It is sly and subtle and also rather witty.Īctress Marlene Dietrich (1932), Cecil Beaton. It is a product shot for a magazine, but it could also be a meditation on the role of models in society in the 1930. Kertész’s photograph of a mannequin wearing a diamond necklace in the shape of a comet and a brooch in the shape of a star is typical in this regard. Through this complete freedom with the new medium, fashion photography could become the canvas for broader ideas. The show speaks of an infatuation with technical ability and composition – one which allows, say, a close-up of woman’s ear and wavy blond hair to be so perfectly shot that it almost becomes illegible. Instead, there is an exquisite affirmation, bold yet polite, of a story many people know: the use of a thoroughly modern medium to replace the older art of illustration. There is no new narrative about the story of fashion photography here. Works by Andre Kertész, Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton and George Hoyningen-Huene are scattered about the show. Photo: © Condé Nastįor now, the curator Matthieu Humery has gone with the big hitters. Although Dries Van Noten’s show in a concert hall failed to adequately convey the sense of intimacy he was after, the collection itself did the job, with pieces that looked mended, rich but faded fabrics, and a natural ease in the fit.Actress Anna May Wong (1930), Edward Steichen. We saw it at Prada with those stark black dresses and trim wool pants and pullovers at Dior, which was a reduced version of the house’s historical Tulip Line and full-skirted romance, drawn from life in Paris in the austere ’50s. In general, there’s been a stripping away of material effects. Could she have nothing underneath? Quite possibly. They’re also attuned to discreet gestures of sex and glamour, be they European or the kind the American novelist John O’Hara brilliantly invoked - that of a woman wearing a plain wool coat and clutching it shut with one hand and wearing a pair of those nice-girl, low-heeled pumps. That’s just a surmise, of course, but it’s another way to understand the difference of the Olsens’ work in our own aggressive age.Īlthough they revealed the body with a long evening shift in pale-green organza (it looked like it was made from clusters of folded paper) and strapless wool (or cashmere) dresses, the collection was mostly covered up, to the point of being hidden, with black oxfords and two styles of low-heeled pumps that were once standard feminine dressing but have become almost impossible to find. When I looked at The Row’s long and austere ponchos, its coats with an extra wrap at the shoulders, a slim dark turtleneck dress with a square-cut yoke, its classic pantsuits in gray and black with open-necked white shirts, and a single blood-red coat, I saw the gestures and tones of Vermeer. There’s a major Vermeer exhibit now at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Today, the French are still showing off with their giant fashion-show tents planted in the middle of Parisian public spaces. Their clothing was relatively simple, in solid hues of brown, black, Delft blue and deep red, with starched white collars and shirts that evoked the cleanliness that the Dutch admired. But the Dutch, while rich and successful in their own right - from shipbuilding, international trade - refused to make a display of it. It was learning how to become the fashion leader. At the time, the court of Louis XIV of France was the showiest in Europe. In a lot of ways, they are like the Dutch of the 17th century, the so-called Golden Age, when Vermeer was making his portraits of domestic life in his native Delft. At most fashion houses in Paris, you get artwork on the walls, expensive upholstery, a logo somewhere. Nonetheless, there is a sense of anticipation as you go up the marble stairway to the first floor, where the sisters hold their shows in a series of high-ceiling, parquet-floor rooms filled with sunlight and no décor to speak of. Photo-Illustration: by The Cut Photos: Yannis Vlamos /Courtesy of Paco Rabanne, Courtesy of The Row, Courtesy of BalmainĪt this stage in the evolution of The Row, the label founded in 2006 by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, people entering their building - a former private mansion near the Place Vendome in Paris - know what to expect. From left: Paco Rabanne, The Row, Balmain.
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