Category: Exhibitions

Roses at Alexander McQueen - Part 1: Coming up Roses

22/1/2020

I bring you photos of exquisite garments to relieve the gloom of January! The second floor of the Alexander McQueen flagship store in Old Bond Street is an exhibition/educational space where you can get right up close (but no touching allowed) to haute couture pieces from the McQueen archives. There are generous glimpses into the inspirations and processes that produce many of the textile works of art, including a video of Judy Halil – head of atelier at McQueen – talking the viewer through the steps of making the AW19 red rose dress.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexander-mcqueen-roses/

There were so many gorgeous dresses and details that it was a huge effort to make the number of photos manageable for a blog post (and I didn’t even photograph all the items on display). To make things more coherent for you and myself I have split Roses into three posts: Coming Up Roses, Flower Power and Tell it to the Bees. I’m mostly keeping wordage to the descriptions given of each piece, as you can see for yourselves how stunning they are.

‘AW08 The Girl Who Lived In The Tree, Look 39
A draped, overlapping trompe l’oeil petal jacket predates the drapes and folds of the AW19 rose dress. The duchess satin jacket is worn over a silk tulle dress jewelled with glass rubies.’

‘AW06 Widows Of Culloden, Look 41
A dramatic inspiration behind the AW19 rose dress, the voluminous taffeta shape and pintucked neckline were closely studied and reconfigured.’ Bottom right shown with the black taffeta rose dress it inspired.

AW19 Pintucked bodice with draped rose petal skirt.
I chose to include this version rather than the Lust Red one because the details came out clearer in photos.

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 45
Corseted skirt suit with an exploded neckline and sleeves filled with a mix of fresh roses, hydrangeas and silk organza flowers. Restored with hand-dyed silk organza flowers in delicate hues of lavender, eau de Nil and pale pink, some original dried flowers survive.’

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 42
Hand-dyed ombre petals trapped under draped fine silk tulle with a chantilly lace scalloped corset in shades of mauve, faded amethyst and tea rose.’

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 46
The Sarabande finale dress was a mix of fresh roses, hydrangeas and silk organza flowers. Restored with hand-dyed silk organza flowers in delicate hues of lavender, eau de Nil and pale pink, some original dried flowers survive.’
‘’… the flowers were real, and couldn’t be put on until the last minute… they began to drop as she walked, leaving a trail of flowers behind her… people were gasping…’’ Sarah Burton

AW19
‘We’ve referenced the rose in many collections. To me, it’s the queen of flowers, the most British flower of all, a symbol of femininity… I love the fragility and splendour of it… the idea that it represents birth and rebirth and the whole life cycle… which has beauty as a bud and beauty through its decay [… ]It’s taffeta… The colour is what we call lust red, and we’ve had it for many seasons. It’s an iconic red for us, a really specific red. It’s a very saturated red in a collection that was very grey and black… [Lee] developed this amazing technique… where you stich all the fabric into the pleats, cut away the fabric from behind, and mould it to the body. We used that same technique… I wanted to then rework the skirt […] into the shape of rose petals […] The fabric needed to keep its volume and not be too light or too heavy. Because it’s quite light, the silk taffeta has a memory to it so it could retain the form of the roses…’ Sarah Burton

AW19 Black jacket with train and rose. I forgot to photograph the description – but I did photograph the design notes, so it sort of balances out! Souvenir posters of the Sarabande invitation and the Roses experience.

You’re supposed to leave your audience/reader wanting more, so I will! Until part two of this blog post. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to go off on your own voyage of discovery of Alexander McQueen.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen

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Fashioning The Favourite: Sandy Powell's costumes from The Favourite, on display in the Queen's Rooms at Kensington Palace

19/7/2019

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Well, I’m way in arrears with my blog posts (there’s a backlog), and this exhibition (and its companion at Hampton Court Palace) ended on 10th March 2019, but I loved The Favourite and its costumes too much not to post photos. Plus I'm still obsessed with The Night Circus, and the (mostly) monochrome of this was like a magnet!

This post is very heavy on pictures – because I LOVE the details, and fairly light on commentary – because so much has already been written about Sandy Powell’s amazing designs. As I’m an information magpie/squirrel who loves to share, I’m including links to an eclectic assortment of articles connected to the film and the outfits – see end of post.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the film, it’s set in the early 1700s during the reign of Queen Anne (played by Olivia Coleman) – sister of Mary, as in ‘William and Mary’ – and the last of the Stuart monarchs. Queen Anne is plagued by ill health and the tragic loss of all her children. Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) is Anne’s formidable friend, and, essentially, proxy ruler of the realm. Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) is a distant cousin of Lady Sarah who has fallen on hard times and is determined to improve her circumstances. Rather deliciously these women are the power players and the men are (mostly) their pawns.

