Beyond Fashion: Exhibiting Genius
I’m sure there’s lots of us that on any given day don’t give much thought to the mechanics involved in the world around us. By this I mean the way things work - how they’re made, built or fabricated. We take for granted that the tall building where our dentist’s office is made to bear the weight of all the floors, or perhaps our favorite pair of sneakers and the way they cradle our feet perfectly. Someone indeed designs everything that we see, touch, or purchase. From architects to aviation engineers, these people have a single-minded passion, to make things better, stronger, and in some cases, more beautiful than they were before. In recent years, I have attended numerous retrospectives of fashion designers, wherein we the public are allowed into their process to help us understand just why their ideas were the cream of the crop. Famous names like Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Alexander McQueen have been celebrated for their contributions to fashion and the influence it still holds for us on what we choose to wear. Learning about fashion design and in particular the people behind the designs is a great way to increase your knowledge of style and put it to work in your own life. Recently, I went to New York City to view the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Who was Charles James? Why are his designs held up as pieces of art? Those were the questions I asked myself as I entered the museum on 5th Avenue at 84th street on a gorgeous sunny afternoon a few weeks ago.
