Tag Archive: Exhibition

Jan 26 2013

Exhibition: Tim Walker – Story Teller

This week I finally got chance to visit Tim Walker’s incredible exhibition at Somerset House. I am not sure what took me so long, but after I couldn’t make the press preview I kind of just kept forgetting but with the exhibition coming to an end this weekend I just couldn’t let it end without looking around.

Tim Walker, famous for his incredible Mulberry campaigns, is much more than just a photographer, this creative-but-tiny exhibit really shows off the lengths he goes to in his shoots with the use of gorgeous and generally oversized props. Everything from giant bugs, skeletons, musical instruments, planes, crumpled up newspaper and my favourite the giant rag doll, which is kind of creepy-but-adorable.

Sadly you aren’t allowed to take pictures, crazy right when they have been everywhere on Twitter, Instagram and the Internet, but I just couldn’t resist taking a few sneaky snaps with my mobile *here’s hoping Tim Walker doesn’t mind*, but come on beauty like this needs to be shared with more than just words right?

The exhibition closes tomorrow, so if like me you kept forgetting, and thought you had loads of time – you don’t and for a free exhibition I would certainly recommend checking out if you are in the Somerset House area this weekend.

Tim Walker: Story Teller runs at Somerset House until January 27, 2013 – open 10am until 6pm.

Tags: Exhibition, Mulberry, Photography, Somerset House, Tim Walker

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Dec 04 2012

Exhibition: Valentino – Master Of Couture

Last week I went to a preview of the Valentino: Master of Couture exhibition at Somerset House, and if you have already been to see the amazing exhibition I am sorry it took me so long to post. I have been debating whether or not to post as I couldn’t take my own images, and I have to be honest the ones provided are just a little blah and don’t show off this fantastic exhibition as I would have liked.

This is the first time I have been to an exhibition at Somerset House, which is strange really as I spend a lot of time there for fashion week and events throughout the year, but I have been looking forward to this exhibition celebrating Valentino’s 50 year career for a while, and it might not have wowed me like I would have liked but there were elements that really captured my interest.

Split into three sections, the first is a room sharing personal photographs of Valentino, his couture invites, and letters from the likes of Anna Wintour sharing how much they love him, while it was interesting to see I did find it a tad boring – I didn’t take anything away from it about Valentino, just that Anna Wintour like me has huge handwriting!!!

However, the second section ‘The Catwalk’ is incredible, showcasing more than 130 of Valentino’s hand-crafted haute couture designs, I loved the reversal of the visitors to the exhibition taking the place of the model and walking along the 60-metre catwalk to view the designs, which are sat like they are the audience.

It wasn’t just the layout that impressed me, it was nice wandering down the catwalk, but what I loved was that Somerset House resisted the urge to place these delicate couture gowns behind glass, instead you can get up close with the pieces, see the hand-beaded embroidery and really get a feel for the hours of work that went into each piece.

It was also nice to see the designs colour-coded by decade, ‘Mint’ for the 1950s, ‘mustard’ for the 1960s, all the way up to Ice for the 2010s, I did think they might have organised it in theme of clothing for instance an area for red carpet, day wear and bespoke, but the way the designs were curated together was refreshing.

However, the grouping and the numbered circles of the mannequins wrists did mean that I relied a little too much on the free brochure, which with its red-print I could barely read under the dimmed lighting, instead I made a note of the number and went back to the book over a cuppa.

There are a number of highlights from the exhibition, top of my list had to be seeing Julia Roberts Oscar gown from 2001, the classic black number has been turned away in the exhibition so you can see all the white ribbon detailing to the back. Another must see look is Princess Marie-Chantel of Greece’s pearl-encrusted ivory silk wedding gown, which has its own section it is so grand, seriously gorgeous. Also keep an eye out for designs worn by Anne Hathaway, Audrey Hepburn, and Jackie Kennedy.

Overall, if you love couture, love Valentino, and generally love getting up close with red carpet worthy looks then you will really enjoy this exhibition, if like me you also wanted to take a sense of who Valentino is then you might be a little disappointed, but I would say just for the catwalk section this exhibition is worth a trip.

Valentino: Master of Couture runs at Somerset House until March 3, 2013.

