The other day, while mindlessly scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed, I stopped for a few seconds as an ad for a Vogue article entitled: ‘BirkenShock! After 242 Years, Birkenstock Premieres at Paris Fashion Week’ caught my eye. Nevermind the fact that this means that all of the lovely internet cookies are doing their slightly scary work of keeping track of the fact, that yes, I have been googling Vogue a lot. What really struck me was the article’s meaning, however. Birkenstock? At Paris Fashion Week? Really? I chuckled slightly, and then sat back in awe, marvelling at what appears to be a genius piece of marketing strategy. Growing up as a child in Germany, I can safely say that, in my own experience, Birkenstocks were popular, but not cool, let alone fashionable. Practical? Yes. But not cool at all. They were worn widely but seemed especially popular in slightly musty smelling organic shops. Not at all like the health food, hipster-ised places today, but the ones you only ventured into when you had a genuine food allergy (dairy and wheat in my case) and had no other choice. You would be served by middle-aged, muscular, skinny women called Maike or Ortrud, that probably lived on a diet of sunflower seeds and herbal tea alone; fabulous non-conformists with sun tanned skin, crop tops and long skirts. The other place the cork soled shoe could be spotted almost with certainty every time was a doctor’s office. Pared with clinical white trousers, shirts and overcoats they formed part of the uniform of horror that greeted you for your set of vaccinations – a known traumatic experience of any childhood. Birkenstocks back then were and still are deemed as a health shoe; they were comfortable and practical, impeccably German and not the most aesthetically pleasing.
The short article in Vogue, too stresses their health aspect, but quotes Birkenstock’s CEO as justifying the brand’s venture into fashion by saying: ‘We have been in the fashion industry for so many years already! Go around and ask every top photographer and stylist, they are all wearing Birkenstock…’. And really, while flicking through the slideshow of the fashion show on Vogue’s website you do feel that the shoe slots right in. The fact that the article appears in Vogue alone lends them increasing fashion credibility. Birkenstock’s own website also highlights them as a shoe for creatives, interviewing a few Londoners working in the creative field (fashion curator Shonagh Marshall amongst them) to showcase just how fashionable they are.
The Vogue article
Birkenstock’s are, for me, one of those very straightforward examples of the constant volatility within the cycle of fashion and also the tension between what is popular but not necessarily fashionable at any given moment and period of time. Clearly for me, the article in Vogue perhaps suggest I get over my childhood trauma, and give into the fashionable comfy-ness of the ultimate German shoe. Different to many other fashion fads, at least this one promises to keep my feet healthy…
How can you tell people what it is like to wear certain clothes without letting them try anything on? For curators this is a constant question – how to create an exhibition that expresses every facet of what clothes are. Frequently, the answer lies elsewhere, the focus is placed on a designer’s creativity, or perhaps on the drama of catwalk shows and fashion photography. But at the heart of fashion are the wearers – and so, how do you enable exhibition visitors to understand clothes they will probably never put on?
This question is especially pertinent when the designer has placed emphasis on the wearer’s experience, rather than the viewer’s. At Mode Museum Antwerp’s current exhibition Margiela: The Hermès Years, one way that the feel, fit and flow of the garments on the body is conveyed is through a series of short films by Guido Verelst played alongside the outfits themselves. These show models that walked in the original Hermès’ shows – moving in the clothes to demonstrate how they are worn. Rather than striding as in a catwalk, these are subtler performances that enact the garments’ key qualities, and make visible the exhibition’s themes. In one, Shirley Jean-Charles dressed in the A/W 1998-99 collection allows the supple black layers of her ensemble to slip slowly from her shoulders – the gossamer thin rainproof voile over buttery soft leather glide down her back, and as viewers our sense memories connect visual and material. While we are not, of course, allowed to touch anything, this slow motion movement evokes a multi-sensory response.
Film’s own haptic surface and constant movement mirrors what is represented – the screen makes the images material, as they flicker before our eyes. The model’s fluid gestures amplify this, and link to the way we move and feel in our clothes. Not all of us may be able to wear the incredible, high quality fabrics that Margiela used during his time at Hermès from 1997-2003, but the curators draw our attention to the details, and surfaces to allow us to appreciate his work in deeper ways.
May 2017 will stand out in designer Anna Sui’s memory as a month full of successes and landmarks. As well as receiving an honorary degree from Parsons School of Design, the designer and her influential career became the subject of London’s Fashion and Textile Museum’s latest exhibition. Entitled ‘The World of Anna Sui,’ the show takes visitors on a journey through the Chinese-American designer’s inspirations, obsessions and most iconic moments, which formed her style and established her as one of the key figures of 90s American look, alongside names such as Marc Jacobs and Isaac Mizrahi.
A view of the entrance to the exhibition space.
