When asking the general public to name the big names in fashion, men’s names mostly come to mind. Apart from Gabrielle Chanel, great seamstresses such as Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, Madeleine Vionnet or even Madame Grès seem to gradually fall into oblivion. To (re)highlight the great stylists of yesterday and today and for tomorrow, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) will inaugurate the exhibition ” Women who dress women “.
“Women Dressing Women”: the Met exhibits designers from 1910 to today
The event will present the history of women in fashion, from the beginning of the 1900s to the present day, through a set of 80 objects taken from its permanent collection. Some are well known to the general public such as Vivienne Westwood, others more reserved, but all have contributed to the history of fashion, and reflect the social evolution of women in society with their personal and professional career.
Costume Institute associate curator Mellissa Huber leads the exhibition and explained in a statement released by the museum:
“Our fall exhibition will be an opportunity to address the critical stories of innovative designers who have played a vital role in shaping fashion as we know it today.
Recognizing that women’s contributions to fashion are not quantifiable, our intention with this show is to celebrate and recognize with a focus on the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, which represents a rich timeline of Western fashion history.
We hope this exhibition fosters impactful conversations among our visitors and across the wider works of the designers, highlighting the plurality and diversity of women’s important contributions to the field. »
The exhibition also aims to create a dialogue between stylists and their works across generations, whether it is a historical and/or technical tribute or unconscious influences. From 1910 to 2022,” Women who dress women it will notably present works by Madeleine Vionnet, Vivienne Westwood, Miuccia Prada, Simone Rocha, Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) and Ann Demeulemeester.
The missed opportunity to make it the theme of the Met Gala 2024
As we talk about it more and more female gauze for series and films, this exhibition will be an opportunity to recall how much they are needed in fashion too. And to provide some answers about women’s ability to dress them better for reality than (often gay) men who tend to fantasize about them, sometimes quite out of the ordinary.
We can already regret it “ Women who dress women it is not the theme of the Met Gala 2024, in fact. The hypermediatization of the latter could have helped to shed light on the work of female designers, too often invisible to the advantage of men. Like the controversial Karl Lagerfeld who was the theme of the 2023 edition.
Exhibition ” Women who dress women at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, USA), from December 7, 2023 to March 3, 2024.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
