Last week I made a quick trip to New York to see the Met’s Heavenly Bodies show before it closed.
A fantastic show about Christian iconography in fashion. So many beautiful examples! Everything from the Vatican to Versace.
A huge show, it was spread between the main museum and the Cloisters.
The coolest part, it was all displayed in the museum’s Byzantium and Medieval galleries.
The juxtaposition was fantastic.
There were so many variations of inspiration,
Thierry Mugler’s beautiful angel,
A whole room of Dolce and Gabbana’s mosaic inspired beaded pieces.
All in a row, high above our heads.
A cropped picture, for a closer look.
In front of Thierry Mugler’s gown, Christian Lacroix’s bride.
And a demure Valentino [at least I’m pretty sure it’s Valentino, I took no notes!] perfectly displayed in front of a gorgeous tapestry.
And in the galleries below, pieces from the Vatican.
Intricate embroideries.
And jeweled papal tiaras.
My favorite part of the show? The exhibit at the Cloisters.
Set in beautiful Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters was built in 1938 from parts of various medieval buildings to hold the museum’s collection of 12th-15th century art.
The intimate space lent itself perfectly to the gorgeous clothes.
Many of the garments were in glass boxes, easy to see through but difficult to photograph.
This Victor and Rolf piece was covered in iridescent crystal beads.
The light, the old stones, the sculptures, everything perfectly conceived. It all fit together exactly.
The quiet architecture enhanced so many of the pieces.
This Calvin Klein wedding dress took on a seriousness that I might not have noticed otherwise.
Philip Tracy hats looking right at home in front of this carved wooden alter.
I had seen so many pictures of this Balenciaga wedding gown, but still, in person, so quiet, so perfect. Stunning.
Wow and wow. An amazing show. I am so happy I got to see it.
New Beginning
What a happy picture! This is beautiful Anne and her husband Paul at Anne’s retirement party. She’s off to a good start. Retirement obviously agrees with her!
I was delighted to see that she was wearing one of my Hitoes.
This one was sewn with three beautiful kimono silks. A traditional Japanese print is set off with shibori collar and cuffs [yes, each of those tiny dots are individually tie-dyed] all framed with navy sleeves.
I love the way she’s styled everything, the perfect simple shell to go under, a gorgeous necklace and earrings.
Congratulations Anne and many good wishes for your new beginning!
Organizing
I’ll admit it, it’s what I love to do, organize.
Everything else may be out of control, but here in my studio, all is order.
The reds are together here and the blues over there, sheers on top, solids and patterns, so many ways to categorize.
Which is why I had such a good time last week.
The first step to make one of my pieced scarves is to put together fabrics that go together. And even better, go together so that each piece enhances the next and will look beautiful as a whole.
Looking through my leftover scraps of silk, laying them out into some sort of order, following along, led by accident to new combinations and connections.
After a while, what was once an odd, disorganized pile of scraps is now orderly stacks of color coordinated fabrics. Instead of leftover odds and ends, they are almost, not quite yet, but soon, brand new scarves.