West Coast FAB: LACMA Fashioning Fashion

Die hard Fashionistas, it is time time for a history lesson.  And this one will be fun for a change!  A new exhibit has opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and if you are lucky enough to be in the LA area, don't miss it!

Celebrating the museums groundbreaking acquisition of a major collection of European men's, women's and children's garments and accessories, LACMA has on exhibit Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915.  Covering a period that spans the Age of Enlightenment to World War I, the exhibit explores the technical developments and dramatic changes that took place in fashion during that period.  The exhibit highlights the evolution of luxurious textiles, advancing tailoring techniques and the use of brilliant trims, embroidery and other decorative applications.

Among the must see pieces in the exhibit is an evening mantle designed by French couturier  Émile Pingat (active 1860-96) that is embroidered with silk thread, embellished with glass beads and trimmed with ostrich feathers.  Also included in the collection are three piece suits and gowns worn at the royal courts of Europe and an eighteenth century men's vest with embroidery that carries symbolic messages relevant to the French Revolution.

Okay, so you can't actually shop at the exhibit (except of course in the bookstore!!).  However, you will definitely be inspired by this exhibit.  And since history does repeat itself, elements form this exhibit could be popping up in collections that will hit the market soon.  So why not start dreaming now :).

At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
October 2, 2010-March 6, 2011

Reported by Mdivani Monroe.  Photos © 2010 Museum Associates/LACMA