1991), Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style (1993), Waist Not (1993), Madame Grès (1994), Orientalism (1994), Haute Couture (1995), Bloom (1995), Bare Witness (1996), Two by Two (1996), and Christian Dior (1996) and The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion (2009).

Born in Honolulu, he graduated from the University of Hawaii with a B.A. in English Literature and a B.F.A. (Art History), and a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Last week, Harold answered a number of questions for me on the topic of Art and Fashion which is the subject of my keynote address at the Costume Society of America mid-west conference in October. His eloquence and the clarity of thought helped illuminate the topic for me and I was grateful for the generosity of his time. Because of that interchange, I know that his talk will be an unforgettable experience.

Tickets are available through the Bata Shoe Museum.

The Arrangement: Fashion and the Art Museum by Harold Koda
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
George Ignatieff Theatre, Trinity College
15 Devonshire Place, Toronto

What to Wear to the Film Festival

2011-09-15T11:30:00.004-04:00

JCrew 2012 Spring/summer collection

Although I should be tackling a huge pile of required reading for my courses, I'm taking the night off and going to a Toronto International Film Festival gala for the movie Hysteria with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy. Of course, I've already started thinking about what to wear.

I know from previous experience that unless you are a starlet or movie producer, being overdressed to such an event just pegs you as a newbie. The key seems to be finding an outfit that defines casual chic. This look from JCrew at this week's New York Fashion Week runway show would be perfect. It is elegant, but also vibrant and fun!

Of course, I'll have to make do with what is in my closet and I won't actually decide until it's time to get dressed. Usually it takes me several iterations before I get the right look. Even though I know I'm not going to be photographed on the red carpet, I want to look good. Clothing is an expression of self and it speaks for me before any words come out of my mouth.

I was recently chosen for a feature on Pocketchange.become on the best style blogs. Read more here.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

2011-09-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

Alexander McQueen Red Trompe l'oeil Pencil Dress c2011

For the past two weeks, I've been walking around with my heart in my throat and my stomach in knots much of the time. There seems to be a real sense of urgency to chose a thesis topic as soon as possible and I'm having some trouble deciding on just one area of research. The problem is that I am a naturally curious person. I read one thing and right away light bulbs go off in my head with questions and related ideas. Plus I am easily able to converse in a multitude of areas related to fashion - from business to sociological issues, from the history of fashion to contemporary themes. How am I ever going to decide on just one thesis topic?

I started doing some preliminary research on a few random ideas I had and although they are all fascinating in their own way, I wonder whether there is enough there to sustain me through two years of research. As much as I adore libraries and looking at primary source material, I don't want to spend the next two years alone in a dusty archive somewhere pursuing a topic that no one could care less about. As shy as I can be at times, I'm actually good at doing interviews because of my innate curiosity and it makes sense to capitalize on that strength.

I'm leaning towards something that draws on both historical and contemporary references but I have yet to settle on a topic..... They say curiosity killed the cat. I hope I have nine lives, because I think I'm going to need all of them!

The photo I chose to accompany this post is of an Alexander McQueen dress that I admired while following a link from the online Victoria and Albert Museum journal. This glorious red dress captures the mood of what I wish I felt like at this moment - powerful, confident and sure. To see more of these fabulous dresses, visit the McQueen site here.

Library Couture

2011-09-08T17:45:00.000-04:00

ARTisan Tea Room and Design Studio

It's probably quite obvious that I have a deep love for books! As the daughter of a librarian, I grew up surrounded by books and the one thing that I cannot resist is a good book. I read widely and love being transported to another time and place with a good story or learning something new in a well written non-fiction book. The stacks and stacks of books that sit on my beside table and on my desk are the ongoing proof of my love affair with the written word.

Not long ago, I received an email from a librarian in Lancashire County, United Kingdom who asked for my help with a project he had initiated to engage young people with libraries:

My name is Stewart Parsons and I lead the Cultural Youth Offer in Lancashire Libraries where my brief is to engage young people with libraries. My take on that is to showcase fashion, music, film, art in a fabulously contemporary way so young people get addicted to libraries through the things they actually love anyway. One of my showpiece projects Heroine Chic /Library Couture is designed to recycle all library paper waste into paper dresses based on or inspired by iconic characters like Holly Golightly, Cleopatra, Dorian Grey etc: so far so cool...We have a huge amount of recycled library paper to fashion the garments (800 garments in all) and the idea of young people working with designers to deliver the programme is hugely exciting but we are having our progress blocked by one simple thing: How to print on the paper. Ideally we would like the garments to look like pages from the books they represent, but local printing firms are balking at the idea. If you have any insights or experience of how to print on this amount of paper pre-design, I would love to hear from you.

My suggestion was to cut the paper to the size that it might fit into a photocopier and photocopying selected pages of the book onto that as an inexpensive printing alternative or to enlist the help of some local printmakers to have skills in using screenprinting and/or letterpress. But I also know from my own experiences in making paper garments that a large component of the printed paper might get cut away in assembling the garments or become unusable (due to rips or other problems during construction). Another solution might be to have the teens choose their favourite quote or passage from a particular book and add the quote to the dress with paint, marker or other tool after the garment was assembled.

The funny thing is that when I told my mother about the project she had the best idea of all. She said "Tell him to ask the teens how they might solve this problem with the text. They might surprise you with their solutions!" Why didn't I think of that!

This is one project that I wish I could get involved in on a hands-on basis because it combines two things that I am passionate about - books and fashion. Sadly, I'll have to admire it from afar, unless my research takes me over to the United Kingdom in the next while. Stewart has graciously promised to stay in touch and keep me posted on the progress of this fabulous project.

