Costume Institute Party of the Year to Take Place on Monday, May 2
Exhibition dates: May 5 – August 7, 2005
Exhibition location: Special exhibition galleries, first floor
Press Preview: Monday, May 2, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Chanel —The Costume Institute's major spring exhibition—will be presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from May 5 through August 7, 2005. The spirit of the House of Chanel will be re-created in a landmark presentation of iconic fashions from Coco Chanel to Karl Lagerfeld.
To mark the occasion, the renowned Costume Institute Benefit Gala, also known as the Party of the Year, will take place on Monday night, May 2.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are made possible by CHANEL.
Additional support has been provided by Condé Nast.
Co-chairs for The Costume Institute Benefit Gala will be Nicole Kidman, Karl Lagerfeld, and Anna Wintour. H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover will serve as Honorary Chair.
"The work of Gabrielle Chanel, with its acknowledgment of the realities of women in the 20th century, was an elegantly conceptualized modernism," said Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute. "In creating a wardrobe for herself, Chanel invented an idea of the new woman. The bare facts of Chanel's life—deprived of the autobiographical embellishments she evolved over time and the conjecture of others—are dramatic, but spare. Therefore it is her work, which transcended class barriers and revolutionized the ideals of dress, that is the ultimate testament to her life. It is a great privilege for The Costume Institute to present this exhibition, Chanel, a name that remains synonymous with uncompromising refinement and seductive flair."
As one of the most recognized couturiers of the 20th century, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) has long been the subject of breathless mythologizing and hagiography. This was the direct consequence of her self-invention and self-promotion. Born in 1883 in Saumur, France, Chanel spent part of her early life in an orphanage. She ascended gradually to high society by socializing with aristocrats and political figures. She was an entertainer, a mistress of men of impeccable but diverse social and cultural standing, and a milliner who began to make dresses. The legend of Chanel, however, is necessarily based on the long shadow cast over fashion by her maison de couture. It is the authority and mastery of her work, the resonance of her image of the modern woman as articulated in her designs, and the autobiographical infusion of influences in her collections that finally confirms her iconic stature.
Exhibition Organization and Content
Chanel will examine the history of the House of Chanel thematically, focusing on Chanel's iconic designs and their iconographical details. Period examples will be juxtaposed with the work of designer Karl Lagerfeld, who in 1983 revitalized the spirit and identity of the house. It is Lagerfeld's masterful and often irreverent citations of Chanel's work, as well as his combination of influences from high and low culture, that re-articulate Chanel's innovations. Through his interpretations and refinements, the historic importance of Chanel is both defined and asserted for the modern woman and the world in which she lives.
The exhibition will begin with a presentation of Chanel's ground-breaking designs from the 1920s, including a jersey dress and cardigan coat, an early example of the sportswear principle of separates dressing. Her audacious use of jersey, at the time more commonly applied to men's undergarments and swimwear, allowed for greater ease and comfort, the hallmarks of the Chanel style. By employing the virtuoso hand-sewn details of the couture, Chanel transformed this humble material into a luxurious fashion statement. Jersey was just one element borrowed from menswear – others included the use of the color black with contrasting white cuffs and collar, a reference to dandy fashions. In a 1920s suit that is featured in the exhibition, the white lining of the black jacket extends to the revers, or lapel facings, a typical Chanel detail that was taken from men's military uniforms.
A modernist in the true sense of the word, Chanel ascribed primacy to function and materials. While a straight, linear silhouette characterizes her designs of the 1920s, her dresses of the 1930s appear more feminine and romantic. Also on display will be a series of works that reference Chanel's inspirations, such as her famous "Gypsy" dress, with details borrowed from lingerie and underwear. Even in these languid gowns, however, Chanel asserted her modernism by revealing their construction – exposing the seams and other "mechanics" of the garments.
Chanel not only established the canon of modern dress, but she determined a typology of clothing styles, such as beach and evening pajamas, the chemise dress, the little black dress, the two- or three-piece suit, and evening dress that combined both tailoring and dressmaking practices. A wide array of these "icons" of design will be on display, as well as such signature accessories as the quilted bag, the two-tone pump, the gilt chain belt, pearl necklaces, and crystal Maltese and Byzantine crosses. The exhibition will also focus on the iconography of the Chanel style that, over time, have come to include bows, stars, camellias, and lion heads. (The lion was Coco Chanel's astrological symbol; she was born on August 19 th.) Just as much as in her fashions, these motifs asserted Chanel's creativity and individuality, promoting a design vocabulary that is both instantly distinguishable and instantly recognizable.
The exhibition will be comprised of a series of architectonic modules in a strict modernist grid, as devised by the creative consultant Olivier Saillard. Each module will address iconic Chanel designs, iconographic details that have become indelibly
associated with the House of Chanel, or materials and techniques that are Chanel signature elements. Video wallpaper projections by the artist Marie Maillard will give a poetic vision to the presentation of mannequins in several modules, underscoring their conceptual presentation. More assertively, video cubes in the same dimensions as the modules will be interspersed in the grid: their walls will appear dematerialized with projections that introduce design details and concepts that have come to characterize the House.
Exhibition Credits and Catalogue
The exhibition will feature designs and accessories from the Museum's Costume Institute collection, Chanel's collection, and other international institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and will be organized by Harold Koda, Curator in Charge, and Andrew Bolton, Associate Curator, both from The Costume Institute, along with Olivier Saillard, Chargé de la Programmation du Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris, who will serve as Creative Consultant, and the artist Marie Maillard, who will create the video wallpaper projections for the exhibition.
Chanel, the illustrated book accompanying the exhibition, by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, will include essays by Karl Lagerfeld, Rhonda Garelick, Caroline Rennolds Milbank, Nancy J. Troy, and Kenneth E. Silver. Paperback ($29.95) and hardcover ($39.95) editions will be published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press. The color illustrations, created through a process of double-photo transfer, are by Karl Lagerfeld, and the book is printed by Steidl Verlag in Germany.
A variety of educational programs will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition, including lectures and gallery talks, and the exhibition will also be featured on the Museum's Web site (www.metmuseum.org). A selection of images from the exhibition catalogue will also be available in early May online at www.chanel.com/metexhibition.
For exhibition and Benefit gala inquiries, please contact:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bernice Kwok-Gabel
(212) 650-2123
Bernice.Kwok-Gabel@metmuseum.org
To request an interview with Karl Lagerfeld, please contact:
CHANEL
Nancy Walsh
(212) 715-4743
Nancy.Walsh@Chanelusa.com
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