Posts in the installation category

Worth “Lily Dress”

L: © L. Degrâces et Ph. Joffre / Galliera / Roger-Viollet R: Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT

L: © L. Degrâces et Ph. Joffre / Galliera / Roger-Viollet
R: Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT


L: Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT      R: Photograph © Zach Hilty/BFA.com

L: Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT
R: Photograph © Zach Hilty/BFA.com

The Countess Greffulhe patronized the greatest couturiers of her time, but she was often the real creator of her dresses. This is certainly true of the famous “lily dress.” It has a princess line that was atypical for the period, but very flattering to her tall, slender figure, and the Bertha collar resembled bat wings, alluding to Robert de Montesquiou’s personal symbol, the bat. Finally, the motif of fleurs de lys refers to a verse he composed in her honor: “Like a beautiful silver lily with black pistil eyes.” She had herself photographed by Paul Nadar, wearing this dress and posing in front of a mirror.

Robert de Montesquiou by Boldini, 1896. Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Robert de Montesquiou by Boldini, 1896.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris

“Her dresses, invented for her or by her, must resemble no one else’s,” observed the press, adding that she preferred to look “bizarre” rather than “banal.” The writer Edmund de Goncourt admired her “supreme aristocratic and artistic elegance,” but he also once described the Countess Greffulhe as “a distinguished eccentric,” adding that she reminded him of a “female version” of Count Robert de Montesquiou.

Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe runs through January 7, 2016 at The Museum at FIT in NYC.



Worth
Evening gown, known as “La Robe aux Lis” (the lily dress), circa 1896, altered later
Black silk velvet, ivory silk satin appliqués in the form of lilies embroidered with metal sequins and glass pearls; modern collar
GAL1978.20.1, gift of the duc de Gramont to the Musée Galliera

palais-galliera-logos-sm

This exhibition was developed by the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of the City of Paris, Paris Musées.

Worth Evening Cape

© Patrick Pierrain / Galliera / Roger-Viollet

© Patrick Pierrain / Galliera / Roger-Viollet

Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT

Photo by Eileen Costa. © 2016 The Museum at FIT

Photograph © Zach Hilty/BFA.com

Photograph © Zach Hilty/BFA.com

During his visit to Paris in 1896, Tsar Nicolas II of Russia gave the Countess Greffulhe a rich court robe called a khalat from Boukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan, but then part of the Russian Empire). She had it transformed into an evening cape by Jean-Philippe Worth, and was photographed wearing it by Otto Wegener. Eight years later, she had the cape altered slightly in conformance with contemporary fashion, creating a sensation when she wore “her great Russian cape of cloth of gold” to a gala benefiting wounded Russian soldiers.

Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe runs through January 7, 2016 at The Museum at FIT in NYC.

Worth
Evening cape, known as the “Russian cape,” circa 1896, altered 1904
Embroidered maroon silk velvet with a roseate pattern, metal yarn, machine lace, braid with multi-colored silk thread, gold lamé taffeta, cotton tulle
GAL1980.189.16, gift of the duc de Gramont to the Palais Galliera

palais-galliera-logos-sm

This exhibition was developed by the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of the City of Paris, Paris Musées.

Exhibition Images – Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe

Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe opened a week ago today to great fanfare. We’ve had write-ups in Avenue Magazine, Fashion Unfiltered, Harper’s Bazaar Chile, The Observer, Vogue, and the Wall Street Journal.
And don’t miss, the Wall Street Journal’s video of Tanya Rivero interviewing Valerie Steele who describes in detail a number of the incredible dresses in the exhibition!

Since the Palais Galliera does not allow its exhibitions to be photographed, we have provided installation photographs, by staff photographer Eileen Costa, that you may view and share from our Flickr album.

The exhibition design was conceived and developed by MFIT’s architect Kim Ackert together with Valerie Steele and Olivier Saillard, with lighting by Eric Steding. Note, in particular, the use of mirrors. As the Observer describes, they “force the viewer to really look at the clothes from every angle, to gaze, to stare in awe, to really admire the craftsmanship behind every piece.” Laura Jacobs at the Wall Street Journal states that “Ms. Steele brings both ardor and restraint to “Proust’s Muse,” as well as a subtle sense of the reverberations between life and art, the mirror and the camera.”

Proust’s Muse, The Countess Greffulhe runs through January 7, 2016.