Book Review: Bride of New France

2011-09-06T08:15:00.001-04:00

In 1669, New France referred to a part of Canada now known as Quebec. This densely forested land was cruel to its first inhabitants, who faced starvation, bitter cold and hostile natives, and being banished to New France was considered a fate worse than death. Nevertheless, there was a program to populate this new country by sending young women to New France as marriage partners for the men and soldiers already in the land. This is the premise of the book Bride of New France, which is the story of one such young girl by the name of Laure Beausejour. The story begins in France where she is a Bijoux (an apprentice laceworker) living in the dormitory at Salpetriere Hospital, moves across the stormy Atlantic Ocean in a perilous journey and ends in the wild territory of New France.

This novel is the debut work of Suzanne Desrochers who is completing her Ph.D thesis in England on the migration of women to colonial North America from Paris and London. Clearly she is well versed in history and much of the story rings true. But like many first time authors, the book is somewhat inconsistent in flow with some parts of the story that lag and other plot points that seem over the top and unnecessary to the story. I liked the book enough to read it anyway as it paints a vivid picture of the harsh reality of this inhospitable land, but I never was really able to identify or even like the main character. Laure seems unreachable and unknowable, even though the story is about her. But no matter, the book is worth reading anyway.

One aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed was the fact that Laure was a gifted needleworker and seamstress. She makes her own clothes and the image of her lovely dresses, totally inappropriate to the harsh wilds, hanging from the rafters of her home, is one that has stayed with me.

It's been a while since I read the non-fiction accounts of Susanna Moodie's Roughing it in the Bush and Catharine Parr Traill's The Backwoods of Canada, Letters from the Life of an Emigrant Officer but The Bride of New France has reawakened my curiosity about the role of women in settlement of Canada. There are so many books, so little time....

Title: Bride of New France
Author: Suzanne Desrochers
Category: Historical fiction
Publisher: Penguin Canada
Number of Pages: 292 (Paperback edition)

Why?

2011-09-02T08:30:00.006-04:00


Another one of my retail therapy purchases from Anthropolgie (Pansy trench)

Why? This question has been asked of me so many times in the past few weeks, and especially so yesterday. Why would you go back to school to get a second masters degree if you already have a masters degree? And given that you have already established yourself as an artist and writer, what more could you want? Why indeed? This very question ran through my mind in the wee hours of the morning as my brain struggled to process what I will have to juggle over the next two years.

Why not? That's how I generally approach most interesting opportunities that come my way. Certainly that has led to some missteps along the way, but generally I've found my life to be richer for all the experiences I've had and all the people I've met.

But in this case, there was another factor involved. As my mother approaches the final stages of her life, I've watched her suffer as her world has shrunk. Robbed of her health and independence, she still sparkles with intelligence, but sadly she is haunted by regrets at opportunities not taken. Listening to her voice those regrets has deepened my resolve that life should be lived without regret.

The joy of doing scholarly research, with the painstaking attention to detail that it requires, is something that I rediscovered in working behind the scenes in the Costume and Textile department at the Royal Ontario Museum this past year. It challenged my brain in a way that I've missed in the last decade of my life. And it was a chance comment that I made to a professor about this research that led to this new opportunity to do the Master of Arts, Fashion at Ryerson University. I have so many unique research ideas that I'm certain I could write several theses.

As I walked into the classroom yesterday with my stomach in knots, I was relieved to discover that there are others who are changing their life's direction. With backgrounds in marketing, psychology, sociology, design, law, fine arts, English and finance, we are a wonderful jumble of talented folk. It seems that I'm not the only one who is choosing to live life without regrets.

What about you? What would you chose to do or be if you could do anything?

There is no looking back (Back view of Pansy Trench from Anthropologie)

What I Wore on the First Day of School

2011-09-01T06:45:00.018-04:00

Culottes from Anthropologie

If you stepped into my closet, you'd see an array of black and beige, punctuated by orange, turquoise and fuschia pink. This muted and conservative palette generally works for the multitude of roles that I juggle. But the Masters of Arts, Fashion program at Ryerson University seems to require a different look and I want to express myself in a different way. For once, I can just be me!

I love flowers. Their fragile beauty is a reminder of the transitory nature of life and the need to include joy, laughter and beauty in every day. In my recent retail therapy session at Anthropologie, I could not resist these Wind Garden Culottes from Elevenses. The old fashioned embroidery contrasts with the up to date cut. But more importantly, these shorts make me smile and I'll be wearing them for my first day of school today. Wish me luck!!

The End of Summer

2011-08-30T11:30:00.003-04:00

The End of Summer, Copyright of Ingrid Mida

It is the end of summer and as much as I enjoy the change of seasons, I am feeling a little wistful. The days are shorter, the mornings a little colder. For me, it is September that marks the beginning of a new year and I am ever so aware, this year, of time passing. My boys are growing up and spreading their wings. One has just settled into his university residence in Montreal and the other is contemplating university abroad a few years hence. Where did the time go?

I need to get myself in gear before the orientation for the masters of fashion program later this week and obviously, it is time for some retail therapy. Being a fashion student means that it is time to inject some colour and joie de vivre in my wardrobe. I might be the oldest person in the class, but I have the same figure I had when I was 18 (maybe even better than I was 18!). I'm going back to school shopping for me!! Stay posted.

The 18th Century Back in Fashion

2011-08-25T09:09:00.001-04:00

Maison Christian Dior (f/w 2004-2005 on left and f/w 2007-2008 on right)

The extreme silhouettes, elaborate trimmings, and pouf hairstyles of the French Court dress in the 18th Century have served as a rich source of inspiration for haute couture and ready to wear fashion designers like Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaia, Alexander McQueen and others. In an exhibition called The 18th Century Back in Fashion at the Palace of Versailles, original garments from that period have been shown alongside the modern interpretations to demonstrate the influence of the 18th century on contemporary fashion.

18th Century Period Dress from the Exhibition

Presented by the Musee Galleria inside the Grand Trianon pavillion, I can only imagine that it is the most perfect setting in which to show this exhibition. Sadly, my schedule will not allow me to see it in person. But I lingered on the website, studying the exhibition floor plan and watching the exhibition videos more than once. I also ordered the exhibition catalogue (even though the shipping cost was as much as the book itself).

Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, spring/summer 2005

The exhibition runs until October 9, 2011. If you are lucky enough to be in Paris, I'd wager a bet that this is an exhibition worth visiting. For more information, consult the Palace of Versailles website here.

Book Review: Various Positions

2011-08-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

Ballet dancers are a class of athletes unto themselves. The discipline, sacrifice and passion required to have a career as a ballet dancer is almost beyond comprehension and perhaps only those that are driven to dance understand how difficult a life it is.

Various Positions is the story of a young girl named Georgia who is accepted into the Royal Toronto Ballet Academy and becomes obsessed with achieving perfection as a dancer. During the course of her studies, she struggles with a dysfunctional family situation and a growing awareness of her sexuality.

"I adjusted my leotard strap. Molly, in front of me, did too. Something about his nastiness was irresistible. It was like when someone teases you, and you're charmed against your will. We repeated the exercise. I channelled pure power into my muscles, could picture the energy, hot and white. I had never wanted to be so perfect before. When we finished, Roderick pushed himself off the piano and walked slowly across the studio floor. I could see only the side of his face, but I was desperate to read his expression. Was he pleased with our work this time?" (page 77)

I was hooked on the story from page one. Not only is this book beautifully written, it is also provocative and riveting, especially as the story develops into something unexpected. I cannot say more about the plot without giving too much away, but the details about the ballet school are so convincing that I assumed the author must have once been a dancer. There was one very minor error on page 234 when Georgia bakes cupcakes with her mother using a chocolate cake mix. A baker would never add flour to a cake mix (because it already has flour in the mix), but other than that tiny mistake (which I'm sure no one else would even notice), the book was virtually flawless in its execution - so much so that I had to wonder whether it might cause some controversy within the ballet community, especially since there is a very prestigious school of ballet in Toronto (situated on the same street as identified in the book).

This is author's first book. The back cover reveals few details about the author Martha Schabas except to say that she holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and that she lives in Toronto. This is an author to watch.

Title: Various Positions
Author: Martha Schabas
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Category: Fiction
Number of Pages: 361
Price: Canada $22 (paperback)
Note: US release is February 14, 2012

Women of Armour

2011-08-17T12:15:00.004-04:00

Women of Armour 3 (Work in Progress) by Ingrid Mida 2011

Sometimes inspiration comes when I least expect it. While doing research into Victorian equestrienne dress this past winter, I came across images of women playing hockey, mountaineering and playing tennis all while attired in cumbersome long skirts, sometimes even with crinolines. I admired the spirit of these courageous women who forged ahead with sport, finding pleasure in movement and play. I began to contemplate the modern incarnation of such pioneers - young women who play hockey.

With full hockey equipment on, sometimes it is hard to tell that there is a girl or woman underneath and a glimpse of a ponytail might be the only clue. After chatting with two young women who just happen to be talented hockey goalies, I was astonished by how much these girls love the game. Girls and women don't play hockey with dreams of a professional career. They play hockey for the sense of accomplishment they get from being on a team and for the adrenaline rush of the game. Their femininity is not in question here. They can be girls and hockey players!

I wanted to celebrate the spirit of the young women and girls who play hockey and am working on an art installation for my next show at Loop Gallery (May 2012). In the photo above, you can see an early work in progress from this series Women of Armour. (If you look closely, you can just barely see where the light catches the rows of sequins that I've begun to sew onto the pads, making it into an object of exquisite beauty and femininity.) The hockey padding has become the dress bodice and a mesh crinoline serves as the skirt, demonstrating how far we have come along the road to embracing our power as women.

In the exhibition, I also hope to include a series of photographs of young women hockey players, capturing the beauty of these powerful and gifted athletes. But first I need to find some! If you know any Toronto-based women hockey players who would allow me to photograph them or any women hockey players (from anywhere in the world) who would tell me more about their passion for the game, please forward this post to them along with my email fashionismymuse@me.com.

Hitting the Books....

2011-08-15T09:00:00.003-04:00

Change... It is probably the only thing that is certain in life. Children grow up. Friends come and go. Careers morph. Loved ones die.

When I was younger, I thought I could plan my life. I remember making five year plans, ten year plans.... That seems laughable now, and over time, I've grown to embrace what life throws my way. Although there has been unspeakable heartbreak, I've also been incredibly blessed. And sometimes the thing that almost broke me turned into an opportunity for growth. At this point, I rarely say no to an interesting proposition, even if it terrifies me.... and as a result, my life has taken me in totally unexpected directions.

When I began blogging about three years ago, I never would have imagined that I would get to the point where I could count curators and profs among my circle of friends. And now I've been given an opportunity to earn a place among them.... I was offered a spot in the Masters of Arts, Fashion program at Ryerson University in the fall. And even though some of these talented folk think that another masters degree is unnecessary, I am excited about this new chapter in my life. I once contemplated getting my Phd, but got sidetracked by my love of fancy frocks and a mortgage. But it's never too late to learn and apparently I'm not the only one. Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock is planning on pursuing a masters degree in politics at NYU and Richard Smith, an 87 year old man in Florida was recently awarded his Phd in history. If I live to 87, I will have had a long career in fashion!

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.
Anatole France

Book Review: If Walls Could Talk by Lucy Worsley

2011-08-11T19:00:00.003-04:00

Curator, historian and author Lucy Worsley knows how to make history accessible, interesting and entertaining. In her latest book If Walls Could Talk, An Intimate History of the Home, she takes us on an intimate journey through the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. It sounds like it might be a dull topic for a book, when in fact "every single object in your home has its own important story to tell". Lucy's saucy writing style makes the most mundane historical fact seem fresh and original. Divided into four parts covering the four main rooms of the house, the chapter titles include such teasing titles as: A History of the Bed, Sex, The Whole World is a Toilet, A History of Clutter, The Wretched Washing Up, Speaking to the Servants.... Lucy knows how to turn a phrase and the book almost seems like an intimate conversation between friends. And although the book lacks footnotes, it has an extensive bibliography for history buffs that want to find out more.

