Linke - Artinfo

The Art of Living
36
luxuryCurated
The style-conscious characters on the popular television
series “Sex and the City” helped make Manolo Blahnik and
Jimmy Choo household names. Along with designers such as
Christian Louboutin, with his signature red soles, they’ve made
fashionable footwear as important to a woman’s look as
anything else she might wear.
In addition to showcasing leading shoe designers, “Shoe
Obsession” features eye-popping styles from major fashion
houses. One design, from the Givenchy spring 2012 couture
collection runway show, is adorned with a metal T-strap and
“piercing” detail that echoes the extreme jewelry worn by the
models. Styles by more avant-garde designers are also
highlighted, including Japanese designer Noritaka Tatehana’s
“Lady Pointe” shoes, worn by Lady Gaga, which measure a
vertiginous 18 inches tall.
Upcoming designers such as Nicholas Kirkwood,
Alexandre Birman, and Charlotte Olympia also claim their
share of the spotlight, giving viewers a glimpse of the
industry’s intriguing future. One highlight: Alessandra
Lanvin’s Cubist-inspired “Geisha” heels, which have made
her Aperlaï brand one to watch.
The exhibition also taps the collections of a select few
who, as the show’s title suggests, have a particular fascination
with this fashion essential. Among them is influential style
icon Daphne Guinness, who is lending a selection of shoes
from her own expansive closet, including designs by Alexander
McQueen and Nina Ricci. –Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop
“Shoe Obsession” runs at the Museum at the Fashion Institute
of Technology in New York through April 13.
BEST FOOT FORWARD Clockwise
from far left: Chanel, 2009; Tom
Ford, 2012; “Eyelash Heel” by
Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier,
2012-13; Christian Louboutin
“Pigalle” pump, 2012. Previous
page: Masaya Kushino, “Lung-ta
[The Wind Horse]“ shoe, 2008.
MARCH/APRIL 2013 | BLOUINArtinfo.comAsiA
CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: THREE IMAGES, FASHION MUSEUM, BATH; CHRIS MOORE AND FASHION MUSEUM, BATH.
OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: TWO IMAGES, THE MUSEUM AT FIT, NEW YORK; STEPHANE GARRIGUES
AND ROGER VIVIER; CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN.
50 for 50
Clockwise from left:
Champagne-bottle dress
and matching “cork” hat,
worn to a costume party
in 1902; gold latticework
and lace dress by Paul
Poiret, 1925; red and navy
blue lace dress by Erdem,
autumn-winter 2009.
“50 Fabulous Frocks,” now on
view at the Fashion Museum in Bath,
showcases outfits by some of the
most influential designers of the
20th century—Schiaparelli, Poiret,
Vionnet, Chanel, Dior, and Yves
Saint Laurent, to name a few—while
aiming to present key historic
fashion “moments” dating back to
1660. The exhibition celebrates the
museum’s 50th anniversary.
Highlights include a gold
embroidered Georgian court dress
and a delicate 1870s gauze bustle
day dress,reminiscent of the
paintings of Tissot, alongside a
svelte crepe evening dress by Ossie
Clark, a classic Chanel suit, and an
ostrich-feather-and-rhinestone
Yves Saint Laurent ensemble
originally worn by English ballerina
Dame Margot Fonteyn, partying in
New York nightclubs with Rudolf
Nureyev in the 1960s.
The display also includes
curious pieces from the museum’s
collection, such as a Champagnebottle
gown worn at a fancy dress
party in Edwardian times. Men are
not forgotten, with masculine
fashion represented by such
pieces as an ornately embroidered
coat from the early 18th century
and a pair of bondage trousers by
punk doyenne Vivienne
Westwood. —Samantha Tse
“50 Fabulous Frocks” will be on view
through December 31 at the Fashion
Museum, Bath, U.K.
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