The title of the exhibition could not be more accurate – as soon as one steps into the first gallery, Sui’s vision becomes unmistakable and overwhelming. Her voice beams out of the speakers as she describes how she came to be interested in fashion, proclaims her love for Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy, and explains how her own style developed in her teenage years, despite strange looks from her peers. As the visitors listen to Sui’s narrative, archive videos of The Beatles, celebrity culture, markets at Portobello and Carnaby, and scenes of boho youths frolicking in the park bring into forefront the environments and mentalities within which Sui grew up, capturing her imagination, and eventually manifesting themselves in her designs. With the understanding of her background, Anna Sui’s exhilarating universe is ready to be explored.
A photograph of Anna Sui’s first boutique at 113 Greene Street in Soho, New York, which opened in 1992.
The main gallery space almost teleports the visitor into one of Sui’s boutiques, a photograph of which is featured in the corridor between the different rooms. Entering through a grand, black lacquered door, groups of mannequins clad in Sui’s extraordinary garments, arranged according to their clique (nomads, punks, mods, surfers, rockstars and schoolgirls all make an appearance), lure the spectator deeper into the space, in an almost hypnotic state. The colours, patterns, textiles and surfaces are otherworldly, creating a kaleidoscope of all the characters one can become in Sui’s fashions. With vitrines in which shoes, make-up, sunglasses, hats and other Sui paraphernalia are showcased, the gallery space is almost a treasure chest in which anyone and everyone can find something to lust over. Completing and complementing the exhibits are purple walls, red platforms and Sui’s signature pattern with which the space is decorated. The curator Dennis Nothdruft and exhibitions designer Beth Ojari transformed the relatively small space of the Fashion and Textile Museum, with great success, into an enchanting and intriguing environment.
A view of the ‘Fairytale’ section.Installation of the ‘Punk’ garments.The ‘Rockstar and Hippie’ group with Sui’s signature patterned wallpaper.
‘The World of Anna Sui’ is unlike any other recent fashion exhibitions. While the space is limited and a lot is packed in, it is never to the detriment of the clothes on show. There is something reminiscent of Diana Vreeland’s multi-sensory exhibitions at The Met’s Costume Institute in the London show. Unsurprisingly, the designer loved Vreeland’s stories for Vogue and The Met. Consequently, Sui’s perfume is pumped into the rooms of the Fashion and Textile Museum, corresponding to the message the garments are relaying. As such, ‘Sui Dreams,’ a perfume described as “inspired by independent women who follow their hearts and exceed their own expectations” provides the scent for the first gallery, that of Sui’s influences and childhood dreams. The main space, where the iconic Anna Sui garments are on show, fills one’s nose with ‘Fairy Dance,’ offering “an escape into a mystical garden where fantasy lives. A happy, whimsical place filled with sunlight and the enchantment of the fairy world.” Not much can be more appropriate for Sui’s story-filled collections. Elsewhere, Nirvana cries out from the speakers, while visitors can study Sui’s design process through the installed mood boards, or find out about the figures she collaborates with on her shows, such as make-up artist Pat McGrath, milliner James Caviello and photographer Steven Meisel. The exhibition is all encompassing, rich, informative, joyful and optimistic. An absolute must-see this summer! And don’t forget to visit the gift shop – you can take a bit of Anna Sui away with you in the form of her fabulous make-up, a scarf, or Tim Blanks’ new coffee-table book on the designer published in conjunction with the exhibition, also titled The World of Anna Sui. And one last tip – leave yourself a lot of time to peruse the exhibition, you will not want to leave!
A cabinet filled with an array of sunglasses and other accessorues from Sui’s shows through the years.An example of Sui’s research board for a collection – here, Hawaii is on her mind.
‘The World of Anna Sui’ runs at the Fashion and Textile Museum until October 1, 2017.
On a sunny Wednesday in London, Liz and the Documenting Fashion MAs took a trip to the archives of the National Portrait Gallery to view a selection of photographs from our study period of 1920-1960. Tucked behind the main building of the National Portrait Gallery, the archives were an oasis of calm in the centre of bubbling London. The Photographs Collection began in 1972 and today holds about a quarter of a million images. 2000 of these form the primary collection consisting of the most important images with the remainder of the material (photographs, negatives etc.) forming the bulk of the collection. The selection we viewed was wide-ranging including a book, two albums, an illustration and, of course, black and white, as well as colour photography.
