THEATRE DE LA MODE: DIOR & HARRODS

[photo Harrods.com] Miniature mannequins in High Fashion of Dior displayed on the run way of Harrods London. The excellence and creative skills of the French Fashion House were shown in a miniature theatre experience. A nod to the 1953’s Harrods Fashion Theatre introducing a Dior fashion show and the ‘Théâtre de la Mode’ a travelling exhibition showcasing the creativity and craftsmanship of artisans of French Couture. In 1945 and 1946, Robert Ricci, son of Couturier Nina Ricci, initiated the "Théâtre de la Mode". An exhibition shown first in Paris, and after a huge success toured across Europe and the United States, to show the creativity of the finest French Couture Designers on miniature mannequins size: approx 700 mm (27.5 inches). More than 40 Paris Couturiers joined together. With scrap materials they created new Couture. Seamstresses crafted exquisite fahion with real pockets and linings, finishing every detail of the garments, miniature undergarments, milliners created miniature hats, jewellers (Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels) contributed small necklaces and others Houses like Schiaparelli, Hermes, Balenciaga, worked on accessories, like shoes, umbrellas and tiny belts. The creations were shown on dolls, designed by Eliane Bonabel, the body formed by wire and plaster heads crafted by sculptor Joan Rebull. Settings were designed by Jean Cocteau, Christian Bérard and many other important artists. “The meticulous attention to details is so striking … The buttons were really buttons. The zippers really zips. The handbags had little wallets, inside them.” [quote Historian Lorraine McConaghy] “The Theatre de la Mode holds great significance from a historical perspective because thanks to the tenacity and ingenuity of its creators and collaborators, Paris was able to assert its rightful place as the fashion capital of the world. Without this, then the world of fashion as we know it to this day, would have taken a very different turn.” [anonymous quote] In 1988, Paris’s Musée la Mode et du Textile undertook an extensive restoration of the mannequins and painstakingly recreating the sets. The Théâtre de la Mode now exhibits at the Maryhill Museum of Art. Parts of the Théâtre tours around the United States and Europe. No doubt, the exhibition, shown in Harrods, was overwhelming too. Proving, again, Fashion is Art! Dior at Harrods Enjoy, Nancy

WOW FACTOR: BOOKS

[source fallingdowntherabbithole]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. NELSON MANDELA

[Mandela, 1937] Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. [Maya Angelou] Enjoy, Nancy

WOW FACTOR: COCO CHANEL BY LITA CABELLUT

Beautiful portrait of Coco Chanel on large canvas by Spanish Artist LITA CABELLUT. She highlights the black and the white which are essential colours that relate to Coco Chanel’s work, this has become the sign of French elegance. Cabellut has mastered her own technique with the brush as she prepares a surface which cracks, this creates a visual strength of the piece. She is considered as a painter with a unique pictorial language, using a contemporary variation on the fresco-technique and her expressive pallet. At the age of 13, after a visit at the Prado-museum, she got enthusiastic about the old Spanish- and Dutch Court-master-painters. Consequently, she started to take classical paint-techniques-classes taught for times a week by an old master painter. On the age of 17, Cabellut had her first exhibition at the Town Hall of Masnou, Barcelona. Enjoy, Nancy

STYLE ICON : FRIDA KAHLO

The Film ‘FRIDA’ (2002) unique visual language takes us into the life of Mexican painter FRIDA KAHLO de Rivera (1907-1954). The Mexican painter suffered lifelong health problems. This life full of pain and drama, partly due to a accident and also a volatile marriage with famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera, she expresses in her paintings. Mexican cultural and Amerindian cultural traditions are also important in Kahlo’s work, which has been sometimes characterized as Naïve art or folk art. Her work has also been described as "surrealist". She is perhaps best know for her 55 self-portraits.

[Selfportrait]

Kahlo : "I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.”

[Frida in New York]
At the age of six, Frida developed polio, which caused her right leg to appear much thinner than the other, which she disguised by wearing long, colorful skirts. She often wore native Mexican clothing with bright colors and primitive style as an expression of her solidarity with the indigenous people of her nation. Actrice Salma Hayek wore over fifty costumes to become Frida. To get the unique ‘Frida look’, stylist Julie Weiss purchased some of the pieces from street vendors in Mexico City. “FRIDA” was nominated with six Academy Awards, one for best costume design.

[exquisite illustration of Julie Weiss]

[Selma Hayek]

[picture of Frida]

The movie also reminds us that art is best enjoyed when it moves, breathes and is painted on a giant canvas. Art and their creators are also often a big inspiration in the World of Fashion.

Jean Paul Gaultier collection : “Homage To Frida Kahlo”, 1998

[Picture Vogue Germany, 1998]

Enjoy,
Nancy