Of course, one of my favourite chapters was on the history of knickers. Although I am well versed in this topic, Lucy is not shy in telling it like it was..... "A huge hooped skirt meant that drawers were impractical if you needed to use the toilet without completely undressing. So ladies went commando, and squatted over a chamber pot when required. This meant that toilets were everywhere and nowhere. The bedchamber, an ante-room, even the street: all were potential places to go." (page 43)

Engaging, delightful and fun are words to describe Lucy's book and they are also words that describe her as a person. My interview with Lucy for her last book The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace continues to be one of my most popular posts and no doubt reflects the enormous popularity of her show for the BBC.

Title: If Walls Could Talk, An Intimate History of the Home
Author: Lucy Worsley
Publisher: Bloomsbury House 2011
Category: Non-fiction
Number of Pages: 331

What I Love about Berlin

2011-08-06T15:00:00.009-04:00

Me with my darling boy in Berlin

Berlin is my new favourite city! Rich in history and vibrating with creative energy, it is much like Paris, but without the attitude and so much less expensive. Here is my list of top 5 things I love about Berlin.

I. A vibrant arts scene
There are too many galleries to count... some of which are simply pop-ups. You can walk down a seemingly desolate street or enter a graffiti decorated courtyard and find something off the map. One of the most dynamic museums of contemporary art in the world is called The Hamburger Bahnhof. I was stunned by the simple perfection of Richard Long's Berlin Circle which is a circle of stone with a diameter of 12 meters. Five other floor works by the artist were shown in the historic hall of this former railway station building. As well, they have a permanent collection that is filled with works by big names like Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Rauschenberg and Anselm Kiefer.

Richard Long's Berlin Circle with admiring fans

II. A city rich in history but sensitive to its past
Berlin has been a political symbol of power for hundreds of years. It contains a vast wealth of historic and artistic treasures that are beautifully displayed in its many museums. But, it also is sensitive to its past - both in terms of the Holocaust and the Berlin Wall. Memorials have been presented in a beautiful and sensitive manner, reminding all of us of the gifts of freedom of personal choice and freedom of religion.

Sidewalk marker for the Berlin Wall
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Holocaust Memorial

III. Breathtaking architecture that combines the old and the new
Since the wall came down, the city has been renewed by stunning new buildings that are simply breathtaking in their sculptural innovation.

The Dome of the Reigstag

IV. Museums filled with incredible artistic and historic treasures
It was a race against the clock to see all that I wanted to see among the many museums in Berlin. I think we barely scratched the surface and often I wished I could have lingered longer.... I cannot think of any other city that has so many museums. Plus the exhibits are usually bilingual (German and English) and the displays are done to utter perfection. I saw things that I didn't even know still existed - like Napolean's hat in the German Historical Museum and the Ishtar Gates in the Pergamon Museum.

Altes Museum
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Pergamon Museum Statue
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Museum of Decorative Arts in the Kulturforum
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

V. A hip fashion scene
I wrote about a new fashion find Saena on a separate post the other day, but there are more hip Berlin labels that could have made their way into my closet if I had had more time to shop. I adored the Jil Sander-like looks of Firma, which for the summer was dominated by black, white and red. I bought a stunning frayed black silk blouse and a cherry red pencil skirt to bring home some of that uber-cool Berlin vibe.

Firma F/W Collection 2011 (Courtesy of Firma)

I could go on and on.... I feel like I left a part of my heart behind as my darling boy is staying on in Berlin until the end of the month.....

The Berlin Fashion Network

2011-08-03T18:30:00.001-04:00

saena

Fashion insiders in Berlin know that some of the most interesting shops are down alleyways and at the end of courtyards. And The Berlin Fashion Network Store is not something that you just stumble upon.... It is at the end of the eight interconnected courtyards of Die Hackesche Höfe. This beautiful Art Nouveau styled complex with an array of shops, cafes and galleries is adjacent to the Hackescher Markt in the centre of Berlin.

Die Hackesche Höfe. Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

One of the courtyards in Die Hackesche Hofe

The Berlin Fashion Network Store is a two level store that features the work of both established and up and coming Berlin designers like German Garments, Burkhardt Möllman, Barre Noire and Prodotyp.

I fell in love with one of their featured labels called Saena, whose delicate and feminine clothing has a sophisticated sensibility. The designer, Saene Chun, worked at Céline, Sonia Rykiel and Chloé before moving to Berlin in 2009 and launching her own label. Her motto is 'one woman_one dress' in that "she wishes to give women the feeling of having that one favorite dress in their closets."

saena entrechat

saena temps leve

Feminine and yet powerful - that is my kind of look. To see more of the saena collections, visit her website here. I've only been home for a few days and I'm already looking forward to a return trip. Could Berlin Fashion Week be in my future?

Berlin Fashion Network Store
Die Hackeschen Hofe
Rosenthalestrasse 40/41
10178 Berlin
Phone: +48 176 64 14 22 85

Window Shopping in Berlin

2011-08-02T08:00:00.007-04:00

Ich bin ein Berliner.... This phrase took on another level of meaning as I toured Berlin last week. It felt like I was home. Rich in history and packed with artistic and historical treasures, this city has a vibe that is young, modern and friendly. It was like being in Paris but without the attitude.

Prada Berlin

Prada Berlin (Close up)

One thing I love to do is window shop and the windows of Berlin's couture shops did not disappoint. Like Paris, the prices are posted discretely within the window, giving you immediate feedback as to whether or not you can afford to go inside.

Bottega Veneta Berlin

YSL Berlin

In Berlin, it was the cool, architectural vibe of the clothes that grabbed me. Sleek, streamlined silhouettes, it is the look that defines much of my closet....

Jil Sander Berlin

Costumes as Performance and Activism

2011-07-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

It's official. I've signed my contract to be the keynote speaker for the Costume Society of America - Midwest Region Conference - which will be held on Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. More details about the event are available on the CSA site here.

