And it was magnifique!
Ironically placed in the American wing, you had to walk through rooms of antique George Washington era furniture and portraits. Perhaps they placed Gaultier in that wing because his designs give the sense of creative freedom. The clothes represent a man who feels free to explore his fancy, which includes his glamorous take on S&M, the luxury grocery cart made of fur and the infamous cone bras that will poke your eye out if you get too close.
But that's all I could do to the clothes was look as close as possible to see every hand painted detail, corset and flights of imagination on display. I also learned a lot. The fragrance can was inspired by his mother who recycled everything after the war before it even became fashionable. It was out of scarcity. I also realized how much he loves illusion. Each piece looks like one thing from the distance but then you get up close to it and you see that the copper metal-looking corset is actually patent leather strips. The leopard print coat is actually made of feathers painted with spots.
The light projection of models' faces onto the mannequins also made the show more engaging since they would start speaking with French accents and just leer at you as you inspected their clothes. As a New Yorker familiar with riding the subway, getting leered at was nothing new. The singing mannequin was my favorite.
The only disappointing thing about the exhibit was that there wasn't more for me to see and explore. It was so easy to get lost in the fantastical world of Gaultier. So with the void, I did what anyone else would do...I went shopping.
YES
If you can trek it to Brooklyn, it's worth checking out.
NO
Don't wait until it gets to the Met because it never will.
MAYBE
You think the McQueen exhibit was be all and end all...well you're wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment