LOOKING FROM BEHIND THE GLASS: CHALLENGES WITH DISPLAYING FASHION

Sew What | Natalie Heaton

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The trend to display fashion and textiles is becoming increasingly popular in museums. Curators often run into issues when it comes to displaying garments, like many objects within institutions.  For decades, fashion exhibits were struggling to be accepted because they were not seen as "real art" because it was controlled by the female sector. This article will dive into these challenges and try to understand how these challenges came to be.

Christian Dior Exhibition, Glenbow Museum, June 2019
Photo Courtesy of Natalie Heaton

The National Scottish Museum, May 2019
Photo Courtesy of Natalie Heaton

One of the largest obstacles that institutions face that the guests are unable to touch the garments. When it comes to clothing, the main sense that guests use is touch as it is what is familiar to them. Most museums do not allow the guest to touch the artefacts and more often than not, the garments are kept in glass cases while on display to protect and ensure its longevity. An example of a museum that does this is The National Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. This institution keeps all its garments in glass cases while on the floor. Since guests are not able to handle the clothing, the curator of the exhibition must find a creative way to solve this problem.

An additional obstacle that fashion and textile exhibitions often encounter, despite curator’s best efforts, is the affiliation with shopping or consumerism. Often, guests will associate what is in an exhibition to what is familiar in their lives. In this case, the guest will be related to one’s personal experiences of shopping or the clothing that they are wearing. This may be a strength because the institution does not have to contextualize the item, but with that being said, the museum may struggle to make the guest understand the object in a different way; to understand it as a form art.

Christian Dior Exhibition, Glenbow Museum, June 2019

Photo Courtesy of Natalie Heaton

This struggle with guests understanding fashion and textile as a form of art is nothing new. In fact, this has been a struggle for as long as museums have been around. “The European 19th century’s male-centric curatorial view understood fashion as a form of feminine folly.” This legacy has continued to be associated with fashion and textile exhibitions within the museum setting. Critics of these exhibitions continually undermine these exhibitions as they view them as a highly feminine, and just a way to keep the institution trendy, but never as art.

However, there has been a shift in recent years within fashion exhibitions to look at the construction of the clothing instead of just the garment. Through this shift, fashion is being considered as an art form based on the construction that goes into the different aspects of a garment. An example of this would be Iris Van Herpen: Transforming Fashion at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in 2018. The exhibition focused on the creation of Van Herpen’s extravagant dresses, with videos, images and didactic stations. The emphasis on craftsmanship and the creation of Van Herpen’s garments is an example of how fashion is considered a form of art.

Iris Van Herpen: Transforming Fashion, ROM, October 2018.
Photo Courtesy of Natalie Heaton

Overall, fashion and textile exhibitions continue to evolve with the times. While, there continues to be a struggle for these exhibitions to be taken seriously and viewed as a form of art, they remain some of my favourite exhibits to visit.

CINDERELLA'S GLASS SLIPPER: IS GLASS FASHION MORE THAN JUST A FAIRY TALE?

Sew What | Rachel Dice

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What do an Actress, a Princess, a Singer, and a Glass Artist all have in common?

Despite the fact that they were all ladies, their most interesting shared trait is that they were all owners of glass dresses. The combination of glass and fashion is something that most people leave in their childhood. Cinderella and her glass slippers are probably the last we’ve ever thought of it, and we all knew it was just magic anyways. But in four museums around the world are four very special, very rare glass dresses—the only four in existence, as a matter of fact.

Who wore it first?

Actress Georgia Cayvan in her glass
dress,1893. Source.

The original glass dress was created by the Libbey Glass Company in 1893 at the request of an actress named Georgia Cayvan. Georgia was inspired to commission the dress at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago—generally called the Chicago World Fair of 1893—where the Libbey Glass Company had their Crystal Pavilion. In the pavilion, visitors had the unique experience of entering a crystal room. The room was filled with furniture and decorations made from glass. Even the window curtains, lampshades, and cushions on the furniture were made from spun glass. As the story goes, Georgia fell in love. Enchanted by the room, she ordered 12 yards of spun glass fabric at a cost of $25 a yard and had her own glass dress tailored. Georgia Cayvan wore the first glass dress ever made, but soon found that it was too brittle to wear regularly. After dazzling the crowds at some of her shows, she allowed her dress to go on display in Libbey’s pavilion. 

Eulalia, Infanta of Spain posing in the
crystal room in Libbey's pavilion, 1893.
Source.

The next dress was commissioned by none other than Eulalia, the Infanta of Spain. Like Georgia, she was enchanted by the crystal room and the shimmering glass gown displayed within it. She commissioned her own dress for a grand total of $2,500—approximately $70,121 now. Not only was the dress fabulously expensive, but it also weighed over 14 pounds. The dress took a team of workers 67 hours to create, but Mr. Libbey—the owner of Libbey’s Glass—thought that it was well worth the effort. Eulalia was a popular royal and everything she did found its way into newspapers, articles, and gossip. Libbey and other glass manufacturers thought that glass clothing would soon be the next big trend in the fashion world. Unfortunately, this prediction never came true. Eulalia’s dress was donated to the Deutsches Museum in 1924 by her sister, Princess Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria.