Of particular interest to us MAs was an album from the “Lady Ottoline Morrell Albums.” It showed a variety of subject matter ranging from a rather less glamorous cow on a field to the beauty of Claude Monet’s garden. However, seeing one of the albums first hand mainly provided further insight and context to the way in which fashion is also captured in these photographs. We had touched on the album collection’s value and richness in conveying fashion related information in class while discussing Lily Le Brun’s (former Documenting Fashion MA) article on Siegfried Sassoon’s depiction in the album (see below for details of this fascinating read). Other highlights included an illustration by Cecil Beaton which captured a stunning hat and dress with a tiny waist in just a few artistic strokes. As the illustration is merely in black and white, the references to the racecourse scene in the film “My Fair Lady” were strong – Beaton had been responsible for the costume and art direction of the film. A variety of his photographs on display also led us to discuss poses taken by the models or sitters. From the carefully posed and constructed to the informal snapshots from Lady Ottoline’s album, we mused over the different effects each has on the representation of the sitter. Are those in the snapshots truly less aware of a camera being present or is their awareness possibly heightened by trying to stay casual? Interesting backdrops also theme in the selected images. From polka dots, through geometric patterns to a design resembling the form of a bedspring were all instrumental in forming a highly stylised and distinctive look. A photograph taken by Louise Dahl-Wolfe here served as a refreshing contrast. It showed two men sitting in a park, dappled sunlight and shadows on their hair and clothing, resting and enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. Moving onto 1950s and 1960s images on the other hand gave us a chance to peek at photographer Norman Parkinson hanging upside down from a gymnasts climbing wall amongst his models. Beside this, there were three images by Horst, one of which showed a young Carmen Dell’Orefice, as stunning back then as she is today.
Although only a miniscule part of the overall collection, the images on display today showed the wide scope fashion imagery encompasses and the multiple different ways they can be decoded or read. From the personal to the public, the colourful to the dull, the professional glance to the amateur take, all store information on a time gone by, now preserved and ready for inspection in the wonderful archive of the National Portrait Gallery.
Sources:
Conversation with the Archivists of the NGP, 15/03/17.
Further Reading:
Le Brun, Lily, ”Life Lived on the Plane of Poetry:” Images of Siegfried Sassoon in the Lady Ottoline Morell Album Collection, Courtauld Institute of Art, MA Dissertation (2011).
Want/need a break from your dissertation writing, busy city life or 9 to 5 job? With the Easter holiday around the corner (plus Brexit being trending topic again), I thought I would share some of my personal favourite fashion-related temporary exhibitions that are on in museums all over Europe during the (UK) Easter holidays.
I can’t think of a better excuse to travel and tour wonderful cities, eat delicious food, immerse yourself into the richness of other European cultures and whilst doing so, explore some of the most interesting fashion exhibitions of this year outside the UK.
MUSEE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS (Paris), from 1 December 2016 to 23 April 2017.
“Tenue Correcte Exigée: Quand Le Vêtement Fait Scandale” revisits the scandals that have marked the great turning points in fashion history from the 14th century to today. Featuring outfits, portraits and objects, it explores the liberties taken with dress codes and how they breached moral values. The robe volante, women in trousers, men in skirts, female tuxedo, miniskirt… (with examples as Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo, Elsa Schiaparelli’s jumpsuit and Yves Saint Laurent’s female tuxedo, among others).
PALAIS GALLERIA (Paris), from April 27th to August 13th 2017.
“Dalida, Une Garde-Robe De La Ville À La Scène” pays homage to Dalida with an exhibition of her wardrobe, recently donated to the museum. Dressed by the greatest designers both on and off-stage, in haute couture or in prêt-à-porter, Dalida has remained an immensely popular star in France. Her wardrobe always followed the movements of fashion, but it also reflected her artistic development.
And
From March 8th to July 16th 2017
“Balenciaga, L’oeuvre Au Noir”. Spanish Season – A Palais Galliera Extra-Mural Exhibition pays homage to the couturier with an extra-mural exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle. The exhibition resonates with the black tones of an alchemist of haute couture: variations of black repeated in over a hundred of pieces from the Galliera collections and the archives of Maison Balenciaga. This exhibition opens the Palais Galliera’s Spanish season, which will continue with Costumes espagnols entre ombre et lumière (‘Spanish costumes from dark to bright’) at the Maison Victor Hugo (21 June – 24 September 2017) and will finish with Mariano Fortuny at the Palais Galliera (4 October 2017 – 7 January 2018).
MODEMUSEUM HASSELT (Hasselt, Belgium), from 4th March to 3rd September 2017.
“Across Japan” features the fascinating innovations introduced by the Japanese avant-garde designers and their younger peers in combination with newer Western interpretations of the ‘Japanese’ aesthetics. At the same time, the show seeks to illustrate that this concern with Japan in the West is nothing new and has a long tradition going back to the seventeenth century, which is explored through a set of themes and a selection of silhouettes supplemented with visuals aiming at pinpointing the peculiar nature of it. The exhibition is part of the Yokoso Festival – 25 Years Japanese Garden in Hasselt.
MoMu (Antwerp, Belgium), from 31st March to 27th August 2017.
“Margiela, the Hermes Years” will display Belgian stylist Martin Margiela’s Hermès collections from 1997 to 2003 for the first time. As well as this, the tribute exhibition also explores the relationship during these years between these collections and his own label, Maison Martin Margiela. Groundbreaking deconstruction and timeless luxury – the two worlds of designer Martin Margiela – are the starting point of this exhibition.
STAALICHE KUNSTSAMMULUNGEN (Dresden, Germany, State Art Museum), 3 March to 5 June 2017.