[Pics: courtesy of Somerset House/Peter Macdiarmid]

Tags: Exhibition, Julia Roberts, Somerset House, Valentino

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Oct 21 2012

Exhibition: Hollywood Costume At The V&A

I have been getting excited about seeing the V&A’s Hollywood Costume exhibition since it was announced earlier this year. I just couldn’t wait to see Audrey Hepburn’s dress and pearls from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, all the marvellous creations of costume designer Edith Head, as well as getting up close and personal with the replica Harry Winston Isadora necklace as seen in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, well last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the press preview and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is a huge exhibition, there are more than a hundred costumes from some of the most iconic films – from Scarlett O’Hara’s green curtain dress from Gone with the Wind, Joan Crawford’s blue gingham waitress uniform in Mildred Pierce, John Travolta’s white-3-piece suit from Saturday Night Fever, and there is even a huge displays dedicated to Indiana Jones – complete with fedora hat and whip.

Situated over three rooms, this exhibition really embraces the world of movies, literally full of lights, camera and action *sorry couldn’t resist*. As well as having the costumes on displays the lighting, the sound, and the use of technology makes you feel like you are in the cinema. Granted it maybe a little dark in places, a little noisy, and somewhat spooky seeing a slow-moving image of the actors face displayed on a TV screen suspended above the costume, but I think that adds to the atmosphere of the exhibition.

The three rooms are designed to tell the story of costume design, from the role of the costume designer in cinema, the creative process of collaborations, and finishing up with the finale, which is basically an overload of all the best known costumes in cinema history – all your heroes and heroines are there. Even some of my favourites are included such as Katharine Hepburn’s jewelled evening gown from The Philadelphia Story, Keira Knightley’s green silk from Atonement, Barbra Streisand’s Funny Girl ball gown, and Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods even shines in her pink two-piece suit.

As the exhibition is sponsored by Harry Winston the jewellery has re-created the famous ‘Isadora’ necklace as worn by Kate Hudson in one of my favourite rom-coms How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Seeing the diamond cluster necklace with its 51.94 carat yellow sapphire drop pendant is one of my highlights - also her yellow silk dress is just as stunning as it is on-screen.

Another highlight was seeing Edith Head’s pale green suit designed for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds from 1963, this section really brings the costume to life with the use of technology. I don’t want to give it away, but I could have spent all day just checking this one section out, the interviews and the sketches were really incredible – also pretty cool seeing the birds fly over the display.

The exhibition is open to the public until January 27, 2013 – so you don’t need to rush – give yourself plenty of time to take it all in. Tickets are £14 each and I would recommend booking online – this is going to be a popular exhibition.

I am not going to spoil the exhibition – but can you name all the below films from the costume?

Tags: Exhibition, Harry Winston, Hollywood, V&A

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May 16 2012

Exhibition: Ballgowns – British Glamour Since 1950 At The V&A

Vivienne Westwood

Yesterday I was in ballgown heaven as I was lucky enough to attend the press preview of the V&A’s new fashion exhibition – Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950, which is the first exhibition in its newly renovated V&A Fashion Galleries. The exhibit charts the evolution of the ballgown from society-girl to red carpet glamour, and features British gowns from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Burberry, Erdem, as well as London Fashion Week favourites Mary Katrantzou, Holly Fulton, Mark Fast, and even a specially created metallic leather dress designed by Gareth Pugh for the exhibition.

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Gareth Pugh

I have to be honest, the Fashion Galleries themselves downstairs didn’t look too much different to me, they’ve added some cool illustrations and a few new commissions, but generally speaking there isn’t a drastic change; however upstairs is a different story, they’ve restored the gallery to its original architecture with its domed ceilings and added a mezzanine gallery, which really does open up the space.

Downstairs you wander around more traditional gowns, think ballgowns fit for royals, there were pieces designed by Hardy Aimes and Norman Hartnell, and Princess Diana’s ‘Elvis Dress’ designed by Catherine Walker has been taken out of storage. But it was upstairs that blew me away, the impact of the three domes filled with contemporary ballgowns was just incredible, my eyes were instantly drawn to Giles Deacon taking flight, then onto an Amanda Wakely design intertwined with a wooden chandelier prop, and then I settled on Vivienne Westwood’s dramatic gown. The first impression at the top of the stairs is intense, I kind of wish that was the start of the exhibit.

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Giles Deacon - spring/summer 2007

There were a lot of gowns I liked, from the bright floral Erdem beauty to the exquisite feathered Alexander McQueen gown that Daphne Guinness wore to the Met Gala last year, and it was nice to see the likes of Holly Fulton, Craig Lawrence, Roksanda Illincic, and Mark Fast being part of the display.