Their costumes reflect this – Sarah and Abigail in particular are mostly make-up free, hair relatively simple, pared back and ready for business in their styling; they are women in control (or gaining control). The men are bewigged and slightly ridiculous – especially the looming bully Lord Harley – and they break up the monotone with splashes of colour to indicate their political affiliations, red for Whigs, blue for Tories.

Powell’s designs give a flavour of the period without being weighed down by over-earnest authenticity, and join the screenplay and cinematography in making the characters feel immediate and contemporary. The mix of historic silhouettes and modern fabrics, including copious (and very effective) use of laser-cut vinyl as lace, and the ways in which some of the outfits are treated so casually (ripped apart, covered in blood), closes the distance that sometimes occurs with period drama - it quickly becomes almost timeless.
There were ten costumes displayed against the wood panelling and Grinling Gibbons carvings of the Queen’s Rooms – rooms that Queen Anne actually lived in, and where some of the filming took place. Yes, it would have been lovely if there had been more of them, but it was a wonderful treat to see these gorgeous pieces up close (ish - no touching allowed).

‘’I knew it was going to be period yet slightly off the wall and there was an element of stylization involved – all the things I love.’’ Sandy Powell*

Queen Anne’s robes of state: The film’s most opulent costume; enough layers and detail to look opulent, but not so much that it distracts from the dynamics. I am in love with the pleats and tucks on these sleeves! ‘’The closest costume I copied from my research are the Queen’s robes of state that she wears while addressing Parliament. The shape and silhouette you see in the film is based off those courtly portraits, but the details are still utterly made up and stylized.’’ Sandy Powell*

The Duchess of Marlborough’s shooting outfit: Complete with fake blood stains… ‘’I never thought of this costume as being masculine. Lady Sarah is in control and manages to maintain her control for quite a long time. She is a commanding presence and she wears the pants in the same way as Katharine Hepburn did, that was my point of reference for her in a way.’’ Sandy Powell*

Abigail’s kitchen maid outfit: Probably my favourite (oops!) costume from the film; I love the striking simplicity of it. ‘’The bodice is made from old jeans bought from charity shops near Slough. All the kitchen staff costumes are made from old jeans.’’ Sandy Powell*

Probably my second-favourite piece: ‘’Abigail’s Lady in Waiting costume, like all the Ladies in Waiting in the court, is a simplified version of the dresses worn by the female courtiers.
I decided to make them black in the tradition of maid’s outfits and to fit in with the monochrome palette of all the costumes worn in the palace.
It’s made from embossed and printed black-on-black African fabric, bought in Brixton Market.’’ Sandy Powell*

Courtiers: All the ‘lace’ on these and other costumes is laser-cut vinyl and leather.
‘’There’s something exhilarating about limiting the colour palette. As much as I love colour, this is the first time I’ve practically eliminated it from a film. In the palace scenes, we restricted the colours to black-and-white mostly, with some silvers and greys.’’ Sandy Powell*

The Duke of Marlborough (Lady Sarah Churchill’s husband) - dressed in red to show he is a Whig; Lord Harley - dressed in blue to show he is a Tory.

Footman: You know the scene: ‘’Look at me! Look at me! How dare you look at me!! Close your eyes!’’

*Quotes from information panels in the exhibition at Kensington Palace.

Click on https://pridesource.com/article/nicholas-hoult-gets-in-formation-the-favourite-actor-talks-lipping-beyonce-wearing-wigs-hollywood-inclusion/
to see Nicholas Hoult lip-syncing to Beyonce while dressed as Lord Harley, and for the names he gave his wigs!

https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-favourite-wigs-and-makeup-nadia-stacey

Plus a couple of pieces about the eclectic costume worn by Melissa McCarthy to co-present the Oscar for Best Costume Design ; it featured a ruff inspired by Mary Queen of Scots, and a toy bunny-covered version of Queen Anne’s robe:
https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/melissa-mccarthy-oscars-costume-favourite-brian-tyree-henry.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/27/oscars-costume-melissa-mccarthy-academy-awards-bunny-brian-tyree-henry-arianne-phillips-designer

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Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 2 of 2

23/6/2018

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The Calderón González family inscribed ‘Mother (Oaxaca) Matilde Calderón age 7 1890’ Ricardo Ayluardo. Frida’s mother’s family in a mix of European and Tehuana dress. The Vincente Wolf Collection. (My photo of photo)