“Women Cross Media. Photography, Porcelain and Prints from China and Japan” is a presentation in the context of the exhibition Dresden • Europe • World and is dedicated to the cross-media issue of how femininity was portrayed in images in East Asian art of the early 18th to the late 19th century – in a dialogue between objects from the Porcelain Collection, the Photography Collection of the Museum of Ethnology and from the Kupferstich-Kabinett.
KUNSTGEWEBERMUSEUM (Berlin, Germany), Until March 2017 (only for early birds, but I had to include it, looks fantastic!).
“Uli Richter Revisited – Fashion Visionary, Teacher, Inspiration” coincides with Uli Richter’s 90th birthday, and features some of the highlights of the Berlin fashion designer’s work. As one of the youngest major designers working in Berlin in the early 1950s, he played an important role in forging a ‘made in Berlin’ style. Over the more than 40 years in which he worked as a fashion designer, he succeeded in reinvigorating and consolidating Berlin’s reputation as an international centre of fashion. Clothing, design sketches, and photographs, provide the viewer with a glimpse into Berlin’s young fashion scene in the 1980s and 1990s.
WIEN MUSEUM KARLSPLATZ (Viena, Austria), from 24th November 2016 to 26th February 2017
“Robert Haas. Framing Two Worlds.” Robert Haas (1898-1997) is among the great Austrian-American photographers of the twentieth century. He began his artistic career in Vienna as a graphic designer before studying photography. In the 1930s, Haas created stirring works of social reportage and sensitive depictions of everyday life, along with portraits and object studies of subjects in the city. On the way to his exhile to New York, Haas documented the American way of life beyond the big cities as well as public figures. The exhibition presents his virtually unknown oeuvre to the public for the first time: at once an artistic discovery of the first order and a richly detailed panorama of the times.
LIVRUSTKAMMAREN (Stockholm, Sweden), from 15th September to 19th March 2017.
“Renaissance fashion in paper. The Medici family outside the frame”. Impressive costumes, opulent creations, extravagant forms and strong colours. Lace, frills, trains, rosettes and flounces. A Renaissance collection – inspired by the most powerful Renaissance family, the Medicis. The collection has been entirely made of paper by the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave. Now her most extravagant collection is being presented in the Royal Armoury in the Royal Palace, for the first time in both Sweden and Scandinavia.
MUSEO SALVATORE FERRAGAMO (Florence, Italy), from 19th May 2016 to 17th May 2017.
“Across Art and Fashion”, analyses the forms of dialogue between these two worlds: reciprocal inspirations, overlaps and collaborations, from the experiences of the Pre-Raphaelites to those of Futurism, and from Surrealism to Radical Fashion. It focuses on the work of Salvatore Ferragamo, who was fascinated and inspired by the avant-garde art movements of the 20th century, on several ateliers of the Fifties and Sixties and the advent of the culture of celebrities. It then examines the experimentation of the Nineties and whether in the contemporary cultural industry we can still talk about two separate worlds or if we are dealing with fluid roles.
GUCCI MUSEUM (Florence, Italy), from February 2017.
“The Tom Ford Rooms” showcase women’s and men’s ready-to-wear in one room and accessories in another. The aim of the spaces is to remind people of the way in which Ford encouraged self-expression through developing a distinctive, sensual aesthetic for the House. The decoration of the rooms and the way in which the items on display are presented contribute to a mood of provocative sensuality that perfectly reflects the image that Ford created for Gucci while he was at the helm of the design team at the label.
CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA MUSEOA (Biarritz, Spain), 6th October 2016 to 7th May 2017.
“Coal And Velvet. Views On Popular Costumes By Ortiz Echagüe And Balenciaga” explores the romantic vision and the aesthetic revision that Cristóbal Balenciaga, in his Haute Couture creations, and Ortiz Echagüe, in his photographic narrations of traditional Spain, make of popular costumes. It establishes a dialogue offering interpretations of a reality, that of popular costumes, which was already becoming extinct in the early 20th century and which both, through works of undeniable artistic quality, give validity and bestow on them a timeless quality.
And
“Cristóbal Balenciaga. Un Legado Atemporal”, 1st January 2016 to 7 May, 2017.
One of the most influential couturiers of the 20th century and a tireless perfectionist with an exceptional creative talent that inspired him to design models that were audacious in both their form and aesthetics, taking the world by storm and setting the indisputable trend season after season. His command of the craft earned him the respect of his colleagues and he reigned supreme in the international haute couture world until he retired in 1968.
Since skeptics proclaimed that print is dead some years ago, the opposite seems to have happened. There are now more fashion magazines than ever – just walk into Wardour News; the choice is overwhelming. Yet something is missing in all those glossy pages, a void that Amnah Hafez and her incredible team at a new magazine Cause & Effect areabout to fill. I wanted to know more about their exciting venture, and so I spoke to Amnah to find out what to look forward to. One thing I am already sure of: I cannot wait to get my hands on the first issue. Now everyone, form an orderly queue, please.
