Tuesday 18 January 2011

Fancy Fashion

Fashion fades, only style stays the same - Coco Chanel

A few weeks ago (based mainly on a decision to get out of the rain), I paid my £8.50 to visit the Design Museum (yes, shamefully I blanched at the price as I am a spoilt Londoner who is used to free entrance to most galleries and museums), but luckily it turned out to be money well spent thanks to an exhibition showcasing fashion illustrators throughout the past century.

Although I appreciate fashion (and probably spend far too much money ‘appreciating’ it) I don’t really consider myself an avid follower of couture, but I think even if you don’t follow fashion or have a serious interest in it, you would find this exhibition intriguing. The exhibition features some early designs of Lacroix and Dior delicately painted onto paper, which are so unlike the flashy photography and designs we are accustomed to! I fell completely in love with the original painted Vogue front covers by George Lepape and the simplistic Dior designs by Rene Gruau. A large part of the exhibition was also dedicated to present day fashion illustrator Antonio, who’s designs captured the glamour of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Who’d have thought that the rain would be a good thing for once?

Vogue Covers
Vogue cover 1919 by George Lepape compared to a Vogue cover from 2010
Bouche, Portrait of Mona Bismarck, Vogue US. Image Copyright Design Museum
Portrait of Mona Bismarck - Bouché
Gruau and Gustafson
René Gruau and Mats Gustafson
Antonio, Karl Lagerfeld, Vogue France, 1972
Antonio
Antonio Joanne Landis Carnegie Hall 1967
Antonio

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