The selection committee was drawn to my work as an artist who uses costume in my work (All is Vanity series) and the themes of feminism and social activism that I have explored in my series Revolutionary Fashion and 1966 (Paper Dresses). They also liked my mesh dress sculptures (which are a work in progress) titled Women in Armour. I will also draw on my experiences as a writer and researcher in reviewing the relationship between fashion and art, particularly in recent exhibitions like McQueen at the Met and Gaultier at the MMFA. Let's hope I can live up to their expectations!

A Conversation with Matthew Teitelbaum of the Art Gallery of Ontario about Art and Fashion

2011-07-25T10:00:00.006-04:00

Matthew Teitelbaum, Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario

Recently I sat down with Matthew Teitelbaum, the Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario, to talk about his views on fashion and art. I was looking for a contrary viewpoint to that of Nathalie Bondil, the Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, who during our interview at the Gaultier press preview clearly defined fashion as art. Whether fashion is or is not art is definitely a topic worthy of discussion.... An extract of my conversation with Matthew was published on Fashion Projects here.

Now if only I could get Harold Koda or Anna Wintour to have a chat with me....

Dolce Dreams

2011-07-23T10:30:00.001-04:00

Blinded by Desire V by Ingrid Mida 2010

"Dolce" is the Italian word for "sweet", and it was indeed a sweet dream to have my work featured on the lovely blog Dolce Dreams twice this week. The first post called "Do you Know where you are Sewing?" featured an array of talented artists who use embroidery as their medium. Much to my surprise, Nathalie of Dolce Dreams declared my Revolutionary Fashion series the Grande Finale!! And then to make this dolce dream even sweeter, she featured a post with more of my work yesterday in a post called A Special Showing.

Blinded by Desire, Mixed Media on Toile de Jouy by Ingrid Mida

I am honoured to find my way onto her beautiful blog Dolce Dreams, especially as she is a very talented embroiderer herself. I know because I am lucky enough to own several of her pieces. Her lovely lavender sachets get tucked into my suitcase and have traveled with me to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Paris and Berlin. A pretty sachet with the words "Je suis calme" sits in my lingerie drawer and is a constant reminder of her friendship. See more of her work on her lovely Etsy shop here.

Book Review: Dreams of Joy

2011-07-21T13:00:00.004-04:00

Lisa See is the author of one of my favourite fiction books - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - which was recently adapted into a film. I also was entranced by Peony in Love. Her stories transcend time but are rooted in history to bring alive themes of love between mother and daughter, love between best friends and love for one's country. A captivating story teller, Lisa See's books illuminate the Chinese culture in a way that makes me yearn to know more.

When I saw her latest book, Dreams of Joy, the sequel to Shanghai Girls at the book store, I snapped it up with great anticipation. The title and the image on the front led me to believe that this would be a joyful story. And while it is is another beautifully written novel that has great depth and poignancy, it could have used a warning label.

The book is set during a tragic period in China's history called the Great Leap Forward. During this time period of 1958-1961, the Communist Party of China instituted reforms intended to transform the country from an agrarian economy to a modern industrial society. In short, the reform initiative was a disaster and millions of people died in a horrific famine and by violence at the hands of party officials. The horror of living through this time is conveyed in great detail through the eyes of the main characters of the story, Joy and her mother Pearl. I am not at all sorry that I read this book, but I did not realize what I was getting into.... If you are looking for a light summer read, this book is not for you.

Title: Dreams of Joy
Author: Lisa See
Publisher: Random House 2011
Category: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 354

My Picks from Paris Fall 2011 Couture

2011-07-18T11:00:00.000-04:00

Valentino Fall 2011 Couture
Photo by Yannix Vlamos

I love how the world of fashion is now just a click away. With a myriad of deadlines all coming to a head last week, reviewing the Paris Fall 2011 Couture collections has been on my to-do list for two weeks now. Maybe someday I'll actually get to see it in person, but being able to click back and forth between the shows makes it relatively easy to see the common threads.

The Paris Fall 2011 Couture collections were defined by extreme embroidery, feathers, ruching, and shredded effects. In the past, Chanel and Dior have easily been among my top picks, but not this time. The matronly suits at Chanel and the chaotic circus-like outfits of Dior put them at the bottom of my list.

My favourite looks from Paris Fall 2011 Couture all share two things in common - elegance and a flattering silhouette. If I could afford it, these are the looks that would find their way into my closet.

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2011 Couture
Photo by Yannis Vlamos

Valentino Fall 2011 Couture
Photo by Yannis Vlamos

In terms of artistry and innovation, the winner to me would be Givenchy. Riccardo Tisci showed a selection of sheer white gowns worn over body-suits and embellished with over-the-top embroidery and beading creating a beautiful type of armour. The woman is a beautiful, powerful and yet delicate creature. This is a modern vision of purity, elegance, romance and beauty.

Givenchy Fall 2011 Couture
Photo by Givenchy

Which is your favourite?

Lyla Rye: Swing Stage at Olga Korper Gallery

2011-07-13T20:15:00.001-04:00

I am so very pleased that my friend and mentor Lyla Rye opens Swing Stage at the Olga Korper Gallery tomorrow night. Lyla is a gifted sculptor, video and installation artist, who often draws on her background in architecture as inspiration for her space altering works. This particular installation is a play on the jaw-dropping structural beauty of the Olga Korper Gallery and is presented by the Koffler Centre of the Arts.

Lyla Rye: Swing Stage
Koffler Gallery Off-Site at Olga Korper Gallery
17 Morrow Avenue, Toronto

Opening reception Thursday, July 14, 2011 6-9 pm, Artist Talk at 7 pm
Show runs until August 20, 2011

By the way, Lyla is not only incredibly talented, but she is humble, sweet and funny. I've never seen her without a smile on her face. And she is also an extraordinary teacher who brings out the best in her students.