BK: What inspired you to start your own magazine?
AH: I wanted to see a magazine out there that was inherently diverse and inclusive. I was frustrated at the lack of that in the magazines I was picking up. And by that I mean in terms of age, gender, race, body type, work experience etc. I wanted to celebrate those who I felt were ignored. The content I was seeing never represented me, my friends or a lot of the people I know and respect. It was born after years of discussion between Tom Rasmussen (Executive Editor) and I. We essentially were so upset at how the industry was basically based on exclusion.
BK: Why Cause & Effect?
AH: When the discussion began on how we wanted to layout the magazine, I thought about the number three a lot. A number I always felt was complete and whole (I am superstitious and believe good things and bad things happen in threes, and so this was my good thing in threes, I suppose). I started to research the number itself within the context of religion and mythology, and ended up reading about the rule of three in Wiccan religion. “It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.” Essentially Karma. Cause & Effect was born from that. We wanted to put out something good into the world. We wanted to carve out a little place for ourselves within the industry where we could showcase the works of people we admire and create content where the unappreciated could feel appreciated.
Taking a break. Photo by Amnah Hafez
BK: What is the concept/ethos of the magazine?
AH: This is exactly what we wrote down when we set out to begin the magazine, and what we would send to potential contributors:
Cause & Effect marries fashion and politics. We want to talk about a love of fashion that doesn’t require moral and intellectual compromise. We want to explore beauty beyond the realms of the unachievable, the non-diverse. We want to discuss mental health, race, body type, gender, sex, sexuality in a candid way, in a beautiful way, in an accessible way.”
BK: Is there a magazine that influenced how you put together C&E?
AH: Not really. William, my husband and our Art Director is a furniture designer who also creates digital artwork. He doesn’t have a background in graphic design per se, so the layouts are influenced by the pieces he was working with rather than existing designs he’d seen elsewhere.
BK: Why did you decide to create a print magazine rather than going digital?
AH: Because I’m not well equipped to deal with that world just yet. Ha! I also wanted to create something that you could always go back to. Like any of the coffee table books that you would have. I wanted it to be tangible and beautiful. There is such a quickness to online content. It’s there, then it’s gone. I know you can save it, but how often do you go back to something you bookmarked? Or re-read an article you’ve saved? I don’t know, that’s my feeling about it. The books I own are always my source of inspiration.
Backdrop. Photo by Amnah Hafez
BK: What types of articles can your readers expect from issue one?
AH: Articles on mental health, fetishism, leaving religion, fat-shaming, being a drag queen in the Middle East.
BK: You have a very small team of five editors. How did you manage to put the magazine together when you all have other jobs as well? Was there a big dependence on other collaborators?
AH: In a way, of course, there would be no magazine without their help. We have some amazing contributors in this magazine that we were so eager to work with, so we’re very lucky they agreed to work with us. But at the magazine itself, we just divided the work between each of us. Everyone in my team happens to work freelance, so we met when we could and split the jobs between us. Tom and Emily Carlton (who is our Managing Editor) concentrated on the written content as well as commissioning writers, while myself and Vince Larubina (Senior Fashion Editor) produced the shoots. I styled some of them and came up with some of the concepts for them, and we also handled all creative aspects of the magazine such as finding and commissioning artists. It’s an annual magazine so it was basically done in our spare time.
Hair and make-up. Photo by Amnah Hafez
BK: How did the decision to work with your husband and close friends come about? Was it something you always spoke about or did it happen quite organically?
AH: As I said, Tom and I talked about it for sometime and when we began, it was the two of us that really founded this magazine. We reached out to people we knew to carry other responsibilities in their spare time, because we couldn’t keep up with the workload. I think it’s natural that you’ll reach out to people you know because you trust them, know what their job situation is like, so you know when they’re available and how often, and most importantly, know that they’re good at their jobs. I reached out to Vince (who lives in New York) because he had just quit his job because he was unhappy (he’s got the best eye and the best taste, and his body of reference is just unbelievable), and I needed the help. So he came out to London and lived with me for some time and we worked on the magazine together. I couldn’t have done it without him.
BK: Do you have any tips for people who would like to start their own magazine?
AH: Have something to say. Make it your truth. Always ask! You never know who will agree to contribute or help out. Remember that this isn’t a job where you’ll be making money (ha), so you’ve got to fucking love it.
Editorial sneak-peek. Photo by Amnah Hafez
BK: What are your hopes for the magazine in the future?
AH: For someone to buy it and read it? Haha. I would love to continue to showcase and represent more people I admire, for those people to inspire others as they have inspired me. I have a vision for the brand itself, and for the magazine but it’s baby steps. I want to eventually create an online presence, e-commerce (t-shirts, posters etc.), eventually a charity, but some of it is not for quite some time yet. I want to make a few more issues before expanding – I just hope that with time, Cause & Effect can be my full-time job.
Getting camera-ready. Photo by Amnah Hafez
First issue of Cause & Effect will be out in March/April 2017.
