If there was any doubt who the first lady of fashion is, it was settled Monday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a different first lady showed up to celebrate the new Anna Wintour Costume Institute.
"I'm here today because of Anna," said First Lady Michelle Obama, who helped cut the ribbon on the Met's new $40 million wing. "I'm so impressed by Anna's contributions not just to fashion but to this great museum."
Obama, wearing a demure green Naeem Khan dress embroidered with flowers, praised Wintour before a gaggle of fashion elite, but also celebrated the significance and scope of the new institute.
She lauded it for helping students and fashion enthusiasts learn about masters such as mid-century designer Charles James, the subject of the first exhibit.
"This is for anyone curious about fashion," she said, specifically addressing the students from Fashion Institute of Technology and the High School for Fashion Industries.
"Fashion is a business and an art. You're here because we want you to dream bigger."
She added that they have full permission to "fail and fail and fail" until they succeed.
James, who was once heralded by Christian Dior as "the greatest talent of my generation," channeled a highly architectural approach to haute couture in creating staggeringly complex garments favored by a diverse crowd including burlesque artist Gypsy Rose Lee and socialite Babe Paley.
The exhibition of James' works features romantic and feminine silhouettes, striking and dramatically contoured ball gowns such as "The Butterfly Dress" from 1955.
The gown is a contoured silk dress with a breathtaking bustle behind.
Another stunner? The Four Leaf Clover dress from two years before, featuring a complex mix of fabrics and boning.
The retrospective opens to the public on Thursday.
The beauty of James' work lies in the seamless execution of his intricate tailoring. He created such visionary pieces as the risqué "Taxi Dress," a wrap garment designed to easily be put on (or taken off) in a cab, and the "figure-eight skirt," a redesign of traditional ball gown shaping that loops around the wearer's legs.
"It's amazing," said fashion photographer Nigel Barker, adding that James was the perfect choice for a first show because his work is "timeless, without a doubt."
With Eleanor Dunn
bstebner@nydailynews.com
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/charles-james-exhibition-met-stuns-structured-intricate-gowns-article-1.1780512