The Kahlo Calderón family, Guillermo Kahlo, 7 February 1926, Coyoacán, Mexico. Gender-fluid Frida, possibly wearing a suit belonging to her father. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (My photo of photo)

Frida Kahlo with family members, Guillermo Kahlo, 2 November 1926, Coyoacán, Mexico. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (My photo of photo)

Seventy five years after her death, fourteen years after her personal belongings were rediscovered, this exhibition is a rediscovery of - a reintroduction to - Frida Kahlo. Co-curated by Circe Henestrosa* and Claire Wilcox, it’s a moving, haunting, intimate experience – even with other people around; the (tonal?) soundtrack adds to that feeling. Film footage shows a vivacious Kahlo with Rivera, and provides glimpses of the Mexico they lived in. As you progress through the rooms you are increasingly immersed in her world, culminating in the room with her outfits, which feels almost like entering a shrine – complete with grand entrance. The busts displaying her jewellery echo the bandage textures of her plaster corsets. The experience is beautiful, sensual, playful, unsettling, inspiring; layers and facets of Frida Kahlo in three dimensions.

Display homage to 'The Two Fridas'. Left: silk velvet cape with pointed tails (early 1900s), and silk skirt; right: Tehuana outfit.

Corridor to the room of Frida's outfits.

‘Self-Portrait as a Tehuana’ Frida Kahlo, 1943. The Jacques and Natalia Gelman collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel collection. (My photo of painting)

Side back view of huipil grande/resplandor.

Resplandor/huipil grande (ceremonial lace headdress) and skirt.

‘I paint myself because I am so often alone.’

You can’t separate Frida Kahlo’s art from her appearance – not least because she painted self-portraits – her appearance and her art brought together and reflected all the influences in her life in her own unique style. She wasn’t just a muse to herself, as can be seen from the photographs taken of her during her life by her father, friends and lovers. She’s still a muse, her image instantly recognisable, and endlessly reproduced, reworked and experimented with by others. Even now she seems so modern – her gender-fluidity, her frankness about her personal life and state of being. I keep wondering what she’d have made of Instagram had she been alive today – would she have thought it was too commercial, or would she have created her own political memes, posted outfit inspirations and choices, shown works in progress?

Cotton huipil with machine-embroidered chain stitch; printed cotton skirt with embroidery and holán. Ensemble from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Photograph Javier Hinojosa. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

Frida on the bench, 1939, photograph by Nickolas Muray © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives.

Embroidered huipil; embroidered enagua; holán. Cotton velvet huipil; enagua; holán.

Fringed magenta rebozo (seen in Nickolas Muray’s photographs of Frida); brocaded cotton huipil; silk skirt. Embroidered huipil; silk skirt; holán. Striped rebozo (rectangular shawl); silk skirt with panel of Chinese embroidery; holán.

Polka dot huipil; embroidered enagua (skirt); holán. Puebla blouses with enagua and rabona skirts, Blouse on left has panel of glass beads – such pieces are often heirlooms. Outfit on right features rebozo.

‘I must have full skirts and long, now that my sick leg is so ugly.’

The Tehuana dress that Frida Kahlo began wearing in her twenties was for her a combination of camouflage and cultural pride. The long, wide, ruffled skirts hid the leg that had been affected by polio, and the square-cut huipil tops were comfortable to wear over her orthopaedic corsets. She mixed and matched Tehuana pieces with European, sometimes adding elements of Chinese embroidery, and finished with torzales (long gold chains), necklaces of Mexican silver, pre-Columbian jade beads, and her hair adorned with bright wool and flowers. Her appearance combined past and present in a way that has become almost timeless. It is extraordinary to see these pieces in real life, shown next to the photographs and paintings they appear in. These are clothes that she lived in – you can see stains, a speck of paint, fabric worn thin – the working wardrobe of a remarkable woman.

Detail of holán (ruffle/flounce) with worn patch.

Detail of holán with two layers in different patterns.

Detail of satin rabona (skirt)

Kahlo’s sewing box and threads, and a rag doll probably made by her.

Detail of stained silk skirt with woven velvet flowers and pleated hem.

Pre-Columbian jade beads – including a carved fist – probably strung by Frida Kahlo.

I’ve seen this twice now and it’s still rather overwhelming; I’ll be going back again later in the year because I don’t feel I’ve finished with this exhibition yet! Rediscover the woman behind the icon; see this exhibition!

