Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 - V&A Exhibition (London)

 

What started out as a short blog hiatus, somehow managed to turn into a very long break. All of which I blame on work, other commitments and the fact that fashion in the last few months has left me slightly uninspired. But having dragged my friend T to the V&A Ballgowns exhibition last week, I thought it would be a nice way to revive Haute World for a bit (though bear with me - updates may still be somewhat sporadic).

Having first perused the reopened fashion galleries, which I'd highly recommend - especially considering it's free - T and I began our cultural journey on the ground floor of the exhibit. Split into two parts, this area showcased the ballgowns since 1950, while the upper level featured the more contemporary dresses. Throughout the visit, various dresses from the exhibit could be seen projected on the ceiling of the dome above.

Not surprisingly, the most striking gowns were the ones from past eras - back when formal attire was only the norm for private events and handmade for a particular client. Wearers ranged from royalty to debutantes with every outfit immaculately made and beautiful to behold. Through time, private functions evolved to the more public charity balls - and in recent years: red-carpet events.

Ballgowns since 1950

Top: Mary Donan, Yuki, Matthew Williamson and Belville Sassoon, left: Victor Edelstein, Bruce Oldfield (made for Bianca Jagger) and Murray Arbeid worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, right: Hardy Amies.

Designed for the ball: David Emanuel, Worth of London, Norman Hartnell

Rayne Shoes. Gowns and accessories by Dior

Radical Robes 1990-2012, including gowns by Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and, Zandra Rhodes

Left: Alexander McQueen dress from his last collection. Right: 'Elvis Dress' by Catherin Walker created for Diane, Princess of Wales

The biggest contrast, once you reached the upper level was that despite the beauty of the dresses, grouped together in three clusters, there seemed to be a personal touch missing. As everyone knows, these days evening dresses are worn on the red carpet for a mere few hours, chosen by a stylist and lent to a celebrity, who's body shape was never the intended target of the designer. Unlike the lower level, which featured gowns that were actually purchased by their wearers and lovingly stored for future generations, it seems an awful shame that most gowns these days are passed from one celeb to another before ending back in a designer's showroom. 

Contemporary Ballgowns

Overview of one of the upper level displays. Right: Alexander McQueen feathered gown as worn by Daphne Guinness.

Left: Craig Lawrence, Christopher Kane, Ralph & Russo (as worn by Beyonce). Right: Vivienne Westwood.

Craig Lawrence, Jenny Packham (as worn by Sandra Bullock) and Gareth Pugh's metallic gown made of leather.

Giles Deacon, Nicholas Oakwell

Amanda Wakely, Holly Fulton

Roksanda Illincic

Left: Marchesa. Right: Mark Fast, John Galliano, Felicity Brown

Erdem, Mary Katrantzou

Nevertheless, the exhibition made a good point of showing that even contemporary British fashion houses like Alexander McQueen or Vivienne Westwood have successfully bridged the gap between the red carpet and traditional royal functions. With Britain being a focus of pretty much everything these days, this exhibition is definitely worth a visit and will thankfully be open for quite a while longer. If you're in London around this time, I'd definitley urge you to check it out - especially considering the images I took don't really do the gowns much justice...

Additional images shown above are the copyright of the V&A,  Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Chanel at Harrods (London, UK)

Anyone who's spent the last two weeks in London, might have caught the Chanel takeover at Harrods, which saw the luxury label occupy the department store's front facing windows, as well as over 20,000 sq ft of retail space. If you missed the extravaganza, fear not, because I'm finally posting a recap of this installation here.

Part of the Chanel windows at Harrods.

The first part of the collaboration consisted of some very elaborate windows, which brought Chanel's FW11/12 collection to life. The forest fairytale theme came complete with an army of woodland animals (all taxidermy and thus very real) and iconic Chanel bling housed in smaller display units. All of this would have probably been best viewed at night, but hopefully you'll get the idea from the images below.

A small selection of the Chanel windows. All animals featured in the windows died of natural causes.

The fun continued inside, where parts of the ground floor were transformed into a Chanel pop-up boutique, where the magical forest theme continued. In addition to the regular treasures, such as the 2.55 bags, perfumes and jewelry, shoppers also had a chance to buy exclusive cosmetic items and the special edition green shopping bag.

Mannequins in the magical forest (left) and some very coveted trinkets (right).

The second part of the pop-up focused on bags and perfume.

The iconic lion's head adorned all the walls (left) and the famous Harrods bag interpreted by Chanel (right).

The most impressive part of the event however, was the third-floor installation Une Promenade - "a contemporary excursion into the enchanted world of Chanel". Like Alice stepping through the looking glass, visitors could explore the universe of Coco and Karl in an almost surreal setting.

Passing through a curtain of giant pearl strands, I found myself in a camellia garden adorned with various Chanel items, including rubber wellies near the grass and high-end jewelry in glass cases.

The next room saw me literally step into a 2.55 bag, where the walls were lined with supple red leather and a wall of videos showed each step of the creative process involved in crafting the purses.

By contrast, the children's bedroom was whimsical and bright, filled with toys that included the famed Harrods teddy bear - decked out in Chanel of course.

The adjoining Haute Couture room was a reconstruction of Coco's apartment on 31 rue Cambon and came complete with giant dress boxes, mirrored walls and mannequins wearing the exquisite gowns.

Entering the world of Karl Lagerfeld, I was greeted by his Studio 7L (which is also a book store in Paris)... and a cut-out Karl.

For a dose of pop-art, the next space dedicated to the iconic No.5 perfume included art work and a giant bottle with an interior screen displaying some of the more memorable TV commercials.