Fan painted by Ronot-Tutin, 1890-1900, France. Painted silk gauze and bobbin lace leaf, with mother of pearl sticks and guards. Lady Cory Bequest. V&A.
‘The fan is back’ declared the Financial Times this month. Meanwhile, British Vogue devoted two thirds of a page to the accessory in its February issue. Fashion writer Susie Lau admitted that it was the ‘one accessory that I’ve not had the opportunity to touch upon in all of Style Bubble’s ten year history’ in spite of the many modern day instances where one was required – namely fashion shows, on the underground, and wherever there is a lack of air conditioning in the summer months.
British Vogue, February 2017
What prompted such headlines? The highly symbolic accessory appeared on the Gucci catwalk for Spring/Summer 2017 – a flat, rigid Japanese éventail style. All three articles referenced a just-launched brand called Fern Fans established by London-based PR Daisy Hoppen and Danish textile designer Amanda Borberg, who have revised the traditional pleated concertina style in birchwood and textured cottons for the contemporary consumer.
Fan, 1820-30, France. Pierced Ivory. Given by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt and Lady Wyatt. V&A.
The fan is an accessory with a rich and whimsical history, with pictorial history suggesting their use as far back as 3000BC. Their purpose is not just keeping oneself cool – fans have long had a ceremonial role, with the Greeks, Romans and Etruscans using them in this way. European folding fans came much later – introduced by merchant traders and religious orders from China and Japan – and regarded as status symbols, reserved for Royalty and nobility. They were often highly ornamental, using materials such as mother of pearl, ivory and tortoiseshell for their sticks and guards, decorated with precious metals and gems, and hand-painted; craftsmen dedicated to producing fans gradually formed guilds such as The Worshipful Company of Fan Makers (established during the reign of Charles II in London and incorporated by a royal charter in 1709).
Fan, 1750-60, France. Painted paper and mother of pearl. Given by Emily Beauclerk. V&A.Fan, 1820-30, England or France. Horn sticks, gouache and metal. Given by Admiral Sir Robert and Lady Prendergast. V&A.
After the swift rise of the accessory in the late 16th and 17th century – often pictured in the hands of ladies in portraits from this time, including Elizabeth I (see the ‘Darnley Portrait’, c. 1575) – increased imports together with new methods developed by manufacturers to print fans meant that they became cheaper to purchase and available to a wider audience. The Fan Museum in Greenwich documents the fan’s continued history and craft and a significant number of examples on show in the Fashion and Textile rooms in the V&A. These include an 18th and several 19th century fans; the former is French, made of hand-painted paper featuring leisure scenes, the latter range from pierced ivory to horn, and painted flowers on silk gauze. There’s even a peacock-printed plastic and paper fan for sale in the shop.
Fan in the V&A shop
Beyond ornament and temperature-regulation, the fan developed an altogether more intriguing role in concealing and revealing the wearer’s emotions in delicate social situations. It holds the potential to do much more than hide a blush, illicit smile or veil boredom. Behold: a guide to speaking the language of one of fashion’s most enduring accessories.
To hold the fan with the right hand in front of the face: follow me To move the fan with the left hand: they are watching us To throw the fan: I hate you To hold the fan closed: do you love me? To move the fan with the right hand: I love another
To open and close the fan: you are cruel To hold the fan open, covering the mouth: I am single To fan slowly: I am married To fan quickly: I am engaged To hold the fan on the lips: kiss me To open the fan slowly: wait for me To open the fan with the left hand: come and talk to me To strike it closed on the left hand: write to me
Join us next week for two events with renowned fashion illustrator and visiting artist Richard Haines! After years as a fashion designer, Richard uses his eye for detail of fabric and form to produce striking images of fashion for clients like Prada, J.Crew, Pennyblack, Il Palacio del Hierro, Calvin Klein, Coach, Georg Jensen, Bobbi Brown, Unionmade Goods, Barneys, Mr. Porter, Grazia, The New York Times Style Magazine, Man of the World, GQ and GQ Italy. Richard also runs the fantastic blog “What I Saw Today,” where he records the style of trendsetters on the streets of New York City.
We will be holding another event with Richard later in the week on Thursday 23 February. At this smaller lecture, Richard answers the question, “What does it mean to be a fashion illustrator in 2017?” through discussions of social media and collaboration. The event is open to Courtauld staff and students, though non-affiliated visitors may book a place at the lecture by emailing researchforum@courtauld.ac.uk. Seating is limited, so reserve your place soon.
If you can’t wait to learn more about Richard, check out his illustrations on Instagram. We hope to see you there!
Cover: ‘Civita di Bagnoregio’ photographed by Giovanni Attili
Launched late last year, the new edition of A Magazine Curated By features 280 pages of interviews, imagery and musings brought together by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. It is the 16th issue since the concept was devised by Walter Van Beirendonck in 2001. Prior ‘curators’ have included Proenza Schouler, Stephen Jones, Maison Martin Margiela, Yohji Yamamoto and Riccardo Tisci.