Book Review: B as in Beauty

2011-07-11T07:30:00.002-04:00

It was a lazy summer weekend. The weather in Toronto was glorious, with brilliant sunshine and deliciously warm temps. I gave myself a vacation - no cooking, no errands, no work, and no calorie counting allowed. It's funny how a simple shift in attitude turned my own backyard into paradise. One of my favourite things to do on a summer day is to lay in the backyard under an umbrella and read. I chose what looked to be a chic lit book, hoping that it had the thread of a plot that would sustain my interest over an afternoon and this book fit the bill perfectly.

B as in Beauty is the story of Beauty Maria Zavala, a young ambitious copywriter who has always been a bit uncomfortable with her body. Of zaftig proportions, she dresses to blend into the scenery and is treated like part of the background by her boss and coworkers. In a chance encounter with a Russian fairy god-mother, her life takes a bizarre twist and she finally discovers that self confidence is the secret to being beautiful. She learns to own her beauty and her power and the story ends happily ever after.

This was the perfect summer weekend read. It was both funny and sweet. It wasn't until I finished the book and read the back cover that I discovered that the author is a man!

How was your weekend?

Hang with the Best

2011-07-09T08:30:00.000-04:00

Moi

Last night was the opening reception for Hang with the Best at Toronto Image Works. I was honoured to have a selection of my work from All is Vanity included in this show, especially since the award winning Ed Burtynsky also had a piece there (Ed is a famous Canadian photographer who is known for capturing monumental landscapes that reflect the changes inflicted by man).

At a fete filled with photographers, it was somewhat ironic that my photo was taken with an iphone but hey, it's all I had in my purse!

Lately, I've been torturing myself on trying to decide whether I should focus on writing, research or my art practice.... I love and hate them all if you know what I mean. As much as I love the arts, there is also a hefty dose of rejection associated with it... Plus after a few days in the studio, my brain screams for more intellectual pursuits. Doing research at the museum seems to counteract that and yet I am also painfully aware that I do not have the "right" credentials. Plus I cannot sit chained to a computer or scanner all day either. Is there a right answer?

Women of Armour by Ingrid Mida 2011

Maybe the right answer is that there is no answer. Funny how writing a blog post can clarify things...

Hang with the Best continues at Toronto Image Works Gallery at 80 Spadina Avenue in Toronto until July 17, 2011.

Chanel Fall 2011 Couture

2011-07-07T17:10:00.001-04:00

Chanel F/W 2011 Couture

If you could own one piece of couture, would you chose a Chanel tweed suit?

Karl Lagerfeld's most recent collection for Chanel Fall 2011 reinvents the tweed suit in a myriad of ways. Some of the suits separate into three pieces. Surface effects with sequins and shredded fabric also modernize the look. The palette is mostly gray, black and cream but is punctuated with begonia pink. Jaunty boater-like hats, scraps of lace over the eyes, fingerless gloves and boots complete the look for fall 2011.

Chanel F/W Couture 2011

Evening Gown from Chanel Couture F/W 2011

As fabulous as this collection was, it did strike me that even some of these young, gorgeous models looked - dare I say it - a tad dowdy.

Chanel Couture F/W 2011

With the heavy tweed, a boxy silhouette, and the ugliest part of the knee exposed above the boot, it made some models look matronly. Given that the target customer for these suits is probably much older, wider and heavier than the runway models, if you can afford one of these suits, be sure to make your choice carefully!

Chanel Couture F/W 2011

Book Review: Girl in Translation

2011-07-04T11:15:00.003-04:00

Although most of us probably think that sweatshops no longer exist, every cheap piece of clothing that we buy probably came from one. It wasn't until I read the novel Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok that I understood what goes on in such places. There used to be a "sweatshop" not far from my studio. This place was off limits so to speak - marked by heavy doors with Chinese characters - from which tired and sweaty workers emerged covered with fibres and still wearing dust masks over their faces. I never really gave it much thought until I read this book...

Girl in Translation is about a young girl named Kimberly Chan who comes to New York from Hong Kong with her mother. Burdened by the heavy debt owed to the aunt who helped them immigrate, they are at the mercy of this mean-spirited relative who also runs the clothing factory in which they must work. With the mother's piece work wages garnished to repay the debt, they have no choice but to live in a roach and rat filled apartment without heat in Harlem. Kimberly works with her mother at the factory after school and on Saturdays while trying to learn English and do her schoolwork. Her innate intelligence, hard work and resilience serve her well and she manages to earn a scholarship to a private high school where she is able to start the slow climb to a better life.

This coming of age story is utterly compelling and it is the type of book that is hard to put down. The reality of the sweatshop is so grim and so horrible that it is hard to fathom how any of it could possibly be true.... And yet, the author herself came from such a background, earning a bachelor's degree from Harvard and an MFA in fiction at Columbia. Although the book is clearly semi-autobiographical, I almost wish the author had written it as a memoir so I had a better sense of where the line between fiction and reality lies in this work. But sometimes truth is even a stranger tale than fiction.

Title: Girl in Translation
Author: Jean Kwok
Category: Fiction
Publisher: Riverhead Books, New York 2010
Number of Pages: 303 (paperback edition)

To Hang with the Best

2011-06-29T07:30:00.002-04:00

All is Vanity by Ingrid Mida 2011

Although it feels like I've not had much studio time lately, the universe has aligned to suggest that I start making the time. I was asked to participate in Toronto Image Work's Hang with the Best Show which opens today at their gallery in 80 Spadina Avenue in Toronto. As well, photos from my All is Vanity series will appear in an art book being put together by the team at Artsync (If you missed my interview on Artsync, you can watch it here). And finally, the lovely Emma from Oxford, England fell in love with my Masquerade series and has ordered two of these type of works. I haven't done any embroidery in what seems like ages but I rediscovered that stitching is like meditation!

