I wrote about the Dries Van Noten Inspirations exhibition on my March 2014 Eye Need to Do’s. I went to see it last Thursday with a friend visiting from out of town who is into fashion and who comes once a year to Paris to buy her clothes, so I thought she would enjoy it.
The fashion exhibitions at Musée des Arts Decoratifs are always presented in a special designated space. The atmosphere is almost like going to the theatre: it’s pitch black except for the vitrines that are dimly lit. It doesn’t always work and some shows it’s been difficult to see the details of the clothes. For the Dries Van Noten Inspirations show it worked to its advantage creating an air of mystery and romance. The thing we liked best about the show was instead of just a retrospective, it’s built around the designer’s sources of inspiration, which covered everything from pop art and music to brilliant painters to even other fashion designers. It was like getting to know his creative process from the inside.
The first vitrine featured a selection of other designers clothing from the 1980s including Claude Montana, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Vivienne Westwood and posters from 1980s music icons Grace Jones and Klaus Nomi. Along side the first vitrine is a clever walkway with names of artists, musicians, and celebrities emblazoned on the wall and ceiling in bold capital letters against a black background.
Eclectic themes in the other vitrines include Frances Bacon, The Duke of Windsor, and Cecil Beaton and more abstract themes such as enchanted gardens, feathers and camouflage
The exhibition is dense with over 400 objects so you must take your time to absorb every detail. Upstairs Japanese artist Azuma Makoto has created a floral wonderland with large-scale flowers and plants on a black background to show off Van Noten's sumptuous floral prints heavily used in his collections.
You can also see the brilliant and prolific range of Van Noten has created over a 28 year span. I most love his original prints and the way he freely mixes completely different prints in one garment.
Dries Van Noten worked closely for over two years with head curator Pamela Golbin to put together the show.
Till August 31, 2014
Musée des Arts Decoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli, 75001
Metro: Palais Royal-Musée de Louvre
Open Tuesday to Sunday
11AM to 6PM, Thursday till 9PM
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/accueil-292/une-486/francais/mode-et-textile/expositions-70/prochainement-446/dries-van-noten-inspirations/
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.
Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.
Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.
I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.
Tours cost 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com
Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour
