This morning the fashion department went to the brand new Madame Grès exhibition going on at the Musée Bordelle. We are using her work as partial inspiration (along with animals, and independence) for the end of the year runway show on May 18th. Her work is absolutely amazing, and worthy to be in the ranks of the greatest couturiers ever. It was a real treat to see the work in person, and amazingly you could practically get right up in the garments.
A dramatic arm.
She does seduction so well without being vulgar. It is the slivers of skin that peak out that I love about her work.
Like I said, you could practically get into the clothes. It is so important I think for fashion exhibitions to be able to get close to the garments. Especially someone like Madame Grès.
I don't even want to think how many hours went into each one of these gowns. Each tuck pleat is hand stiched down, and every dress in all these photographs is made entirely of tuck pleats. Decades of ignoring trends and focusing on making tuck pleated gowns in silk jersey make her work so timeless. You would never guess that these dresses were made anywhere from the 1930's to the 1980's.
My favorite detail shot, this one is the neck line. The top of this dress was so clean and simple, and all the tuck pleats were at the bottom.
You can see why her work is one of fashions great mysteries. Not only are the pleats incredibly difficult to replicate and understand, but quite often the dresses are only made of one or two pieces of fabric.
The setting, at the Musée Bordelle, made a wonderful backdrop to the gowns. Only a few were behind glass like this, in rooms like this studio where the temperature and humidity were hard to regulate.
My favorite, and one of her most iconic dresses. This is really the best example of how her work can be so seductive. The dress is floor length, with 3/4 sleeves, and a turtle neck high neckline. But very low on the back, almost hidden by the draping, is a small piece of exposed skin.
