Arts + travel

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

1st June 2015

Shoes to Dazzle and Delight at V&A

1st June 2015 “Shoes are one of the most telling aspects of dress. Beautiful, sculptural objects, they are also powerful indicators of gender, status, identity, taste and even sexual preference. Our choice in shoes can help project an image of who we want to be,” says Helen Persson, Exhibition Curator for Shoes: Pleasure and Pain.

Roger Vivier for Christian Dior Evening shoe beaded silk and leather France 1958-60 — Roger Vivier for Christian Dior Evening shoe beaded silk and leather, France 1958-60

Included in this splendid show are shoes from the unrivalled collection at the V& A, plus international collections, and wardrobes of private individuals. Shoes worn by or associated with high profile figures including Queen Victoria, Marilyn Monroe, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Beckham and the Hon Daphne Guinness, among others, are featured. The famous ballet slippers designed for Moira Shearer in the 1948 film The Red Shoes are on display. Footwear for men and women by seventy designers including Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Vivienne Westwood and Jimmy Choo will also feature in the more than two-hundred pairs of shoes included in the exhibition.

Chopines, punched kid leather over carved pine, Venice, Italy c.1600

Shoes from ancient Egypt, men’s shoes from India, shoe fashions from the European royal courts, and today’s trend-setting designers provide amazing examples of footwear through the centuries. Shoes: Pleasure and Pain is the latest in a continuing series of fascinating fashion presentations at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The exhibition opens on 13 June and continues until 31st January 2016. www.vam.ac.uk/shoes JG

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Caroline Groves 'Parakeet' shoes, leather silk satin, solid silver talons and heel tips, with feathers. 2014 England — Caroline Groves ‘Parakeet’ shoes, leather silk satin, solid silver talons and heel tips, with feathers. 2014 England

Photos: Top image: Freed of London red ballet shoes made for Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes (1948) silk satin, braid and leather, England 1948. Photograph reproduced with the kind permission of Northampton Museums and Art Gallery; Roger Vivier for Christian Dior image Copyrighted Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Chopines: image copyrighted Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Parakeet Shoes: Photography by Dan Lowe

Arts + travel

Artisans in the spotlight

5th May 2015

London Craft Week

5th May 2015 A new event showcasing exceptional craftsmanship takes place this week around the capital. Well-known luxury brands and lesser known labels will be featured in a journey-of-discovery programme involving specialist workshops, small-scale makers and artisans, famous shops, galleries and luxury brands. Above: Daniel Harris for London Cloth – www.londoncloth.com – who will be scarf-weaving at Daks, Old Bond Street / 7th May).

Eleanor Lakelin, Gourd form 2013 – Cockpit Arts Spring Open Studios

The line up includes varied events and demonstrations at London’s prestigious department stores including Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and open studios – an exciting event at Cockpit Arts features independent designers and makers in varied disciplines including wood work, textiles, millinery and jewellery (Cockpit Arts, Cockpit Yard, Northington St, London WC1N 2NP / 9-10th May).

Luxury watch brand Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin, the founding partner of London Craft Week will show how their luxury watches are made and engraved, with experts demonstrating their craft at the flagship store on Old Bond Street.

London Craft Week takes place from 6-10 May, 2015. For more information visit www.londoncraftweek.com CN

Arts + travel

What is Luxury?

1st May 2015

V&A Exhibition Explores Ideas of Luxury

1st May 2015 The term “luxury” is a fascinating subject, as it can have many different interpretations, depending on the person. The Victoria and Albert Museum explores the concept of luxury with a new exhibition What is Luxury? Exceptional examples of contemporary design and craftsmanship are featured alongside conceptual projects that interrogate fundamental ideas of luxury, its production and future.

Second Space Travellers' Watch by George Daniels — Second Space Travellers’ Watch by George Daniels

Included in the presentation is an entirely handcrafted mechanical watch – The Second Space Travellers’ Watch – by British watch maker George Daniels. Fashion is represented with a laser-cut couture dress by innovative Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen (top photo), and more than 1000 hand-knitted nylon bubbles create the Bubble Bath necklace by Nora Fok.

