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| Charles James with Model, 1948. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Cecil Beaton, Beaton/Vogue/Condé Nast Archive. Copyright © Condé Nast |
A few weeks ago we finally went to see Charles James: Beyond Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The gowns are of course gorgeous, and their construction phenomenal, and truly unparalleled. But what I love most are his dresses, suits and coats. Each completely stunning. In fact James himself stated, “You should know my most important contribution was always in tailoring; coats, jackets, wool dresses…so few of which went into the magazines.” And the exhibition catalog is a beauty.
Charles James: Beyond Fashion is on view through August 10.
www.metmuseum.org
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Marja Helander, Buollánoaivi, 2001, from the series Modern Nomads.
Photograph on aluminum. The Sámi Collections. |
Last week I went to see Sámi Stories: Art and Identity of an Arctic People, a fascinating installation at Scandinavia House. I must admit, prior to this show I really didn’t know anything about this indigenous group that inhabits parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia, commonly known in the English language as Lapland. Sámi Stories presents a wonderful history of the people and examples of art and handwork by artists of Sámi descent. Highlights of the show for me were definitely the contemporary works. Photographs by Finnish artist Marja Helander and Norwegian artist Arvid Sveen, and a magnificent 78-foot-long embroidery on linen by Swedish artist Britta Marakatt-Labba.
If you’ve not been there, Scandinavia House is one very special place. Fantastic exhibitions, films and programming, a lovely Scandinavian cafe, and one of the best shops in the city.
Sámi Stories: Art and Identity of an Arctic People runs through August 23
www.scandinaviahouse.org
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| Charles Eames (June 17, 1907 – August 21, 1978) |
Charles Eames was certainly one of the most influential American designers of the twentieth century, and a particular favorite of mine. Trained as an architect, Eames and his wife Ray, an artist in her own right, ran the Eames Office in Venice, California for more than 30 years. Perhaps best known for their many iconic chair designs, they were indeed the most brilliant creatives and their vast and wide-ranging body of work is a testament to that. Charles would have been 107 years old today.
Be sure to check out the fantastic documentary Eames: The Architect and The Painter (2011)
www.eamesoffice.com
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| Silk satin wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, 1933, given and worn by Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. |
It’s no secret that we love a great wedding, and a great wedding dress. So you can imagine how excited we are about Wedding Dresses 1775-2014, a gorgeous exhibition that just opened last month at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This chronological survey of the development of the wedding dress presents over 80 ensembles from both the outstanding V&A collection and loans, such as Gwen Stefani’s iconic Dior gown worn for her 2002 wedding to Gavin Rossdale, in addition to accessories, sketches and photographs spanning more than 200 years. And we loved the three videos created for the exhibition featuring designers Pam Hogg, Philip Treacy and Gareth Pugh. The great news is that Wedding Dresses 1775-2014 is on view through March 15, 2015 — we might just get there!
www.vam.ac.uk
I adore the work of Maira Kalman, ADORE. It speaks to me like no other, always smart, deeply human, full of cultural and historical references, humorous beyond compare and sometimes even heartbreaking. Her newest book published just this month, Girls Standing on Lawns, is a fantastic collaboration with the writer Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) and the Museum of Modern Art. A selection of over forty early to mid 20th-century photographs (by unknown photographers) of girls quite literally standing on lawns from the MoMA collection mingle with Kalman’s marvelous illustrations of said photographs and Handler’s poetic verse. You must read it.
Girls Standing on Lawns by Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler (MoMA, 2014)
www.mairakalman.com www.moma.org
I love a great pantsuit and I’m swooning over this one from the Louis Vuitton Resort 2015 Collection presented in Monaco on May 17. Available in not one but six fabrics, I consider this pantsuit rather perfect.
I recently received, from one of my favorite people, a lovely gift of papier d’arménie from France. Papier d’arménie and its Italian counterpart, carta d’armenia, are strips of paper coated with dried sap from styrax trees and when burned are used to freshen indoor air. In use since the 19th century, there is for me something so mystical about these papers. My box of carta d’armenia from Santa Maria Novella also came from a dear friend. I love the packaging so much that it has actually been sitting in my desk drawer for some fifteen years, inspiring me each time I open it.
The most breathtaking mosaic floors that I encountered in Rome were at the Vatican Museums. Along with the remarkable artistry and handwork of the mosaics, I love the integrity of design and powerful means of storytelling within this ancient tradition.
But what I really treasured most, in my view from above, were the marble steps, once carved and now beautifully worn, by the countless visitors that have tread upon them. A mark of their own history.
I’ve got Italy on my mind this week between finishing the novel Beautiful Ruins and thinking about my glorious trip to Rome one month ago. I saw a wonderful Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) installation at the gorgeous Galleria Borghese. It was fantastic to experience the surrealist sculpture of the Swiss-born Giacometti mingling with the some of the finest Renaissance and baroque sculpture in Italy. Perfect harmony. This was my first time visiting the Galleria Borghese. The ceiling frescoes and floor mosaics were especially resonant for me and are, without question, some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.
Giacometti la scultura runs through May 25
www.galleriaborghese.it
I adore the stretch of avenue du Président Wilson between place d’Iéna and avenue Marceau in the 16th arrondisement, with the Palais Galliera Museum of Fashion and directly across the street, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Palais de Tokyo.
The latter are two of my favorite museums in Paris, both for their fantastic collections, exhibitions and programming, but also for the history of the structures that house them — built for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, one of the most important international expositions of the 20th century. The Musée d’Art Moderne owns countless masterpieces of modern art, including murals by Sonia and Robert Delaunay and Raoul Dufy. The Palais de Tokyo is simply one of the coolest art spaces in the city. It also houses a very inspired garden created by the visual artist Robert Milin. Located on rue de la Manutention along the side of the Palais de Tokyo, Le Jardin aux Habitants is divided into sixteen plots, each tended by a different urban gardener. I even spotted a chicken roaming around! I think the best time to visit this particular area is on Wednesdays and Saturdays when one of the biggest and best open air markets in Paris can be found right in the middle of the avenue.
www.mam.paris.fr www.palaisdetokyo.com
