10 International Herald Tribune
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Margaret, Rita and Baby Jane
Paco Rabanne’s 1965 gold
bubble gown, built in part
from plastic balls sliced in
half, guards the entrance to
the ‘‘Glamour’’ exhibition
in San Francisco.
By Jessica Michault
SAN FRANCISCO
he guardian of the gate, a 1965
T Paco Rabanne evening gown,
resplendent in its melding of
fashion and design, stands
alone at the entrance to the San Fran-
cisco Museum of Modern Art’s exhibi-
tion ‘‘Glamour: Fashion, Industrial
Design, Architecture.’’
The outfit is a perfect choice. The
Rabanne dress immediately grounds a
show that could easily have been over-
whelmed by the vast theme of the exhi-
bition. The dress’s combination of a
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Glamour from A to Z,
and then some
lush, extravagant fashion exterior over
a sturdy industrial metal-mesh core
gives credence to the notion of cross
pollination between the three discip-
lines and their inherent glamour.
Passing the Rabanne sentry, the first
room of the show, which runs here un-
til Jan. 17, is dedicated to the glamour of
1950s and ’60s America. This is the era
that leaps to mind for most people
when they think about glamour: the
golden years of Hollywood, the couture
set, the customized furniture.
In the show, black and white photos
of architecturally imaginative build-
ings like Philip Johnson’s Lincoln Cen-
LAS VEGAS MONTE-CARLO COURCHEVEL
S T Y L E
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s definitions of glamour — in architecture, design and fashion — include, at left,
Hans Harald Rath’s ‘‘Metropolitan Chandelier,’’ created in 1966, and, above, Hernan Diaz Alonso’s ‘‘U2 Tower,’’ from 2003.
Inset are a Donatella Versace dress from her 1999-2000 collection, left, and a James Galanos outfit from 1975.
ter in New York and furniture by Willi-
am Haines are juxtaposed against
dresses from the same period by Adri-
an, Christian Dior and James Galanos.
‘‘I wanted to have the mother sauce
of fashion in close proximity to the oth-
er disciplines,’’ said Joseph Rosa, curat-
or of architecture and design for the
museum, who conceived the show.
The bespoke gowns, the most famil-
iar association to glamour, are used to
great effect throughout the exhibition.
The dresses become comfortable ref-
erence points after having the defini-
tion of glamour stretched by the sec-
tions of the exhibition dedicated to
MOSCOW DUBAI KUWAIT
architecture and industrial design.
‘‘Fashion is the most friendly art a
museum has to offer. It is proactive and
inviting,’’ said Rita Watnick of Lily et
Cie, whose company supplied most of
the iconic dresses on display.
Moving from the comfort of mid-
century designs, the show goes on to
examine architecture. Using largely
3D models and digitized architectural
drawings, most of the elements in this
section still only exist on paper and in
the minds of the architects. It is diffi-
cult therefore to grasp how these mil-
lennium wonders will effect the defi-
nition of glamour.
But it is clear that the modernist rule
of ‘‘form follows function’’ is being
broken by a new generation of archi-
tects. The computer generated image of
the Hernan Diaz Alonso competition
entry for the Landmark Tower/U2 Stu-
dio Project in Dublin is a good example
of how the relationship between form
and function is being questioned and
re-eva luated.
Once through the architecture sec-
tion of the show, the glamour of the
fashion world is reintroduced.
In a mirrored gallery that takes up
the largest space in the exhibition, the
gowns are divided into two sections,
one dedicated to the designers who
came to prominence in the 1970s and
’80s — Christian Lacroix, Karl Lager-
feld for Chanel, Giorgio di Saint’An-
gelo, Thiery Mugler. The other is a
showcase for designers who are mak-
ing headlines today — John Galliano
for Dior, Donatella Versace, Alexander
McQueen, Zac Posen.
What makes this section of the exhi-
bition so appealing is the proximity of
the dresses to the public. No glass
wall, no red velvet rope to keep visit-
ors at bay, and a platform design that
allows an up close and personal view
of each dress.
How else would it be possible to spot
the plastic sequins used to line the un-
derside of a fuchsia gown by Versace
with a thigh-high slit? Or the dice but-
tons on the back of an ink black even-
ing gown designed by Karl Lagerfeld in
1983 for his first collection for Chanel?
The gown is a clin d’œil from the de-
signer about the gamble the house took
when they hired him.
The incorporation of materials like
polyester, raffia and polyurethane in-
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J&L Lobmeyr (chandelier); Xefirotarch (U2); Gianni Versace Collection; Margaret, Rita and Baby Jane
A showstopper
in the industrial
design section
of the exhibition
is Vincent Van
Duyen’s 2003
creation ‘‘Cascade
Chandelier,’’
a waterfall
of Swarovski
crystal and
light that
overf lows onto
a mirror-
topped table.
Swarovski Crystal Palace
to these one-of-a-kind gowns hints at doll-inspired ‘‘Midsummer Lamp,’’ pro-
the viability of a new glamour that is duced the same year. These two objects
not restricted to the use of luxurious show the two extremes of glamour in
fabrics. It also alludes to what awaits industrial design. The former is a
in the final room of the show, which is unique piece, the latter is available for
dedicated to industrial design. sale in the museum gift shop to anyone
The idea that utility and extrava- willing to spend $65.00.
gance in industrial design are not mu- Without a doubt, the definition of
tually exclusive, and that glamour has glamour is in flux. The advent of handi-
also found its way to the masses, is crafts mixing with mass production has
best played out in this room by the created a new world of mass customiz-
contrast of two light installations. ation. And in the world of fashion a new
One is Vincent Van Duyen’s 2003 breed of clothing has started to emerge
creation ‘‘Cascade Chandelier,’’ a shim- in the form of ‘‘customized ready-to-
mering torrent of Swarovski crystal wear.’’ This democratization of glam-
and light that radiates glamour and our has made it possible for anyone to
abundance as it spills onto a mirror- aspire to a more glamorous life, no ped-
topped table. igree required.
The other is Tord Boontje’s paper- International Herald Tribune
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