The exhibition provokes thinking and debate through fictional scenarios that consider issues like privacy, resources and access that could determine present and future ideas of luxury. With over 100 remarkable objects, What is Luxury? takes visitors on a revealing journey, and prompts them to consider what luxury means and how it relates to their own lives. What is Luxury? a V&A and Crafts Council Exhibition, sponsored by Northacre, is at the V&A through 27 September 2015. www.vam.ac.uk/whatisluxury JG

Photo Credits: Top image: Voltage Dress, Iris van Herpen, 2013 Paris M. Zoeter x Iris van Herpen; Middle photo: The Second Space Travellers Watch George Daniels, 1983 Jasper Gough, Sotheby’s; Bottom photo: Combs, Hair Highway Studio Swine 2014 Studio Swine

Arts + travel

A chance to buy…original fashion illustrations

19th April 2015

by Irwin “Bud” Crosthwait

19th April 2015 The work of Canadian War Artist, Fashion Illustrator and Modern Painter Irwin ‘Bud’ Crosthwait (1914 – 1981) with go on sale at a special exhibition in London by GRAY M.C.A., later in the year. The exhibition will include more than 60 original works from private collections: War Art, Fashion Illustration & Modern Art with prices ranging from £350 to £10,000.

Coinciding with London Fashion Week (SS16), the exhibition will highlight Crosthwait’s work as one of Paris’s acclaimed Fashion Illustrators, commissioned by publications including Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, Elle, Jardin Des Modes, Herald Tribune, New York Times & Femina and designers Givenchy, Dior, Marc Vaughan, Pucci, Courrèges & Yves St Laurent. Above: Irwin Crosthwait 1977 St Emica Watercolour (£1,500).

Gallery 8, 8 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1. From 17th to 22nd September 2015. www.graymca.co.uk CN

Arts + travel

Jeanne Lanvin

1st April 2015

Paris Retrospective for Legendary French Designer

1st April 2015 A special chapter in French fashion history is highlighted with the intuitive creations of Jeanne Lanvin, now on display in the Palais Galliera. Curated in close collaboration with Alber Elbaz, artistic director of Maison Lanvin, the exhibition honours the oldest French fashion house still in business. In 1889, the twenty-two year old designer Jeanne Lanvin opened her first shop in Paris, and launched her long career that demonstrated her artistry in materials, embroidery, topstitches, twists, spirols, and cut-outs – all the virtuosity of the couturière’s craft. For the period, Jeanne Lanvin was very entrepreneurial, opening shops in Deauville, Cannes, Biarritz, and Le Touquet, as well as abroad in Barcelona and Buenos-Aires.

Jeanne Lanvin - Streamlline Silhouette with Lavish Embellishments — Jeanne Lanvin – Streamlline Silhouette with Lavish Embellishments

Her voracious curiosity inspired her to create unusual fabrics, patterns and exclusive colours. Her favourite colour – blue – was inspired by the intense blue in frescoes by Fra Angelico, and marvelous shades of blue were always magnificently presented in her collections (top photo). Her lifelong muse was her daughter Marguerite, who was born in 1897. Mme Lanvin’s dresses flattered the female form, and often she mixed fabrics – silk crêpe with silk tulle, or silk velvet with silvered metal sequin embroidery – with stunning results. She loved embroidery and beads, and used generous amounts in her designs.

Jeanne Lanvin's extensive library of art books inspired details and decoration in her designs — Jeanne Lanvin’s extensive library of art books inspired details and decoration in her designs

When Jeanne Lanvin introduced her perfume Arpège – from the musical term arpeggio – the name was a tribute to the pianistic skills of her daughter, and for Marguerite’s 30th birthday, Jeanne dedicated her legendary perfume to her beloved daughter.

Jeanne Lanvin Exhibition at Palais Galliera Paris

Jeanne Lanvin is the first Paris exhibition devoted to this discreet, visionary designer, and features more than one-hundred models from the amazing collections of the Palais Galliera and the Lanvin Heritage. Alber Elbaz said: “I think we have managed to create an exhibition around the dream of fashion. What I am hoping for is to hear people say ‘I love Jeanne Lanvin'”. Through 23 August 2015. www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr JG