BIRDS OF PARADISE. PLUMES & FEATHERS IN FASHION AT THE MOMU

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I had a lovely day in Antwerp today, I visited 4 of the last year student's presentations followed by Karen Van Godtsenhoven, the curator of Birds of Paradise in Fashion, walking me through the Birds of Paradise exhibition. All are feathers, even though the swan down coat worn by Marlene Dietrich does look like fur. It isn't. Karen told me that because the coat was so voluminous instead of trying to pack it Marlene just had several of the same coat made and left it at her various houses around the world.

 The opening image is a corset made by Mr. Pearl for Thierry Mugler, the third image is also by Thierry Mugler and the last image is a dress by Olivier Theyskens from his days at ROCHAS. In between are Ann, YSL and a beautiful hat by I don't know who.

Ann Demeulemeester has a room to herself, she always used feathers in her collections. "Since childhood, I have had a great respect for feathers, particularly dove feathers. For me, a dove feather represents the poetry of the ordinary: a sort of perfection that anyone can randomly find on the street." excerpt from the Birds of Paradise Plumes & Feathers in Fashion.

YSL used a lot of feathers at the end of his life. Feather fans were popular between 1830 – 1930. "Large feather fans are always the most elegant, the most expensive and the most desirable."  

The exhibition will be up till 24 August.

http://www.momu.be/tentoonstelling/birds-of-paradise.html

https://vimeo.com/88977929

Later,

Diane

Fashion Museum Province of Antwerp – Fashion Museum 
National Street 28 
2000 Antwerpen T +32 3 470 27 70 F +32 3 470 27 71 E info@momu.be

 

mm
Diane Pernet

A LEGENDARY FIGURE IN FASHION and a pioneer of blogging, Diane is a respected journalist, critic, curator and talent-hunter based in Paris. During her prolific career, she designed her own successful brand in New York, costume designer, photographer, and filmmaker.

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