Ever thought the 2.55 bag could be a tad bigger? The next installation featured a larger-than-life quilted bag, embellished with famous Chanel symbols and a jacket to match.

Finally, the tweed room was dedicated to Chanel's jacket fabric of choice, which lined the walls and floor of the area. The wall art featured chalk sketches of the current jacket models.

While the Chanel special is no longer on, you can of course still shop the luxury label at Harrods and various other stores around the world. But the question remains... what will they do with the giant quilted bag and all the cute Chanel dolls? I'll have to find out...

Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A - Exhibition (London, UK)

When Yohji Yamamoto mania first hit London a few months ago, I posted about two of the installations hosted by The Wapping Project (Yohji's Women and Yohji Making Waves), which you can read about here. The main event however was the actual Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A - and if you're a Londoner or a London tourist who hasn't seen it yet, I'd strongly urge you to go, as it closes this week. Like most exhibits I've visited at the V&A so far (including the Grace Kelly showcase), the main presentation was confined to a relatively small area in Room 38. On display were over 60 of Yamamoto's pieces along with a multimedia timeline, revealing the designer's wider creative output. Unlike most exhibitions however, the pieces weren't grouped chronologically, as Yamamoto often cited his works as being timeless rather than seasonal. While some mannequins were arranged in groups, these clusters acted as subtle pointers to a certain theme, such as layering or androgyny to name a few.

But the biggest difference about the exhibit is probably the fact that visitors were invited to walk among the designs and could freely touch or examine the garments, which weren't hidden behind glass panels or barriers. It made sense considering Yamamoto's love of textures, fabrics and volume - and it definitely added to the appreciation of his techniques.

A few Yohji pieces on display in the main exhibition space (left) and the multimedia timeline along the wall (right).

While Room 38 featured the bulk of the collection, the beauty of this exhibition was the addition of various satellite spaces, which showcased Yamamoto's work among V&A's permanent displays. In a way, this presentation almost proved to be more interesting given the surroundings and the way the clothing's textures and silhouettes mirrored the various tapestries, paintings or other works of art.

Though I did manage to snap a photo of every piece on display, I'll only post a selection here. The exhibition ends this Sunday, but if you don't get a chance to go, I'd highly recommend picking up this companion book.

Main Exhibition Space

Fine examples of pleating and other small details, such as button embroidery or exposed seams. Far left: Navy pleated skirt & integrated blue shirt, SS03. Far right: Black halter-neck with pleat detail SS05.

Long turquoise dress with open back and netting, FW96/97.

A few menswear looks - from left: Tartan shirt with integrated scarf-wrap, FW07/08; Coat with embroidered stars, FW06/07; Red dress coat, FW07/08 and Inside Out long jacket with embroidered back, FW09/10.

Left: Jacket, top and rotating polka dot skirt, FW07/08. Right: Checkered strapless top & skirt with crinoline, SS99.

From left: Deconstructed punk-inspired coat with zips, cropped top and cropped trousers, SS94; Long dress with top made of triangular patches gathered by metal chains, SS04; Cage corset, oversized jacket with kimono sleeves & long skirt, FW06/07.

From left: Pin-striped sleeveless suit jacket with unfinished seams, beaded date-jime kimono belt & blue yuzen-dyed skirt with floral print, SS02; Kimono-style draped dress with shibori-dyed detail, SS95; Asymmetric dress with yuzen-dyed multi-colored motifs, SS02.

Left: Yellow strapless silk dress & oversized coolie hat covered with draped silk, SS97. Right: White shirt-dress with long train & broderie anglaise ruffle detail at the back, SS07.

From left: Floral green, blue & orange velvet suit, black shirt with integrated bow, FW03/04; Multi-color printed suit, SS11; Floral pattern suit with metal flower brooches, FW98/99; Green coat with knitted front panel & 3/4-length trousers with purple piping, FW07/08.

From top left: Dress with structured cubic top & arm details, FW90/91; Asymmetric felt dress with crinoline, FW90/91; Sleeveless pleated dress in homage to Madame Grès, SS05; Boiled wool jacket with gathered front & long skirt, FW09/10; Tartan fringed jacket & hound's tooth check fringed skirt, FW03/04; Long-sleeved jumper & knitted skirt, FW98/99.

From left: Long asymmetric shirt-dress, SS05; Long zipped dress with open back & embroidered pattern cutting details, SS00; Satin suit with suspenders, SS99.

Left center: Ruffled cape & dress with crinoline in homage to Cristóbal Balenciaga, SS99. In the background: Tweed jacket & skirt with gathered waist, SS08/09; Hound's tooth check jacket with puffed lower sleeves & long skirt in homage to Dior. Right: Wool jumper over gray layered dress with exaggerated hip crinoline & toque hat, SS99.

Satellite Spaces

In the Hinze Sculpture Gallery: Jacket with quilting, FW09/10; Jacket with white embroidery, SS09; Suit jacket with lace back, SS09. Lower right: Overview of the space with all three jackets.

In the Norfolk House Music Room: Dress with open back & black skirt & dress with high collar, both FW96/97.

In the Paintings Gallery: Long sleeveless dress in homage to Pina Bausch, SS92.

In the Tapestry Gallery: Two long red coats with netting, long black gathered dresses with front pockets & black mesh tops; Black buttoned coat with netting. All from FW95/96.

In the British Galleries Landing: A selection of white shirts, dark suits & black dresses/skirts, all impeccably tailored for the woman, yet androgynous in shape (ranging from SS98 - SS05).

In the Ceramics Gallery: Coat, scarf & jumper with manga characters and trousers, FW07/08; Utility jacket & trousers, FW03/04; Screen-printed shirt & blue denim with white painted stripe, SS02.