TOMMY HILFIGER U.S.A., INC. TO SPONSOR
ANNA WINTOUR, TOMMY HILFIGER, AND AERIN LAUDER WILL CO-CHAIR DECEMBER 6 GALA
The exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum will be organized in five sections that will address the synergy between rock music and fashion: Poets and Dreamers; Icons; Brilliant Disguise; Rebels; High Style.
The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland will spotlight classic rock-'n'-roll performers and their pervasive influence on style in the exhibition titled Rock Style, to be launched at the Metropolitan Museum from December 9, 1999, through March 19, 2000. A selection of more than 40 major rock artists who have influenced style from the 1950s to the present will be represented by fashions from the collections of The Costume Institute and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, as well as by loans from the private collections of several of the rock stars themselves. Artists represented will include Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Tina Turner, Elton John, Mama Cass, Stevie Nicks, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Madonna, and Björk.
This year's Costume Institute Benefit — the annual black-tie dinner and dance known as the "Party of the Year" — will take place on December 6, launching the exhibition with a celebration of rock-'n'-roll music and style.
Tommy Hilfiger, Honorary Chairman and Principal Designer, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation; Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of Vogue; and Aerin Lauder, Director of Creative Product Development at Estée Lauder U.S.A. and Canada, will serve as co-chairs of the benefit.
The exhibition and the benefit for The Costume Institute are made possible by Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A., Inc.
Additional support has been provided by Condé Nast and The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
The exhibition has been organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, where it will be on view from May 12 through September 10, 2000. A third venue for the exhibition — the Barbican Centre in London — will follow, from October 4 through December 10, 2000.
More about the exhibition
Philippe de Montebello, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented: "The Metropolitan Museum's collections and exhibitions — representing the sheer breadth of the past 5,000 years of world art — have embraced the study and presentation of fashion history through The Costume Institute. This December's exhibition takes on one of the most recent — but, without doubt, also one of the most powerful — influences on 20th-century culture and style, demonstrating once again that fashion remains a living art and that The Costume Institute continues to honor both the best of our history and the most expressive of contemporary culture."
"Rock 'n' roll and the artists behind the music have had a significant impact on fashion and style throughout Rock history," said Tommy Hilfiger. "Their innovative, and at times, daring clothing, has broken ground in style, evolved fashion trends, and made them image icons recognized around the world. These past and present icons, with their genius in music and creativity in fashion, have always inspired me. I am very honored to be part of this unique and exciting exhibition and to be co-chairing the 'Party of the Year' with Anna Wintour and Aerin Lauder. I hope that together we can make this year's gala one of the most successful and memorable to date."
"From hairstyles to mannerisms to clothing, the style and fashions of rock and roll artists have often been the cutting edge off which popular fashion and culture have grown," said Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Terry Stewart. "We believe that this unique exhibition will provide tangible contexts in which to explore that relationship. We are thrilled to work with the Metropolitan Museum to bring this profound contribution to 20th-century culture to our respective venues."
Rock Style was conceived by Richard Martin, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, with James D. Henke, Vice President of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs, and Ileen Gallagher, consultant, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The installation at the Metropolitan Museum is being organized by guest curator Myra Walker.
According to Richard Martin: "It would be difficult to overestimate the influence of rock on late-20th-century style. More than movies and/or the fashion industry, rock has been a dynamic force in visual style. Every generation of rock history has commanded visual image as much as sound."
He continued, "Twenty-five years ago, in 1974, The Costume Institute presented the exhibition Hollywood Design. That memorable exhibition, often described as the most popular in The Costume Institute's history, testified to the great influence of popular film on fashion and fashion's role in film. We would be remiss to end the century with that witness alone, for today rock has supplanted film to become the great interlocutor with fashion in the vivid visual contest of contemporary living."
The exhibition organized in five sections
The exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum will be organized in five sections that will address the synergy between rock music and fashion. Poets and Dreamers will capture the spirit of the individuals who mixed and matched their way into their own unique interpretation of style. This section will address the power and simplicity of the flannel shirt and black jeans, which took on new meaning when donned by Bruce Springsteen and others — demonstrating that the songwriter/poet could be a dynamic rocker onstage and also appeal to the working class. The democratic fabric of denim was co-opted from rockers of the 1950s and brought into the 1960s with a new twist. Janis Joplin created her own look from vintage clothes found in thrift stores — her image as a rebellious woman was a large part of her appeal. The sixties embraced the dreamers of the world and allowed them to create an amalgamation of style that often merged their musical sensibilities with a political stance.
A section on Icons will feature Elvis Presley and the Beatles, a tribute to the founders of rock and roll who merged music from gospel, country, and the blues. These artists modeled themselves after one another and on the raw power of black singers and musicians.
Superstars defined by their ability to hold a crowd in their sway will appear in the third gallery, Brilliant Disguise. Superstars have had a definitive impact on the creation of fashion fads and trends. David Bowie's character of Ziggy Stardust, along with the Spiders from Mars, unleashed a fashion genie that never retreated. By the early seventies, it was not enough to go onstage and just play music. Sound, lights, choreography, and later, video became key elements of the concert experience. A performer's dress, designed as an integral part of a concert experience, can mesmerize an audience. The stage persona that is created can become so dominant that the performer may even be reluctant to be seen out of character or without makeup.
Rebels in rock music – the subject of the fourth gallery of Rock Style — have now become almost mainstream. The black leather jacket will be viewed as the seminal item of clothing that has spawned the most loyalty as a universal symbol in rock and roll fashion. Even punks, Goths, and heavy metal fans are slaves to fashion, albeit anti-fashion — they use dress to create a bond with one another and to induce a level of tension between themselves and the public.
The final section of the exhibition, High Style, will demonstrate how the media and popular culture convene to sell images to an insatiable fashion public. During the early eighties, for instance, Elton John and Cher linked up with designer Bob Mackie to embellish their stage presence. Madonna and others eventually flocked to haute couture designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, and Giorgio Armani to cement their places in fashion history. These alliances between celebrity designers and rock stars have created a powerful force in the fashion industry.
Publication
A book, Rock Style by Tommy Hilfiger with Anthony DeCurtis, will be published by Universe Publishing (a division of Rizzoli) to coincide with the exhibition. The 160-page publication will include 200 full-color illustrations and will be distributed by St. Martin's Press, New York, in a $35 clothbound edition.
Educational programs
At the Metropolitan, a variety of educational programs will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition, including lectures, films, gallery talks, and other programs for students.
The Web sites for the Metropolitan Museum (www.metmuseum.org) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (www.rockhall.com) will feature the exhibition.
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September 14, 1999
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