TRAVEL - Josephine McKenna

TRAVEL
FASHION MUSEUMS
Museo
Gucci
Gucci
90
More than nine decades
of Gucci evening wear,
handbags and suitcases
can be viewed at the
Gucci Museo in Florence
24 Horizon September 2014
BACK IN STYLE
Explore bygone trends and creative highlights with
a stroll through the world’s top fashion museums
/ Text Josephine McKenna
David Bowie Is
30
2011
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
60
GUCCI MUSEO
Gucci 1921
Gucci
Gucci Museo
Palazzo della Mercanzia
14
F
ashion history has been having
a moment in the spotlight, with
significant ensembles being put
on display in major museums.
Last year, London’s Victoria and
Albert Museum sold more than
300,000 tickets to the exhibition David Bowie Is,
which displayed many of the flamboyant singer’s
memorable costumes. Similarly, in 2011 more
than 600,000 people lined up at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the retrospective
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The exhibition was one of the museum’s most popular ever,
highlighting fashion’s wide appeal. And around the
world, galleries specialising in fashion show their
best wares on a permanent basis, offering a look
at some of the most elaborate and recognisable
outfits ever worn.
GUCCI MUSEO FLORENCE
Gucci began as a small leather-saddle business
in Florence in 1921. Today it is one of the world’s
September 2014 Horizon 25
TRAVEL
FASHION MUSEUMS
The Museum at FIT
Impact: 50
Years of the CFDA
The Museum at FIT’s
Impact: 50 years of the
CFDA, was the first
exhibition to celebrate
the American fashion
trade organisation
90
Gucci Museo 2011
Patrizio di Marco
Gucci
Hilary Swank Naomi Watts
Gucci
www.guccimuseo.com
THE MUSEUM AT FIT
Fashion Institute of
Technology
50,000
18
2002
London Fashion
Alexander McQueen Vivienne
Costume Society of America
Exposed: A History of Lingerie
70
Juel Park 1940
Dance &
Fashion
100
www.fitnyc.edu/museum
PALAIS GALLIERA
Palais Galliera
Galliera
Marie Brignole-Sale
7,000
30
Dior Chanel Saint Laurent
26 Horizon September 2014
leading luxury brands and Gucci Museo celebrates
its more than nine decades of design, featuring day
and evening wear, and bags, which fill three floors
of the 14th-century Palazzo della Mercanzia.
“Our aim has been to create a destination experience where people can appreciate our history
and understand how innovative Gucci is today,”
said Patrizio di Marco, Chief Executive at Gucci,
in 2011 when the museum opened.
The museum’s permanent collection includes
gowns worn by Hilary Swank and Naomi Watts,
as well as photos and video of stars such as Audrey
Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor sporting the brand.
www.guccimuseo.com
IMAGES. Dresses: Fairchild Photo Service/Condé Nast/Corbis/IC
Westwood
IMAGES. Snow boot: Zou Zheng – Xinhua Press/Corbis/IC.
Palais Galliera: Getty Images
Palais Galliera
7,000
The Palais Galliera in Paris offers temporary exhibitions from its more than 7,000-piece archive
ACCESSORY SPECIALISTS
SIMONE HANDBAG MUSEUM SEOUL
Simone
300
1920
Cartier
Schiaparelli
BATA SHOE MUSEUM TORONTO
Sonja Bata
Bata
Paco Rabanne
13,000
1968
The Simone Handbag Museum has a striking collection
of about 300 handbags. Visitors can see a jewelled Cartier
purse from the 1920s, a Schiaparelli bag owned by the
Duchess of Windsor and Paco Rabanne’s 1968 chainmail
handbag inspired by butchers’ metal aprons.
www.simonehandbagmuseum.co.kr
Sonja Bata, an architect and avid world traveller,
had such an incredible collection of shoes that
it formed the basis for the Bata Shoe Museum. Its 13,000 exhibits range from Chinese
bound-foot shoes and ancient Egyptian
sandals to old snow boots.
www.batashoemuseum.com
September 2014 Horizon 27
TRAVEL
FASHION MUSEUMS
1890
Paola
Mode Museum
Delvaux
A corded silk wedding dress dating from 1890 (right) at
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum
Queen Paola of Belgium (below) visits the Mode
Museum’s exhibition on Belgian luxury brand Delvaux
Paris
Grace Kelly
11 2
1947-1957
Dior
Fashion in France,
Bonbon
www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr
17
1930
Dresses 1775-2014
20
Wedding
2015 3 15
Gwen Stefani
www.vam.ac.uk
MODE MUSEUM
MoMu
2002
Mode Museum
25,000
MoMu
9 25
MoMu Now
30
Dries Van Noten
2015 2 13
MoMu
www.momu.be
MUSEO DEL TRAJE
Museo del Traje
16
10
2,500
28 Horizon September 2014
THE MUSEUM AT FIT NEW YORK
IMAGES. Beige dress: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Fashion show: Neri Fadigati.
Queen Paola: Mark Renders – Getty Images.
The museum at New York’s Fashion Institute of
Technology is the city’s only facility dedicated solely
to fashion exhibitions. Inside are 50,000 garments
and accessories, the oldest of which date back to
the 18th century. Through exhibitions, publications
and public programmes, the museum aims to help
the public learn about fashion.
