Taken Too
In 1986 the Musée des Arts de la Mode opened as a sister institution before being fully integrated into the Museé des Arts Décoratifs Paris. An exhibition simply called Look 40 Years of Fashion at the Museum celebrates cloth to couture to capture on camera. MAD (what an acronym!) is one of the many highlights of Rue de Rivoli which begins at St Paul and St Louis Church and ends before Hôtel de Crillon. The museum is handily zigzagged opposite Hôtel Le Meurice, that essential pitstop for Sancerre in Le Bar 228 under the cloudy skyed ceilings of Philippe Starck’s interior.
Chronology begone. A fashion photography gallery. Juxtaposed dresses: an 18th century hoop skirt next to a backless 1970 Guy Laroche gown. A dressmaking studio. The standalone poster girl: a 2007 shocking pink cape and gown by Valentino. A costume conservation video. All the glamour of the world capital of fashion: and a lot of the work that goes into it. Chief Curator Bénédicte Gady supported by Curator Sophie Lemahieu and Assistant Curator Hannah Morelle have pulled off a triumph worthy of the first four decades of fashion next door to the Louvre.
