Exhibition
Heavenly Bodies: fashion and the Catholic imaginationCall Number: Central Library Oversize Stacks BX1925 .B65 2018A brilliant exploration of fashion's complex engagement with the great art and artifacts of Catholic faith and practice Since antiquity, religious beliefs and practices have inspired many of the masterworks of art. These works of art have, in turn, fueled the imagination of fashion designers in the 20th and 21st centuries, yielding some of the most innovative creations in costume history. Connecting significant religious art and artifacts to their sartorial expressions, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination provides a
critical analysis of fashion's engagement with notions of the divine. Exploring fashion's complex and often controversial relationship with Catholicism, Heavenly Bodies probes what dress reveals about the state of religion and spirituality within contemporary culture, and how it may manifest--or subvert--Catholic values and ideology.
Additional Resources
- Essays: Heilbrunn Timelines of Art HistoryThe Costume Institute
- The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la ModeThe Federation numbers some one hundred members, amongst whom feature the most emblematic brands on the global stage. It comprises three Chambres Syndicales or central bodies (Haute Couture, Women's and Men's Fashion).
The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode brings together fashion brands that foster creation and international development. It seeks to promote French fashion culture, where Haute Couture and creation have a major impact by combining traditional know how and contemporary technology at all times. It contributes to bolstering Paris in its role as worldwide fashion capital in particular coordinating Paris Fashion Week®
Fashion Films
- Coco Avant ChanelAudrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) shines in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco. She journeys from a mundane seamstress job to boisterous cabarets to the opulent French countryside, possessing little more than her unwavering determination, unique style, and visionary talent. Featuring lush settings and stunning costume design, Coco Before Chanel is the gripping and dramatic story of an icon who defied convention and defined the modern woman.
- House of GucciInspired by the shocking true story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire. When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately, murder.
- Paris a Tout Prix
- Dior et Moi
- Saint LaurentDirected by Bertrand Bonello ; produit par Eric & Nicolas Altmeyer.Dive into the color and lush textures of the incredible life of fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent. Explore the mind of a creative genius, the intricacies that turned a haute couture label into a worldwide phenomenon, and the glamour and decadence that followed Saint Laurent's footsteps of fame and fortune.
- Yves Saint LaurentIn June 2008 Yves Saint Laurent tragically lost his long battle with brain cancer and the world mourned the loss of one of its greatest couturiers. Saint Laurent was undoubtedly one of the most influential designers of our time. For over four decades, he intuitively understood what women desire. He was the man who put women in pantsuits, transparent blouses, ethnic looks and of course, the tuxedo – all fashion images that we take for granted now. For more than 40 years Yves Saint Laurent captivated the world. His creativity, elegance, and passion will be missed.
- Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé, l'amour fou (2010)
- Coco ChanelShe was an illegitimate child, born into a poorhouse and abandoned in an orphanage, but Coco Chanel rose from unimaginable poverty to create the most iconic fashion brand of the 20th century, The House of Chanel. With steely ambition, Coco Chanel took advantage of wealthy lovers, rose to the top in a male-dominated world, and created a style of clothing that changed the face of women's fashion forever. She encouraged women to dress comfortably, with simplicity and for themselves, rather than their men. Starting with a modest hat shop in Paris, an Empire grew and the House of Chanel came to epitomise luxury and style. Yet behind the success, lay a hidden story of wartime collaboration with the Nazis and a lifetime of disastrous affairs with unsuitable lovers, including the Duke of Westminster, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and Nazi spy Hans Gunther von Dincklage. Always a mistress, never a wife, Coco's longing for love nearly cost her everything. Yet at the age of 88, when she died at her Ritz apartment in Paris, Coco Chanel was officially still working. She triumphed over the adversity of her lowly birth and two world wars, and clung onto her fashion empire which, to this day, continues to be successful and respected the world over. Coco Chanel is part of the fascinating BBC history series Extraordinary Women which looks at the lives and loves of history's inspirational women.