One of its most popular shows was London Fashion, which in 2002 showcased the best of British
style with works by designer Alexander McQueen,
as well as Vivienne Westwood, who strongly influenced punk and new-wave fashion. Hugely popular
with the public, the show also scored the museum
an award from the Costume Society of America.
Among its current exhibitions is Exposed: A History of Lingerie, which features more than 70 items
and includes a 1940s nightgown by Juel Park, a
Hollywood designer whose clients included Marilyn
Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Meanwhile, Dance
& Fashion explores the relationship between the
two art forms with more than 100 pieces on show.
www.fitnyc.edu/museum
1955
Sala Bianca Pitti Palace
A 1955 fashion show at the Sala Bianca Pitti Palace in
Florence was revisited by the Victoria and Albert Museum
STYLE FILES
New Zealand Fashion Museum
PALAIS GALLIERA PARIS
Housed in the Palais Galliera – once the home
of Marie Brignole-Sale, the Duchess of Galliera
– this museum’s exhibitions are rotating displays
of stunning pieces taken from its archive. In the
vaults are more than 7,000 items from 30 Paris
couture houses including Dior, Chanel and Saint
Laurent Paris.
The New Zealand Fashion Museum is an
online museum and charitable trust that
shares stories and images related to the
country’s fashion. The public is invited to
upload photos to the archive, with the online
exhibits ranging from historical swimwear to
contemporary evening gowns.
www.nzfashionmuseum.org.nz
September 2014 Horizon 29
TRAVEL
20
Paco
Rabanne Cristóbal Balenciaga Manuel Pertegaz
www.museodeltraje.mcu.es
THE COSTUME INSTITUTE
Costume Institute
1937
35,000
15
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White
House Years
PUNK: Chaos to Couture
2011
Alexander McQueen
Alexander
McQueen: Savage Beauty
www.metmuseum.org
30 Horizon September 2014
The museum also features outfits from Princess
Grace of Monaco and the Duchess of Windsor.
Until 2 November, visitors can see Fashion in
France, 1947-1957. The exhibition pays tribute to
this exciting time, when Dior launched his brand’s
first collection, ushering in a new era in fashion.
Look out for his original Bonbon dress.
www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM LONDON
The fashion collection at London’s Victoria and
Albert Museum spans four centuries and includes
rare 17th-century gowns, 1930s evening wear and
couture from the late-20th century.
Romantics won’t want to miss Wedding Dresses
1775-2014. Running until 15 March, 2015, the exhibition presents examples of this special-occasion
attire curated from the museum’s own collection,
IMAGES. Mode Museum: Boy Kortekaas. Punk clothing: Birana E. Heard – Corbis/IC
FASHION MUSEUMS
Paradise
Mode Museum
The Birds of
2013
1970
The Birds of Paradise exhibition at Mode Museum
in Antwerp (far left) celebrates the application of
plumes and feathers in fashion
The fashion of the 1970s punk movement was the
focus for an exhibition at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in 2013 (left)
Noten is scheduled to begin on 13 February, 2015, in
which he offers insight into his creative processes.
www.momu.be
THE MUSEUM AT FIT
MUSEO DEL TRAJE MADRID
along with loans from designers and individuals.
On display, for example, is the silvery outfit worn
by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, when she married
Prince Charles, and the wedding dress with a splash
of hot pink worn by pop singer Gwen Stefani.
www.vam.ac.uk
MODE MUSEUM ANTWERP
Nicknamed MoMu, the dynamic Mode Museum
in Antwerp opened in 2002. Starting on 25 September, the museum showcases MoMu Now, an
exhibition of newly added items to its 25,000-piece
collection. While other fashion museums stress
historic garments, MoMu focuses on contemporary
Belgian designers.
Belgian fashion has evolved dramatically in the
past 30 years, with Dries Van Noten as one of its
biggest names. An exhibition put together by Van
NOW SHOWING
Madrid’s costume museum, the Museo del Traje,
presents the history of Spanish traditional dress
from as far back as the 16th century. One of
Madrid’s lesser-known attractions, the museum
is a 10-minute drive or a short metro ride from the
centre of the city.
Its collection of historic clothing includes 2,500
pieces, covering classic black mantillas and delicately
embroidered vests from Spain’s past. Also on display
are more modern works, made by Spanish fashion
greats of the 20th century such as Paco Rabanne,
Cristóbal Balenciaga and Manuel Pertegaz.
museodeltraje.mcu.es
THE COSTUME INSTITUTE NEW YORK
Founded in 1937, the Costume Institute at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art has more than
35,000 pieces dating from the 15th century.
Previous exhibitions have run the gamut from
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years to
PUNK: Chaos to Couture – themes that manage
to get the public talking and queuing up outside.
The 2011 exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage
Beauty, staged shortly after the designer’s death,
saw the museum receive record-breaking numbers
of visitors on its final two days. This retrospective
was so popular that it will also be shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London next year.
www.metmuseum.org
Exposed: A History of
Lingerie
2014 11 15
Until 15 November, 2014
Dance & Fashion
2014 9 13
2015 1 3
13 September, 20143 January, 2015
PALAIS GALLIERA
Fashion in France,
1947-1957
2014 11 2
Until 2 November, 2014
VICTORIA AND ALBERT
MUSEUM
Wedding Dresses
1775-2014
2015 3 15
Until 15 March, 2015
MODE MUSEUM
MoMu Now
2014 9 25
2015 1 4
25 September, 20144 January, 2015
September 2014 Horizon 31