The Art of the Interview

2011-06-24T07:47:00.000-04:00

Nathalie Bondil, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry-Maxime Loriot at the MMFA
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Conducting an interview is like a dance. There is a back and forth between interviewer and interviewee that requires finesse and sensitivity. Your senses have to be on high alert, gauging their mood and reactions to your questions, listening to their responses, coming up with the next question..... Depending on their willingness to participate, it can be exhilarating or it can be like pulling teeth.

To my utter surprise and delight, my interviews with Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and exhibition curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot fell into the exhilarating category. Generous with their time, charming and articulate, they made my job in writing for Fashion Projects look easy. My interview with Nathalie Bondlin was published on Fashion Projects on Wednesday and can be read here. And my interview with Thierry-Maxime Loriot was published today and can be read here.

And although I did not interview Jean Paul Gaultier directly, I was at the back of a group of about ten journalists and I can attest to his sweet, funny and humble nature. The one thing he said that has stuck with me was this: "Be yourself. Have confidence in yourself. Live your dream."

Jean Paul Gaultier's Teddy Bear with a Shell Bra
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

The Guilty Pleasures of Summer

2011-06-21T17:00:00.001-04:00

1950s Vintage Swimsuit

The lazy days of summer have arrived...at long last. I have completed my writing assignments for Fashion Projects and Worn Fashion Journal. One darling boy just finished his last exam this afternoon and the other has graduated... I have a long list of projects to tackle at my studio and another long list of research topics and interview subjects on my to-do list but all I want to do is hang out in my backyard for a bit and enjoy the warm temps and sunny skies. I should have been at the museum this aft, but I opted to do nothing instead. Talk about guilty pleasure! What are your summer plans?

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

2011-06-20T07:27:00.001-04:00

Dita von Teese for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

My review of the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk has been published at Fashion Projects. My interview with Director and Chief Curator Nathalie Bondlin will be published on Wednesday and my interview with Exhibition Curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot will be published on Friday of this week.

This exhibition continues at the MMFA in Montreal until October 2, 2011. Thereafter it will travel to the Dallas Museum of Art (November 13, 2011 – February 12, 2012), The Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, de Young (March 24 – August 19, 2012), Fundacion Mapfre in Madrid (September 26 – November 18, 2012) and Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands (February 9 – May 12, 2013).

Vestiaire/Cloakroom by Lorène Bourgeois at Harbourfront Centre

2011-06-18T18:30:00.005-04:00

Blitz child II by Lorene Bourgeois, 2011

Lorène Bourgeois: Vestiaire/Cloakroom opened at the Harbourfront Centre, Project room last night. In this show, Lorène presents a series of large-scale drawings and a video, based upon the subject of clothing and its relation to the human body and head.

"Recently, I have been exploring the territory of head and face protection, including gas masks and military helmets. I am interested not only in the social and utilitarian functions of these artifacts, but also in their qualities as physical objects - the way they frame or envelop the body, and the way they disclose or conceal the human form.

"Isolated from their original context, these objects seem to oscillate between functionality and theatricality, between absurdity and threat. It is this tension, the moment when the function of clothing slips into something less recognizable, that I wish to investigate."

Lorène Bourgeois lives and works in Toronto. Her work in drawing, painting, and printmaking has been exhibited across Canada, as well as in France, Korea, Russia, and the United States. A member of Loop Gallery and Open Studio in Toronto, she teaches in the Department of Visual Arts at Brock University.

Lorène and I are friends and I admire her work very much. We will be having a show together at Loop Gallery in May 2012.

Scenes from the Preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier

2011-06-15T20:30:00.005-04:00

MMFA, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo by Ingrid MIda 2011

JPG Smart Car
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Press waiting to preview the JPG exhibition
Photo by Ingrid Mida

As I waited outside yesterday at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to enter the press preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, I was feeling a bit jaded. Although it has been said that "fashion is for everybody", sometimes that world can be a bit insular. And while my niche in writing about art and fashion is a unique one, it still requires me to have a thick skin.

Red carpet shoes
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Luckily it was not long before my spirits were lifted. At the press conference, Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts talked about her vision for the exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier's work. She saw beyond the provocative and humourous aspects of his work, identifying him as a contemporary artist with an important but subtle message about the dictates of beauty, where "everyone can wear his fashions regardless of size, age, gender, or sexual identity". She thought that this was something society needed to hear and initiated the exhibition which was funded by the museum, (an important distinction in my mind compared to marketing oriented exhibitions funded by the fashion house). Although Ms. Bondil described herself as "not a fashion person", she is both beautiful in looks and spirit. When one well known fashion diva walked in twenty minutes late to the conference and started up the self-serve espresso machine, Ms. Bondil laughed and said "Je me recommence" (I start again). And at the end of the day, I had a one-on-one half hour interview for Fashion Projects with Ms. Bondil and she was as articulate, gracious and fresh as if it was her first interview.

Nathalie Bondil, JPG, and Thierry Maxime Loroit
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Jean Paul Gaultier being interviewed for TV in the Skin Deep Gallery
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Jean Paul Gaultier laughed often and was both humble and sweet. He said "I am no longer l'enfant terrible. I am just the old terrible." He worked hard to convey his message that "there is not only one type of beauty". I'm not sure how many other journalists appreciated his humanist approach to fashion, but it was refreshing to hear it spoken.

On the steps of the MMFA
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

I have so much more to share about The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier and will follow up in upcoming posts with links to my review and interview for Fashion Projects as well as photos and video clips.

This exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens to the public on Friday, June 17, 2011 and runs until October 2, 2011. It will later travel to Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid and the Netherlands.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier

2011-06-13T09:30:00.006-04:00

Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo courtesy of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I'm off to Montreal this morning to attend tomorrow's press preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. And I'm going even though there is a looming strike at Air Canada and there are a myriad of important events on the schedule for this week.

From what I've read and seen in the advance press materials, the show is going to be spectacular. I was granted interviews with curators Nathalie Bondil and Thierry Maxime Loriot and will be writing an exhibition review for Fashion Projects.

