A few weeks ago, I finished my very last order from the San Francisco show, a smaller sized pieced jacket like the one I had made earlier.
The original,
Then, with all my work finished, I flew to NYC to see the Heavenly Bodies show.
Now, my favorite time of all, thinking about, designing and making new work.
Laying out beautiful fabrics, seeing how colors interact, planning how best to highlight each set, designing new coats and jackets, tops and bottoms, making sure they’ll work together.
It’s a blissful place, I follow the winding path, not at all sure where I’ll end up.
The scissors are out, the machine is humming, the iron is hot and the radio is on.
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Heavenly Bodies Exhibit
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!