Remembering an Iconic Designer
1st May 2014 The glamorous, elegant, sculptural designs by Charles James are the subject of a beautiful exhibition held in the newly renovated Tisch Gallery in the Anna Wintour Costume Center, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Complex cuts, extravagant draping, and luxurious materials were transposed into fabulous designs – magic that James performed with his imagination and scissors. James was born in Britain, and worked in Paris before arriving in New York in 1940, where he established permanent residence. His early clients included Diana Vreeland, iconic fashion editor, and society beauties Babe Paley and Millicent Rogers. In 1954, James married Nancy Lee Gregory, who frequently modeled his designs.
Charles James was the ultimate perfectionist, regarding each design as a work of art. Women responded to his dramatic seaming that enhanced the female form. James loved luxury, and his fabric choices were always sumptuous – silk velvets and chiffon, cotton organdy, creamy crepe, and fine wools. Charles James: Beyond Fashion is a fitting tribute to a designer who paved the way for many of America’s future couturiers. The exhibition runs from 8 May through 10 August 2014. www.metmusuem.org JG
Photos: Top: Charles James Ball Gowns 1948 Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Cecil Beaton, Beaton/Vogue/Condé Nast Archive. Copyright Condé Nast
Babe Paley: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by John Rawlings, Rawlings/Vogue/Condé Nast Archive. Copyright Condé Nast
Nancy James: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Cecil Beaton, The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s.