Advertisement for Gucci photographed at ChatsworthCurator’s Letter
Credited with reviving the Italian house’s fortunes following his appointment almost exactly 2 years ago, this was an opportunity for Michele to express his creative perspective through exclusive content, free from advertising nods or commercial requirements. His vision for Gucci was made clear from the start with his first men’s show in January 2015. After 14 years in the company, latterly looking after accessories under his predecessor Frida Giannini, Michele was promoted with a week to go before the show. Jettisoning the entire pre-prepared men’s collection, he pulled together an aesthetically far-removed offering in a matter of days, showing sheer pussy bow blouses on both men and women, printed suits, and fur lined slip-on loafers, destined for stardom. The New Yorker have since labelled him ‘Gucci’s Renaissance Man.’
His clothes reflect a broad interest in adornment and embellishment over honing a silhouette; a devoted flea-market and museum goer, an antique-cluttered, retro sensibility suffuses his plucked-from-history’s-dressing-up-box offering. A Magazine provides an insight into Michele’s interests and inspirations, from curiosities and keepsakes to the work of artist Cindy Sherman and singer-songwriter Florence Welch, layered over prints which mirror the textiles used in Gucci’s printed suits and boutique interiors. Printed on matte paper of satisfying, substantial thickness, this is a magazine devoid of advice or instructions; it is closer to a personal scrapbook, easy for a reader to delight in its colour and detail-filled pages.
De Vera ‘A Pound of Flesh’ by Federico de Vera photographed by Ngoc Minh NgoA Man and His Symbols by Tavi GevinsonSong by Florence WelchCindy Sherman Untitled #90. Untitled film still #27, 1981. Chromogenic colour print, 24 x 48 inches, Courtesy of the Artist and Metro Pictures
The list of contributors is impressive: Chloë Sevigny, Bruce Weber, Joe McKenna, Glen Luchford, Unskilled Worker, Madonna, Grace Coddington and Jared Leto to name just a few. Each were offered the words ‘blind for love’ – Michele’s theme for the issue, lifted from an 18th century manuscript – as a starting point. Their myriad narratives number around 40 in total.
I’ll Be Your Mirror photographed by Glen Luchford, styling by Jerry StaffordUnpublished Photograph for Gucci, 2015, by Glen LuchfordCurator A.M.’s personal relic artwork / Hollywood Forever Superstar J.L.’s [Jared Leto] wisdom tooth artwork‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’ photographed by Bruce Weber, styling by Joe McKennaAz Én Családom photographed by Petra Collins, styling by Zara MirkinMadonna photographed by Steven Klein
One of the most engaging spreads features the actor and model Hari Nef; openly transgender, she has been a force for increasing diversity in the fashion industry of late. She first walked Gucci’s catwalk a year ago in the Autumn/Winter 2016 men’s show. In Michele’s A Magazine she appears as an angel lensed by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, complete with feathered wings, glowing features and a wide-eyed, heavenward stare. Another Gucci model, the photographer Petra Collins, contributes a nostalgia-tinted fashion story. A further fashion story, photographed by Gia Coppola, nods to the film Picnic at Hanging Rock – a perennial favourite of many fashion creatives – with blurred figures clad in ethereal Gucci gowns in sherbet tones draped across a rocky landscape.
‘Angels in Love’, Hari Nef photographed by Inez & VinoodhDream Within A Dream photographed by Gia Coppola, styling by Jacqui Getty (1)Dream Within A Dream photographed by Gia Coppola, styling by Jacqui Getty (2)Richard Ginori Factory est. 1735 photographed by Matthieu Salvaing
The resultant magazine is full of the same sense of purpose which defined Michele’s very first show; behind the scenes snaps of which, taken by Michele, conclude the magazine. It is a treasure: a rich narrative, complete with a youthful cast striving to redefine ideals of beauty.
Gucci Autumn Winter 2015 Behind the Scenes photographed by Alessandro MicheleThank you… / Ilustration by Grace CoddingtonAdvertisement for Gucci photographed at Chatsworth
Open Eye Gallery withVirgil Abloh and Ben Kelly’s installation
For the past few years, London’s galleries have been hosts to some incredible fashion exhibitions, luring visitors from every corner of the world to pore over their sartorial treasures. With the dawn of a new year, however, a new city is emerging as the latest fashion destination. From January 6 until March 19 2017, Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery is showcasing North: Identity, Photography, Fashion, an exhibition curated by SHOWstudio’s editor Lou Stoppard and Adam Murray, a lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University. Prompted by the impact the North of England has had on fashion, music, design and art the world over, as well as the clichés associated with the area, the exhibition explores and challenges these dominant themes, asking the visitors to come to their own conclusions. The heritage of the North is unpicked through photography, historical films, interviews with its artists and designers, garments, fashion magazines and music, highlighting the impressively far-reaching influence of the region, one which is seldom acknowledged, ignored even, in the capital city oriented fashion world.
