Years ago, when I trained to be a fashion stylist, I studied the History of Fashion. Thanks to my experience in fashion, I've already worked with gorgeous contemporary gowns, and last week, I attended the Fashion Textile Museum's showing of their Haute Couture archives. I had the privilege of getting up close to original couture gowns (wearing white gloves, of course!), including 1950's Dior and Chanel, 1960's Dior (by Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent), and more recent acquisitions such as Christian Lacroix, and that mesh Oscar gown by Elie Saab for Halle Berry!
Living through the 1920's, Alberto Giacometti was an Swiss sculptor who mixed and mingled with the famous clan of Paris-based artists and thinkers of the time, which also included Picasso and Simone de Beauvoir. The Tate Modern museum in London is hosting the largest UK-based retrospective of Giacometti's work in 20 years.
Celebrating movement through stillness, Giacometti's distinctive sculptures are both minimalist and impactful. My favourite room of the exhibit highlighted a few female studies, such as 'Walking Woman 1' (below, centre).
Anna Sui is one of the great storytellers in American fashion. Thanks to the Fashion & Textile Museum here in London, I was able to attend a curated discussion "Meet the Exhibition Curator and Team: The World of Anna Sui" about their current exhibition on her works. I even spotted Anna Sui herself, there outside the exhibit.
Anna has created a number of archetypal characters repeated throughout her collections, as well as whole environments (interiors included) to match. Even if her distinctive style is not your own, the exhibit is worth a visit, to better understand her design process.
