CHINA THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Last week to visit this wonderful exhibition at the Metropolitan museum.
 The exhibition explores the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. In this collaboration between The Costume Institute and the Department of Asian Art, high fashion is juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, including films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery. From the earliest period of European contact with China in the sixteenth century, the West has been enchanted with enigmatic objects and imagery from the East, providing inspiration for fashion designers from Paul Poiret to Yves Saint Laurent, whose fashions are infused at every turn with romance, nostalgia, and make-believe. Through the looking glass of fashion, designers conjoin disparate stylistic references into a pastiche of Chinese aesthetic and cultural traditions. The exhibition features more than 140 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear alongside Chinese art. Filmic representations of China are incorporated throughout to reveal how our visions of China are framed by narratives that draw upon popular culture, and also to recognize the importance of cinema as a medium through which to understand the richness of Chinese history.
 The exhibit closes on September 7th

Left:Roberto Cavalli evening dress  fall/winter 2005-06 - Right:Li Xiaofeng

Juo Pei evening dress spring/summer 2007 haute couture

Left: Dior cocktail dress 1951 - Right:Chanel dress 1956

Givenchy evening dress fall/winter 1997-98 haute couture

Johon Galliano for Dior evening dress fall/winter 1997-98

Johon Galliano for Dior evening dress Spring/Summer 2003

Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent evening dress fall/winter 2004-05

Jean Paul Gaultier evening dress fall/winter 2001-02 haute couture

Ralph Lauren evening dress fall/winter 2011-12

Valentino - Shanghai collection 2013

Evening coat 1925

See also:http://www.scostumista.com/2012/12/li-xiaofeng-made-in-china.html

STYLE ICON:MILLICENT ROGERS

Millicent Rogers Herper's Bazaar 1947

The Millicent Rogers Museum was founded to exhibit the beautiful Native American jewelry and art she collected while living in Taos

“I admire people like Millicent Rogers because her taste was all over the map: Balenciaga to Navajo skirts back to Austrian peasants. She had a wardrobe I lusted after.” - Iris Apfel

Millicent Rogers by Horst 1938

Dior Haute Couture 2010

Herper's Bazaar Aug 2012 photo:Karl Lagerfeld

Millicent Rogers (1902-1953), figlia del magnate della Standard Oil, si è sposata 3 volte e ha vissuto in più di una dozzina di posti. La Rogers viene ricordata per essere stata tra le prime ad essersi appassionata allo stile e ai gioielli indio-ispanici. Più tardi nella vita divenne un'attivista e sostenitrice dei diritti civili dei nativi americani. Ancora oggi è considerata musa ed icona dei maggiori designer. Galliano si ispira a lei per la collezione di Dior Haute Couture S/S 2010.
Nota per viaggiare con 35 valige e 7 bassotti, è stata senza dubbio una delle donne più eleganti del XX secolo.
 Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers (1902-1953), who married three times and lived in more than a dozen places. Rogers is notable for having been an early supporter and enthusiast of Southwestern-style art and jewelry, and is often credited for its reaching a national and international audience. Later in life, she became an activist, and was among the first celebrities to champion the cause of Native American civil Rights.  She is still credited today as an influence on major fashion designers. Galliano took inspiration in Millicent Rogers in his Spring 2010 Couture collection for Dior.
Known for traveling with thirty five suitcases and seven, she is without a doubt one of the most stylish women of the twentieth century.

Abito di Elsa Schiapparelli per Millicent Rogers