“Liverpool is tiny, but it has a lot of impact.” – Christopher Shannon, designer | A view of North: Identity, Photography, Fashion
With Stoppard and Murray not being full-time curators, the organisation of the space is free of restrictions and preconceptions of seasoned professionals, allowing for a fresh take on the potential of exhibitions. The rooms have a relaxed vibe, a coolness about them, which one can already sense getting off the train at one of Liverpool’s stations and walking through its streets to reach the gallery. It feels very authentic, honest and respectful in its representation of England’s North, a much welcome relief from the sometimes derogatory mentions the area gets in the media. Walking through the exhibition, admiring the prints by fashion’s favourites Jamie Hawkesworth, Alasdair McLellan and David Sims while being slightly amused by Alice Hawkins’ genius portraits of Northern teen girls or perusing the editorials in i-D, Arena Homme+, Vogue and The Face, all inspired by the visuals of the region and displayed in custom-made Sheffield steel vitrines (not a single detail escaped the curators), one starts to question the lack of credit given to cultural centres outside of London. Even musical legends such as Morrissey, The Stone Roses, New Order and Oasis, who have conquered the world with their sounds, (and who rightfully have their own pride of place within the exhibition) grew up and formed within the North’s energetic environments. No one can dispute that the talent which hails from and is inevitably profoundly influenced by the North of England enjoys great stature worldwide, yet their origins are often forgotten. Fortunately, North brings the talent home again.
“There’s tons of beautiful girls in Liverpool that aren’t WAGs with caked on make up.” – Thom Murphy, stylist | A view of North: Identity, Photography, Fashion
The magnitude and the wealth of visuals the North provides the world with becomes even more apparent upon entering the fashion gallery. Garments from the Belgian Raf Simons, German adidas and American/Milanese/Ghanaian Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh all clearly show signs of the North, emphasising its crucial and international role. On display are various versions of the adidas Samba and ZX trainers dedicated to Northern cities. Elsewhere, an Off-White knit pays tribute to the Gallagher brothers, while a Raf Simons Autumn/Winter 03 parka with a print of New Order’s ‘Power, Corruption and Lies’ album cover designed by Peter Saville hangs nearby. The parka can still be bought online, though it does fetch $20,000. Who said the North wasn’t fashionable? Add the giant steel columns created by Abloh and Ben Kelly, the designer of Manchester’s iconic Hacienda nightclub, interior of which was a starting point for this installation, which, complete with Abloh’s signature chevron, dominate the facade of Open Eye Gallery, and the North of England is firmly secured on fashion’s radar.
“The most Northern part of me is my sense of humour. That more than anything is the thing that has endured and what I use in my way of dealing with people. But I’m not a professional Northerner.” – Simon Foxton, stylist | Raf Simons parka from ‘Control’ Autumn/Winter 2003“Some things I explore in my collections relate to my life in the North-East. There’s a sense of real life, because things aren’t so aspirational.” – Claire Barrow, designer | Mark Szaszy, Corrine Day – Diary (Extract) (2012)
There are many other gems scattered around the exhibition space. A small Panasonic TV from decades past screens an extract from Corrine Day’s diary, where the late photographer reminisces about her shoot for Dutch magazine in 2001 titled ‘A British Summer: Blackpool 2001’ featuring Kate Moss, George Clements and Rosemary Ferguson. A 1939 short film named ‘Spare Time’ documents the people of Sheffield, Manchester, Bolton and Pontypridd in the in-between times when they are not working in the towns’ famous industries. Watching the movie sat on a park bench, headphones on, you get sucked in, almost feeling as though you are in the film yourself, observing the goings on, being a part of the daily Northern life. Yet the biggest surprise is upstairs. The room is transformed into an old, seventies maisonette, complete with lace curtains, a floral print armchair, a bed with an embroidered throw, a giant wooden cross, shaggy carpet and old rotary dial telephones prompting the visitors to pick them up, revealing sound bites by Northern creatives such as Stephen Jones, Christopher Shannon, Claire Barrow and Gareth Pugh in which they look back at their upbringing and the importance of the North of England in their life and work. It is a charming corner to relax in, take a trip down memory lane, meet the locals and ponder on the importance the North of England has on the country’s image. Perhaps just this little refuge in a twenty-first century city is a reason enough to return for another visit. As Gary Aspden remarks in his interview upstairs, “all roads lead back to the North.” This exhibition is a testament to that. So do yourself a favour, brave the almost five hour long round trip from London and visit the Open Eye Gallery. Believe me, it is worth it!
“I still think that people from down South don’t understand people from up North. And it is this huge cultural, class and every-which-way divide.” – Stephen Jones, milliner | A view of North: Identity, Photography, Fashion)“I feel still very much connected to where I grew up… it’s a huge part of who I am. And I think in that it’s the Northern work ethic, that’s also something that is quite important.” – Gareth Pugh, designer | A view of North: Identity, Photography, Fashion
