Installation, Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s. Exhibition design, Kimberly Ackert, 2015. Photographer: Eileen Costa © MFIT

This week we had the pleasure of interviewing architect Kimberly Ackert, the exhibition designer for Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s.

Kimberly Ackert was born and raised in Southern California and has a Professional Degree in Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She has worked in France, Switzerland and Australia and won the Mercedes T. Bass Rome Prize for Architecture. Her work has been internationally published and is known for its sensitivity to natural environments and use of naturally lit spaces. She has taught Architecture at Harvard, Cornell and Yale and is currently on faculty in both the Graduate School of Architecture and the Lighting Program at Parsons, the New School University. She lives in New York and heads her own design firm Ackert Architecture.

– Were there any themes from the designers that you chose to reflect in the exhibition design?

KA: As I became more familiar with both designers, I saw common themes but also divergent approaches. Halston was known as a minimalist, while Yves Saint Laurent tended towards exoticism, and I wanted to express these differences geometrically. Our office researched graphic art from the 70s and found a pattern of interlocking circles and squares that merged the minimal straight lines of Halston with the more dynamic curves of Yves Saint Laurent. The pattern ultimately inspired the design of the complex, multi-tiered platform composed of tubular steel, large plexi-glass panels, and curved metal mesh.

An initial concept sketch. © Kimberly Ackert

Graphic pattern.

Elevation, Ackert Architecture, 2015. © Kimberly Ackert

– The garments in the show are displayed beautifully, against a backdrop of white. Were there any special considerations to working with this color?

KA: I was not concerned about the whiteness of the space and thought one of the most beautiful platforms displayed flesh and peach-toned gowns. A bigger challenge was working with plexi-glass—which must be lit from behind—so as not to produce glare or reflection for the viewer.

Installation, Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s. Exhibition design, Kimberly Ackert, 2015. Photographer: Eileen Costa © MFIT

– Were there any aspects of 1970s design or architecture that you drew upon for YSL+Halston?

KA: White on white architecture and interiors were very big throughout the 1970s, both in the US and abroad, and has continued as a classic minimalist approach. I paid special attention to the work of Paul Rudolph, a well-known American architect, who had designed a townhouse where Halston lived on East 63rd Street. I was already familiar with Rudolph’s work and knew he was a master of the white interior, often featuring his own plexi-glass furniture and multi-leveled spaces. His architecture and interiors definitely captured the free-spirited vision and sexiness of the decade.

“Halston and Staff in His Paul Rudolph-Designed Apartment, New York, ” by Harry Benson via Gavel and Grand

– Do you have any favorite ensembles from the exhibition?

KA: I thought a couple of pieces really exemplified the era: the YSL “Gangster” suit, made in wool pin stripes and dressed with a polka-dot shirt, and the pale blue evening gown worn by Lauren Bacall. I like the freedom that women had in this time period to wear both a man’s suit and a 30s-inspired gown.

Saint Laurent Rive Gauche navy “gangster” style suit, pinstripe wool, 1967, France, 78.57.6, gift of Ethel Scull

Halston evening dress, silk jersey, 1972, New York, 76.69.17, gift of Lauren Bacall

– We loved your answers to this question for Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s. This time around, what 3 words describe this exhibition for you?

KA: Feminine, defiant, and modern.

Installation, Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s. Exhibition design, Kimberly Ackert, 2015. Photographer: Eileen Costa © MFIT

Stay tuned for more from Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning the 70s, and be sure to tweet us with #YSLhalston.

-MM