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| Design News |
| Madeleine Vionnet, puriste de la mode |
Madeleine Vionnet, puriste de la mode
24 June 2009 - 31 January 2010
Musee des arts decoratifs, Paris
Les Arts Décoratifs is devoting a major exhibition to Madeleine Vionnet. In 1952, the couturière donated 22 dresses, 750 dress patterns and 75 photo albums to Les Arts Décoratifs. Selected from her major works between 1912 and 1939 and now restored with the aid of Natixis, this exceptional collection of avant-garde designs can at last be shown to the public. Madeleine Vionnet’s entire career was marked by her constant quest for freedom in extremely refined but unfettered designs close to antique drapery, which continue to fascinate couturiers such as Azzedine Alaia, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and John Galliano.
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Madeleine
Vionnet who died in 1975 just one year shy of her 100th birthday, her
personality eclipsed by her fashion creations. Although she was
little known to the general public, Vionnet was venerated by her
professional peers. She lived through an extremely momentous
epoch including two World Wars, avant-garde movements that
shook the art world, and numerous fashion innovations to which
she actively contributed. A socially progressive employer intent
on improving working conditions within her business, Vionnet
nonetheless geared her exceptional designs to an elite clientele.
As was the case of many designers during the Roaring Twenties,
she was not concerned with democratizing fashion. Her amazing
technical skills paved the way for sartorial renewal based on
complex structural experimentation.
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Evening coat, Summer 1936, Les Arts Décoratifs,
Union Française des Arts du Costume
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An initial viewing enables visitors to compare two distinctly different,
yet closely linked artistic domains: fashion and decorative arts. In
order to immerse oneself in the artistic culture of the 1920s and
1930s, thoroughly grasping its historic context while understanding
its creative process, we recommend additional or extended visits
to the Musée des Arts décoratifs (Mad). Fashion designers were
influential tastemakers, as evidenced by the recreation of Jeanne
Lanvin’s private apartments, and the display of Jacques Doucet’s
personal furnishings. Madeleine Vionnet’s residences were
furnished by René Herbst, Pierre Chareau, and Jean Dunand. In
turn, her showrooms (salons de couture) were decorated by Georges
de Feure and René Lalique. The Musée des Arts décoratifs has
works by all of these artists. A harmonious coexistence is achieved
between geometric and floral motifs, elegant neoclassicism and
rigorous modernism, industrial steel and more refined materials. |
Photograph of registered design,
Summer Collection 1922, Les Arts Décoratifs,
Union Française des Arts du Costume |
| The mystery of Vionnet’s cut still intrigues designers such as Azzedine Alaïa,
Issey Miyake, and Sofia Kokosalaki, or historians such as Betty Kirke, as well
as a number of visitors attending this exhibition. Along the same lines as
the creative field of textiles, other domains of the applied arts experienced
simultaneous developments during this time period. The rich decorative art
collection of this museum offers a comprehensive view of the aesthetic trends
of Vionnet’s time period. |
| Visitors pressed for time can focus on Jeanne Lanvin’s private apartments
(see. Mad, floor 4, room 48), or Jacques Doucet’s furniture (see. Mad, floor 3,
room 52).
On the other hand, for those visitors disposing of over an hour, a complete
visit of the museum will enable them to tackle subjects such as the turning
point marked by the 1910s, the phenomenon of designers as visionary
collectors, and the creators admired by Madeleine Vionnet. |
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