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Roksanda Illincic - spring/summer 2009

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Jenny Packham gown that Sandra Bullock wore

But my favourites had to be the gorgeous gowns that celebrities have worn on the red carpet: there was Sandra Bullock’s gorgeous Jenny Packham gown that she wore to the 2011 Golden Globes; Ralph & Russo have recreated a crystal-covered dress worn by Beyonce, especially for the display; and Burberry even lent the museum one of the gowns that Rosie has worn. The biggest surprise was seeing Shailene Woodley’s Met Gala dress, designed by Christopher Kane, considering it only took place last week.

I have to admit I loved the exhibition, anything that showcases gorgeous gowns embellished with sequins, feathers, crystals, and made of the most exquisite fabrics gets my vote, I just wasn’t wowed by it all. I loved the way the gowns were showcased upstairs, you could see them from all different angles, and some of the gowns were rotating, I also loved the quirky oversized pearls that were dotted around. The best bit though was that it was nice to see that they hadn’t shut everything away behind glass as you can’t always see all the details as clearly.

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Erdem

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Craig Lawrence, Christopher Kane and Ralph & Russo

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Roksanda Illincic stands out

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Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

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Loved the chandeliers and the domes

Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 opens on May 19, and runs until January 6, 2013, so no need to rush to take it in, but I would recommend buying your tickets online before you go. Adult tickets cost £10 and entry for students is £7.

Are you excited to see the ballgowns?

**For more images head on over to my Facebook page I have an album full of them**

Tags: Erdem, Exhibition, V&A, Vivienne Westwood

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Oct 05 2011

NYC Adventure: Daphne Guinness Exhibition

Daphne Guinness: Jacket by Chanel

I have kind of bombarded you all with my whirl-wind trip to New York, I know I get a little giddy sometimes, but I promise you this is the last post about my NYC Adventure. On my free day before I flew back I just couldn’t resist going to check out the Daphne Guinness exhibition at The Museum at FIT.

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Daphne Guiness: Dress by Alexander McQueen

The exhibition features over 100 garments and accessories, think gorgeous McQueen and Chanel pieces, all from Daphne’s personal collection. Seriously this woman has an amazing wardrobe, to be honest she is a walking museum and collector and I am so glad that she chose to share her pieces with the world.

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Daphne Guinness: Dress by Chanel

There are a lot of Alexander McQueen pieces, as well as Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, John Galliano for Chrisitan Dior, and Azzedine Alaïa, Dolce & Gabbana, Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, and Valentino. People do call Daphne Guinness a designer’s muse but for me she really is a collector of couture, someone who loves fashion and who is fearless in her style. You can tell going round this exhibit that Daphne co-curated it as her favourite pieces really do shine through.

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Daphne Guinness: Dress by Givenchy

Overall the exhibit isn’t massive, but the space is packed nicely and divided into six sections: the first is ‘Dandyism’, showcasing her masculine styles, I loved all the cropped jackets and white lace’; second area is the more edgy of her looks ‘Armor’, which features the exquisite Gareth Pugh catsuit studded with nails; then separated by translucent screens is my favourite areas dedicated to elegant cocktail suits and evening gowns, titled, respectively, ‘Chic’ and ‘Evening Chic’ there are some gorgeous couture gowns here, as well as the striking Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel jacket seen in the top image, the white sequins and feathers was just amazing to see up close.

The final two areas, ‘Exoticism’ and ‘Sparkle’, were full of her most flamboyant outfits most featuring feathers or fur!! The most striking piece though had to be the colourful kimono patterned with cranes designed by Alexander McQueen, while he was designing for Givenchy.

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From top left: boots by Alexander McQueen, red suede shoes by Nina Ricci, shoes by McQueen, and boots by McQueen

As well as gorgeous couture gowns, Chanel suits that I lusted over, there was an amazing array of shoes that I am sure Lady Gaga would love to own and wear. These beauties were all changed behind glass but it was easy to see what attracted Daphne Guinness to them, they are all exquisite in design. My favourite has to be the black leaf moulded shoes by McQueen.

Want to see more but you don’t think you’ll be stopping by New York before it finishes on January 7, 2012? Well I have found this video on Youtube that takes you round the whole exhibit.

**Unfortunately I needed to get pre-press approval to take my own snaps, which of course I didn’t do as I wasn’t sure I would have time, but hey I have borrowed these beauties from the Museum at FIT.**