Singer Ellene Jaqua in her glass dress
from Paris, 1902. Source. 

The third of four dresses was created for the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, and is described being made of ‘moonlight cloth’. The material of the dress is the very same as Georgia and Eulalia’s spun glass creations. The dress was purchased by an America singer named Ellene Jaqua, who was photographed wearing it in 1902. The glass ‘moonlight cloth’ would have shimmered and shifted colour under spotlights, which would have made Ellene’s performances a captivating display.  The dress was donated to the New Brunswick Museum in 1930.

Helen Munro's blue woven
glass wedding ensemble,
1943. Source.

The fourth and final dress was worn by Helen Munro in 1943. The dress was made as her wedding dress for her marriage to Professor WES Turner of the University of Sheffield. The dress was made by Fibre Glass Limited of Glasgow and is the only one to be made from industrial glass. The entire wedding ensemble included a blue dress, hat, handbag, and shoes that were all made of woven glass. According to Helen, the advantage of a glass dress in wartime Britain was that it didn’t require clothing coupons. The downside was that the shoes cut her feet. Maybe Cinderella left her glass slipper behind on purpose. Helen’s glass wedding dress is on display at the Turner Museum of Glass at the University of Sheffield and is the only glass dress on display at all, as the others are much too fragile.

Cinderella’s dress and glass slippers disappeared at midnight, but research is currently underway to stabilize and conserve these glass dresses for decades to come. When all is said and done, would you wear a glass dress?

WALK WALK FASHION BABY

EXHIBITION REVIEWS

BY: MADDY HOWARD

Fashion and art have strutted into the Bata Shoe Museum with the Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes. The exhibition offers a 45-year retrospective of Manolo Blahnik, one of the most influential figures within the fashion industry. This exhibition displays the blurring of boundaries between art and fashion by showcasing over 200 of his favourite shoes and 80 original drawings.

Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes Entrance. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

The exhibition, curated by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz, began its exclusive tour in Milan in 2017 at the Palazzo Morando, from there travelling to Saint Petersburg, Prague and Madrid. Toronto is the final, and only North American stop for this innovative and spellbinding exhibition. 

Manolo Blahnik's career spans over 40 years, with his inventiveness and artisanship capturing the attention of the fashion industry. Blahnik started his career as a set designer, but by 1971, he relocated to London to focus on shoemaking. His career blossomed in 1972, when Ossie Clark (the most famous designer in London) used his shoes. A year later, he opened his first shop in Chelsea. His shoes continue to be made by hand, which produces little over one hundred pairs a day.

These feats of fashion have graced the feet of many celebrities over the years. Some fans of Blahnik's include Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker (and her Sex and the City character, Carrie Bradshaw), Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour, and Princess Diana. Blahnik also created the footwear for the film Marie Antoinette, directed by Sofia Coppola. Several of the shoes from the film are on display in the exhibition.

Fancy Footwear. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

The exhibition is divided into sections based on Blahnik's inspiration. Visitors are able to see the themes and ideas that shaped Blahnik's artistic vision over his career. These inspirations include fantasy, art and architecture, geography, botany, courtiers, and stylish influencers, all of which have come to life in his footwear. The sections help guide the visitors but there is no direct path to follow. Visitors have freedom to engage with these fancy pieces of footwear in any way they choose.

Botany Inspiration. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Exhibition Interior. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

There are several aspects of this exhibition that work well to engage and intrigue the visitors. The first is the inclusion of the conceptual drawings of the footwear. The comparisons between the drawings and the finished product allows visitors to see how the design evolved from conception to completion. It is interesting and exciting to look at these incredible two-dimensional designs and see them recreated into an actual, physical object. To think about the detail and intricacy it takes to create such pieces of art truly boggles the mind. 

From Concept to Reality. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Conceptual designs. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

It should also be noted that there is not a lot of text in the exhibition. The only text is the introduction at the beginning and brief explanations at the beginning of each section. The labels for the shoes only include the name of the shoe and the year. For some shoes, there is one sentence to indicate where inspiration came from or if a notable individual wore them. This was an appreciated aspect as it allowed the shoes to speak for themselves.

Example of Labels. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Shoe Inspired by Alexander the Great. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Finally, visitors are treated to a section inspired by Blahnik's workshop. There they can learn more about the technical aspects of Blahnik and his creative genius. This section works well to educate visitors about the astounding detail and work that goes into every shoe. It adds another layer to understanding how the pieces of art are given life, instead of just seeing the beginning and the end. A video screen also plays a short video of Blahnik discussing his work and giving advice to visitors.

Blahnik's Workshop. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Putting Together the Perfect Shoe. Photo courtesy of Maddy Howard.

Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes brings art and fashion together and truly exemplifies the artistic nature of shoes. It also displays Blahnik's genius and innovation in a fun and engaging way, especially by allowing the shoes to speak for themselves.

The exhibition opened May 16, 2018 and runs until January 6, 2019, so strut over to the Bata Shoe Museum to kickback with some spectacular shoes.

Source.