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, 16 June – 4 November 2018. Sponsored by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Aeromexico, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and GRoW @ Anneberg.

www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-up

*Circe Henestrosa also curated ‘Appearances Can Be Deceiving:
The dresses of Frida Kahlo’ at Museo Frida Kahlo in 2012: www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/esp/1/exposiciones/los-vestidos-de-frida-kahlo

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Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 1 of 2

18/6/2018

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Frida, 15 June 1919, by Guillermo Kahlo, 15 June 1919. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (my photo of photo)

Frida Kahlo, c.1926. Museo Frida Kahlo. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

'I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down… The other is Diego.’ Frida Kahlo, 1951

After Frida Kahlo died in 1954 her husband, Diego Rivera, had her clothes, jewellery, makeup, photographs, letters and other personal possessions sealed inside the bathroom of Frida’s home, the Casa Azul (Blue House). In 2004, half a century later, the room was opened, and cataloguing and conservation began. In the decades since her death Kahlo has been recognised as an important artist in her own right, not just an appendage to Rivera, and has become a global icon. The V&A’s exhibition, curated by Circe Henestrosa* and Claire Wilcox, is a fascinating and moving insight into her life and style.

Wedding Portrait of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, 1929 by Victor Reyes. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. She's wearing a rebozo, a traditional Mexican shawl. (My photo of photo)

Revlon compact and powderpuff with blusher in 'Clear Red' and Revlon lipstick in 'Everything's Rosy'; emery boards and eyebrow pencil in 'Ebony'. Before 1954. Photograph Javier Hinojosa. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

‘They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.’ Frida Kahlo, 1953

Used to sitting for her photographer father, Frida became her own muse. Her art was her life and her life was her art. Her pride in her cultural identity, her injuries, her inability to have children, her communism, her problematic marriage, her sense of fun – all are expressed in her work and in this show. Frida shocked people, she challenged expectations, and she lived her life in glorious colour and texture, with an earthy realness.

Four poster bed-style display case containing plaster corsets.

'Appearances can be deceiving', Frida Kahlo, 1944-54. Charcoal and coloured pencil on paper. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (my photo of drawing). Frida illustrating Tehuana dress as a disguise and distraction from her infirmities.

Frida Kahlo at the American British Cowdray (ABC) Hospital. Juan Guzmán, 1951. ©Juan Guzmán. Courtesy of Throckmorton Fine Art. (My photo of photo). Using a hand mirror to paint her plaster corset.

‘I am not sick, I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.’ Frida Kahlo, 1953

Kahlo lived with disability for most of her life, first as a result of polio when she was six, then from the bus accident when she was 18. It’s one thing to know that, but another thing to see the three dimensional evidence of it up close. In one dreamily-eerie room her orthopaedic corsets and built-up boots are displayed in cases resembling the four poster bed she spent so much time immobilised in. It makes this woman’s body of work and passion for life even more extraordinary. Her paintings are commemorations of what her body and soul have been through, and these items add even more layers to them.

She suffered pain, indignity and heartbreak and she turned it into art.

Plaster corset with a painting of her 'broken column' spine, 1944.

Front half of plaster corset with holes in - possibly for ventilation, the large hole is possibly a reference to the near-fatal miscarriage Kahlo suffered in 1932.

Orthopaedic corset, fabric-covered steel, 1944. Possibly the one shown in her painting 'The Broken Column', 1944.

Ankle boots, one with a built-up heel, 1948-52. Due to polio, Frida's right leg was shorter than her left.

Prosthetic leg with lace-up boots, 1953-4. Red leather with Chinese silk panels, and bells. Frida's right leg - damaged by polio, then sustaining a fracture to the foot in the bus crash - had to be amputated below the knee in 1953.

Detail of Kahlo's red leather boots.

I don’t think a single visit is enough to process all that’s in this exhibition; if possible, go and see it, buy the (excellent) exhibition catalogue and have a good perusal, then go back and see the exhibition again. I’m going back this week – I’d already booked my ticket before I went to the preview – I’m a Frida fan and a textiles fan, and this exhibition is hugely satisfying for both!

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, 16 June – 4 November 2018.
Sponsored by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Aeromexico, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and GRoW @ Anneberg.

www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-up

*Circe Henestrosa also curated ‘Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The dresses of Frida Kahlo’ at Museo Frida Kahlo in 2012:
www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/esp/1/exposiciones/los-vestidos-de-frida-kahlo

Part 2 coming later this week.

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Roses at Alexander McQueen - Part 1: Coming up Roses

Fashioning The Favourite: Sandy Powell's costumes from The Favourite, on display in the Queen's Rooms at Kensington Palace

Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 2 of 2

Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 1 of 2

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