Exhibit Review

Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968

by Yula Jung

                    There is an exhibition, “Paris Refashioned,” which presents women’s fashion styles from a modern era at The Museum at FIT. It displays Haute Couture and ready-to-wear at the same time in Paris during 1957 to 1968. The audiences observe the stream of fashion style in the middle of the 1900s in the exhibition. Although this show is based on the major fashion designers in Paris, the garments and accessories are a basis for various fashion styles. Therefore, they have influenced not only Europe but also the Americas and Asia.

Since there are more delicate, complicated, and diverse designs these days, the garments in the exhibition might not look so extraordinary at this point. However, those designs must have been groundbreaking in that period. Some dresses were made of metallic materials and seemed to designed to be worn by Eddie Sedgwick, who was called a “Superstar” by Andy Warhol and active in that period.

 

The accessories like shoes and hats in the exhibition are as unique as current products. Especially the hats, as an essential item to complete the fashion in that time, are indeed remarkable. People can see those particularly designed garments and accessories in this exhibition.

 

The noticeable mark of the show is more than the unique style clothes. Most of them in the exhibition are fundamental fashion styles. Each item has its characteristic feature, and the graceful but unforced Chanel suit is the appropriate example. A person who is fascinated by fashion quickly recognizes which style of clothes belong to which designer due to its distinct style. This show classifies the representative clothes according to the designers in a chronological way -even though it is the pretty short period- to get people’s understanding of fashion.

As interested as I am in watching the beautiful clothing, I am also always interested in the innovative artists’ anecdotes. I enjoyed viewing the garments and reading the statements about them because many of them included behind-the-scenes stories about designers. Although Christian Dior is well-known as a female clothing designer, he started to display and sell accessories at first in his salon, for instance.(6) Likewise, audiences can get the information on how youth designers—most major fashion designers now were young at that time—had influenced and changed the fashion industry. Michelle Honig said some French designers in that period were fed up for couture style clothing because they were usually old and too complicated. The progressive designers led the garments to become more wearable with simplicity, and Honig thinks this exhibition regarding Paris conveys the new time period in fashion history.(7)

Many outfits of this exhibition were worn by very popular actresses in the past. While it was not the exact outfit, the actresses wore the same type of clothing as this exhibition, because they are basic and designed by famous designers. If this exhibition showed the picture of the actresses who wore same garments or same style of garments, people would have knowledge of the fashion easily. Many times, designers and actresses have intimate relationships. For example, one of the most beautiful pictures of Audrey Hepburn was when she was wearing Givenchy’s dress.(8) It would be thought-provoking if images of famous actresses wearing each style would accompany the designs.

The garments and accessories were significant for fashion history, and they were fine-looking; however, they were somewhat too basic. There were no striking works. I could see the starting points of Chanel, Dior, Pierre Gardin, etc., but I did not feel they were stunning like the outstanding and historical garments at the “Unpacking Fashion” exhibition at the Met Museum.

Although several parts of the show could be improved, it is clear that this exhibition has succeeded to some extent because it showed the primary and original fashion in the middle of the 1900s.

The exhibition started on February 10 this year and will run until April 15.(9)

 

• Endnotes

1. Jennifer Algoo. “IN PHOTOS: ANDY WARHOL’S GIRLS.” Harpers Bazaar. August 6, 2014. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://www.harpersbazaar.com/about/about-us/.
2. Paco Rabanne. Designer, Ready-to-wear dress, circa 1966, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 81.48.1, Gift of Montgomery Ward, New York, New York. (accessed ???)
3. André Courrèges. Designer, Couture dress, circa 1968, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 86.49.8, Gift of Sylvia Slifka, New York, New York.
4. Yves Saint Laurent. Designer, Ready-to-wear raincoat, fall 1966, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 77.21.4, Gift of Ethel Scrll, New York, New York.
5. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Designer, Couture ensemble, circa 1968, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 78.208.19, Gift of Mrs. Donald Elliman, New York, New York.
6. Cristian Dior. Designer, Ready-to-wear hostess gown, circa 1957, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 91.190.4, Gift of Penelope Tree, New York, New York.
7. Honig Michelle. “1960s French Fashion Gets a Boost in Gorgeous Exhibition at FIT.” Observer. February 18, 2017. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://observer.com/2017/02/1960s-french-fashion-gets-a-boost-in-gorgeous-exhibition-at-fit/.
8. Catie L’Heureux. “See Audrey Hepburn’s Most Iconic Givenchy Looks.” The Cut. April 3, 2016. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/audrey-hepburn-givenchy-fashion-love-affair.html.
9. Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968, The Museum at FIT, https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/paris-refashioned.php

 

• Bibliography

1. Algoo, Jennifer. “IN PHOTOS: ANDY WARHOL’S GIRLS.” Harpers Bazaar. August 6, 2014. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://www.harpersbazaar.com/about/about-us/.
2. Rabanne, Paco. Designer, Ready-to-wear dress, circa 1966, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 81.48.1, Gift of Montgomery Ward, New York, New York. (accessed ???)
3. Courrèges, André. Designer, Couture dress, circa 1968, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 86.49.8, Gift of Sylvia Slifka, New York, New York.
4. Laurent, Yves Saint. Designer, Ready-to-wear raincoat, fall 1966, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 77.21.4, Gift of Ethel Scrll, New York, New York.
5. Chanel, Gabrielle “Coco.” Designer, Couture ensemble, circa 1968, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 78.208.19, Gift of Mrs. Donald Elliman, New York, New York.
6. Dior, Cristian. Designer, Ready-to-wear hostess gown, circa 1957, Paris Refashioned, 1957 – 1968, The Museum at FIT, 91.190.4, Gift of Penelope Tree, New York, New York.
7. Honig, Michelle. “1960s French Fashion Gets a Boost in Gorgeous Exhibition at FIT.” Observer. February 18, 2017. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://observer.com/2017/02/1960s-french-fashion-gets-a-boost-in-gorgeous-exhibition-at-fit/.
8. L’Heureux, Catie. “See Audrey Hepburn’s Most Iconic Givenchy Looks.” The Cut. April 3, 2016. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/audrey-hepburn-givenchy-fashion-love-affair.html.
9. Paris Refashioned, 1957-1968, The Museum at FIT, https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/paris-refashioned.php