Are you anywhere near Philadelphia?
The exhibit “Art into Fashion” opens this Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
Oh the color! Oh the design! Oh the visual excitement!
This, from 1982, is one of his “sculptural” dresses:
and the details:
Read this from the Museum’s introduction:
“Italian fashion designer and artist Roberto Capucci (born 1930) is revered by contemporary designers for his innovative silhouettes and masterful use of form, color, and materials. This exhibition–featuring over eighty works, as well as original drawings and sketches–will be the first survey of his work in the United States. It includes work ranging from the beginning of his career as a boy genius of Italian fashion to his legendary sculpture-dresses–including his seminal 1978 “Colonna” silhouette, based on the Doric column–as well as his series of sculptures from 2007 honoring the city of Florence.
Capucci refers to his work as “a study in form” inspired by art, architecture, and nature. His early career was intertwined with the rise of the Italian fashion industry and of Italian high fashion following World War II. He opened his first couture salon in Rome in 1950 at age twenty, and by 1956 the international press had declared him Italy’s best designer, lauding his “vigor, imagination, and uninhibited originality.” In 1962 he moved to Paris, where he created both classical and experimental collections, incorporating surprising materials such as plastic and stones. Capucci returned to Rome in 1968, where he has continued his work as couturier and artist.
For Capucci, the act of creation is a complete sensory experience; he has described it as an assault—of art, beauty, color, emotion, music, nature, poetry. For the viewer the experience is magical and unforgettable.”
again, those details:
If you go to the website you can also view two wonderful short videos. I wasn’t able to get the code to install here… (I tried and tried and tried….) but please, go to the link and watch these. They are fascinating. The first one shows the actual installation of this exhibit, hosted by Dilys Blum, the Senior Curator of Textiles at the Museum. It’s an in-depth look at just how many people are involved in such an exhibit. It shows the painstakingly careful steps involved in assessing the condition of each garment so the art handlers will know, for instance, to wear gloves if the beads are fragile and oil from their hands would harm the beads, or the fabric. We see the open crates with the clothes inside “like a candy store”: so colorful and vivid!
Here’s just a visual of the first video (this is NOT a link and will not take you there). Click here
and here is the second, a slideshow of the actual installation space:
The exhibit is there until June 5. No, I don’t think I can make it. But if YOU go, please let me know, ok?