In preparation for my trip, I looked back at posts I wrote about Gaultier in the past (of which there are nine!). I also reread my posts from June 2008 about the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective which also was held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Back then, I wished that I'd been able to attend the opening for that exhibition and three years later I have just such an invitation in hand....

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

2011-06-11T17:07:00.003-04:00

During its run in London at the Royal Opera House, Christopher Wheeldon's version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland performed by the Royal Ballet was a hit. The National Ballet of Canada recently brought this co-production to Canada and it has been playing to packed audiences since its opening. The reviews have been glowing on all accounts including this one in the Globe and Mail.

A few months ago, I toured the National Ballet's costume facility and got a sneak peak at the costumes. Of course, I bought my tickets without delay.

Wonderland Tutus in the Hallway at the National Ballet

Inside the hat department of the National Ballet

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a captivating and lively balletic version of the famous story of Alice. The action is non-stop and although Wheeldon has taken liberties with the story, the entire show is enchanting. Not only are the dancers superb, but the production is filled with magical costumes and brilliant sets. It is my new favourite ballet. In fact, it is a ballet that I would say is worth sitting in the rafters to see. Get your tickets, if you can, at the National Ballet website.

Book Review: Seventeenth-Century Dress Patterns, Book One

2011-06-08T08:15:00.001-04:00

The cover of this book with the ghostly x-ray image of a slashed satin bodice from 1630 is but a hint of the extraordinary contents within. Edited by Susan North and Jenny Tiramani, Seventeenth-Century Dress Patterns (Book One) includes patterns for items from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection including several waistcoats, a mantle, a smock, hood, gloves and other items. Enhanced by colour photographs, x-ray images, highly detailed patterns, cutting instructions, technique descriptions and images of paintings, the book is intended to provide experts and home-sewers with the means to replicate these pieces as well as minimize the repeated handling of the objects from the museum's collection. Seventeenth-Century Dress Patterns is extraordinary in its content and its beauty and also builds on the cumulative work of Janet Arnold as well as other dress historians like Norah Waugh and Dorothy Burnham.

This is the first book in a new pattern book series published by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The new format was the inspiration of Jenny Tiramani, who not only worked as a costumer for the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre from 1997 to 2005, but also completed Janet Arnold's last book Patterns of Fashion 4 (after Janet's untimely death). Last year, I heard Jenny Tiramani speak at the Royal Ontario Museum when she visited to research some items from the museum's collection (read the post about her talk here). Her attention to detail, willingness to share her knowledge and her charm are reflected within the pages of this meticulously crafted book.

Title: Seventeenth-Century Dress Patterns, Book One
Edited by: Susan North and Jenny Tiramani
Publisher: V&A Publishing, London, 2011
Category: Non-fiction, Historical Dress
Number of Pages: 160

Glamour versus Reality

2011-06-04T10:00:00.026-04:00

I am guilty....of presenting an illusion of a glamourous life that is seemingly filled with parties, champagne, and new frocks spilling out of my closet. My friend Madamoiselle Poirot, who wrote a very thoughtful post about illusion versus reality, said "it sounds like you do your supermarket shop in an evening gown." The comment made me laugh since that evening I had been pumping gas in an evening gown, but it made me pause and consider how illusion and reality can be part of the same continuum.

As an artist, a writer, a researcher, a wife, a mother and more, I dress according to the role I'm playing on any given day. And while I might be seen in ripped jeans and a t-shirt on my studio days, other days might find me wearing Prada while closeted in a windowless back room of the museum. And then there are those events for which nothing less than an evening gown will do...

And while it might seem like a lot of fun to attend opening parties, press previews and exhibitions, these events are work. I usually do hours of research beforehand. I arrive prepared with a notebook and a camera at the ready and then have to deal with where I rank in the hierarchy of journalists and whether I can get an interview. Plus there is an enormous pressure to look fabulous.. I return home, my feet aching from hours of standing in heels, and have to start writing before I forget the parts that I didn't write down at the event.

What I am trying to say is that the reality is not as glamourous as it seems and it takes a very thick skin to survive with one's self esteem intact!

Beyond the parties, the work of being an artist is mostly a solitary journey. I go to my studio and am alone with my thoughts as I conjur up art pieces that reference the subtext of my life. At times, my studio is my sanctuary, but at other times, when I am blocked, it is the last place I want to go. As joyful as the act of creation is, there is also the judgment that comes with a gallery show. Is it meaningful, important work? Does anyone like it enough to buy it? Does anyone care?

What has become an unexpected pleasure for me is my work at the museum. In spite of the almost Edwardian working conditions, I often get to do research that makes my heart sing. There was a time after I finished my first masters degree, that I fancied getting a Phd, but all too soon I was caught up in my quest for pretty frocks and a mortgage. This work has made me realized that I am happiest when I in a stack of books, on a quest for more knowledge or unraveling a mystery. As I get older, I have less patience for the things that don't really matter - like feigning interest in something or someone who really doesn't warrant the time or energy. That's my reality.

Rent-Frock-Repeat

2011-06-03T07:00:00.007-04:00


Bibha Mohapahan Dress for Rent Frock Repeat, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Last night a mix of media and fashion types mingled at the Spoke Club in Toronto to celebrate the debut of Rent- Frock-Repeat. We balanced cocktails and appetizers as a bevy of beautiful gowns appeared on the floor, on screen and on ipads all around.

This web-based business was created by Lisa Delorme and Kristy Wieber to cater to women who attend charity galas, formal dinners, weddings, and other events. Offering chic, up-to-the minute fashions, the rental of a dress is as easy as the click of a mouse. The price of a rental approximates about ten to fifteen percent of the retail cost of the gown. Renting instead of buying a frock could translate into savings for those of us who don't like to be seen in the same dress....And in case you were wondering, I wore my own frock: a black lace Giambatista Valli sleeveless sheath dress....

Party at the Spoke Club