A Conversation Piece

Updated Wednesday May 9, 8.14am: There they are, the two of them, sitting across from one another, engaging in a thoughtful tête-à-tête about the strange circumstances that led them to this moment in time, to this particular locus where fashion and art, past and present, converge. If one didn't know better, the verbal exchange - punctuated by moments of sharp laughter or quiet rumblings foreshadowing a possible disagreement - could be shrugged off as yet another example of the enduring ladies who lunch archetype. But these aren't two society dames gossiping, it's the cinematic illusion of an encounter between fashion mavens Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada. Therein lies the premise of Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, the latest exhibition courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. Based on Miguel Covarrubias's "Impossible Interviews," a Vanity Fair column from the Thirties that chronicled fictitious dialogues between two contemporary figures with opposing ideologies, curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton have juxtaposed the works of Schiaparelli, from the late Twenties to the Fifties, and Prada, whose career in fashion began in the late Eighties. The museum commissioned filmmaker Baz Luhrmann to direct eight short, chatty vignettes - with Prada playing herself and Schiaparelli embodied by actress Judy Davis and using words from the designer's autobiography Shocking Life - that are interspersed in the galleries filled with apparel and accessories, hoping to shed light on the psychology that guided each of these women's métiers.

Koda and Bolton have organised the visual comparison into a trio of overarching motifs: "Waist Up/Waist Down" demonstrates Schiaparelli's focus on the upper body and Prada's with the lower, while "Ugly Chic," "Hard Chic" and "Naïf Chic" explore their philosophies of elegance. Lastly, the curators study three ways in which the designers' physical work interacts with the human form: "Classical Body," "Exotic Body," and "Surreal Body". There is a great deal of aesthetical and canonical overlap, and quotations from both subjects are plentiful throughout, giving intellectual context to the visual displays. This show lacks the visceral and emotional power that pulsed through last year's Alexander McQueen retrospective - understandably so as it's a more cerebral, less tortured affair. The works are thought-provoking and often archly clever - and are most successful when attempting to protest culturally accepted paradigms of beauty and femininity. It should be said that both women are certainly products of their respective eras, as demonstrated with Schiaparelli's jackets - which contrasted nipped waists with strong, padded shoulders and were often embellished with meticulous embroideries and ornamentations - reflecting mid-century café society, where women's legs were hidden under dining tables.

Prada, however, is known for her love of skirts, and candidly expounds on her fixation with the lower regions of the body. "It's about sex," reads one sign. "It's about making love. It's about life. It's about giving birth." Red lacquered walls serve as a backdrop for an array of Schiaparelli's finely tailored and exquisitely decorated jackets, while Prada's skirts of every length, colour, and fabrication stand nearby - a convincing mash-up. As an extension of that conceit, Koda and Bolton also showcase Prada's obsession with fantastical, whimsical footwear - chunky clogs, the infamous platform brogue-espadrille hybrid of spring/summer 2011, Lucite heels with dangling crystals - and use Schiaparelli's Surrealist headgear and imposing jewellery as suitable foils. The three "chics" - ugly, hard, and naïf - are perhaps the most interesting in theory, yet the least visually engaging. In the build-up to the show, much has been said about the ways that both women confronted, challenged, subverted, and defied the society norms of beauty. Muddy, dowdy fabrics stain the "Ugly Chic" portion, while "Hard Chic" emphasises a taut, unfussy efficiency lifted from the designs of uniforms and menswear. Utility may trump fantasy here, but there's a knowing sensitivity in these pieces, their ease is a respectful gift to women from women. "Naïf Chic" is the most compelling in its ability to simultaneously celebrate and ridicule youthful naiveté. The offerings may look childish or saccharine, but they contain an underlying implication of Lolita-esque deviance - an arresting contradiction.












MAX BERLINGER 09 May 2012
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/08/26/the-met-new-exhibition---elsa-schiaparelli-and-miuccia-prada