Costume Institute Gala 2007 -- Paul Poiret

[Whitelinen]

Silly question, but with an event as fashion-conscience as this, what happens if two women would wear the same dress? Not all of them are getting loaners, so wouldn't that be entirely possible?

Then it's a war I guess the one who wears it better (body shape, accessories) gets the attention. It's a win or lose situation.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

Silly question, but with an event as fashion-conscience as this, what happens if two women would wear the same dress? Not all of them are getting loaners, so wouldn't that be entirely possible?

I think that happened at the White House Christmas Party where someone had the same ODLR dress as Mrs. Bush. She went upstairs and then came down in a red Bill Blass.
Guess it helps when the party is in your own home.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

The clothes on the guests can be more exciting than what's in the actual exhibit.

I wonder if Koda bothered to look at Mariano Fortuny, Liberty of London, the Vienna Arts and Crafts movement, or women's dress reform to show where Poiret got his ideas on less restrictive clothing.

 

[sarah13]

Is the event tomorrow, Sunday?

 

[diesanni]

It's on monday.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

I wonder if Koda bothered to look at Mariano Fortuny, Liberty of London, the Vienna Arts and Crafts movement, or women's dress reform to show where Poiret got his ideas on less restrictive clothing.

I'll let you know next Monday after a private luncheon he is hosting.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I'll let you know next Monday after a private luncheon he is hosting.

Excellent, your first hand experiences is always appreciated.

I met Koda when he came to my school for a talk, he's pretty savy about these things. As far as the museum/curatorial world goes, I work more on the academic side of things so I tend to get bogged down easily (and sometimes willingly) with back history and research.

But Poiret was heavily influenced by the arts and crafts movement and what is also known as artistic dress. Think of a Gustave Klimt painting for an idea (Klimt also designed clothes). And, dress reformists for both women's equality and for health had already worked on the idea of less restrictive clothing no longer requiring a bustle or corset. Underwear reform is a HUGE topic in costume history.

I guess you could say it was Poiret who took all of these ideas and brought them into fashion where they worked their way into popular dress. That surely is commendable. It's a shame because he's so influential (I am guessing this will be the focus of Koda's exhibit) and the collection I work in only has a smattering of his pieces, on the flip side we have a decent amount of Mariano Fortuny. Both are pretty damn expensive if you try to get it at auction.

I'm not sure exactly how Poiret and Fortuny fit on the fashion timeline but I've always assumed that Fortuny made the lead in introducing alternative dress in popular fashion, something Poiret took off with in the 20's.

I'm looking forward to this exhibit because of all the historic designers, for all their legacies, Poiret is one of the stars. I put him up there with Balenciaga and YSL. I'll actually be in New York to see it.

 

[kimair]

this thread is dedicated to the exhibit only...not the gala...
gala pics have been moved to the thread in star style:
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f50/costume-institute-gala-2007-a-56115.html