Every time I visit the V&A... - part 3

...I do not tend to dress up. Having said that I would not walk in as if I have just woken up, of course. And this is how I attended the private view of 'Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950'. I walked in, after a day spent doing my usual duties in my usual wear, and felt so much out of place...

Was it because of the subject of this exhibition? Perhaps but I was surrounded by beautiful outfits, not just behind the glass, and so having worn my jeans, sweater and a bag hanging across my body simply did not feel right.

Spread over two floors of the newly renovated Fashion Galleries of the V&A, I found myself lost in a glamourous life of the high society of the '50s - '70s that later stretched to also a public domain in the '80s till present days.

What started as prestigious private balls accessible to only a few turned to charity balls open to all. Couture designers would design for from royalties to celebrities and their designs would be seen on the catwalk and the red carpet as well as charitable balls and magazine spreads. Indeed, fashion design and its portrayal has developed over the years as demonstrated at this exhibition.

And of course it would not be me if I would not buy a book that goes with this exhibition (right).

Two things caught my eye when flipping through this book; the photography so different from what I am used to in other similar publications and one particular design that also stood out for me at the exhibition.

To demonstrate what I mean I scanned the design for you to see...

...'Jersey evening dress with lacing and fringe' (2011) by Mark Fast.

The intrigue and complexity created by the lacing somehow appealed to me, perhaps because I often wonder when one draws a line between the 'raw' and the 'complete'. This dress looks unfinished till the moment you really examine the craftsmanship and realise the utter uniqueness and canny finish.

From photography point of view, I simply love the style David Hughes captured here. The entire book is in this style. Given by one particular rule - '...museum items are not permitted to be worn by models...', David Hughes reached for a mannequin as a model (an idea introduced years earlier in Irwing Penn's photo essay 'Inventive Paris Clothes'). It is not only each of the thirty-two garments, shown in the book, in which the mannequin is dressed but also the way David Hughes positioned his 'model' that gives life to the mannequin and the ballgowns.

Using black as a backdrop makes the viewer focus only on the photographed piece drawing the attention on the detail and colour of the ballgown. There is nothing else to distract the viewer from the pages apart from the headpieces for the mannequin designed by set designer Vincent Olivieri. Designed on the day of the photo shoot from second-hand books, these respond to the style of each garment.

Despite the fact that I was slightly under-dressed for the occasion, I am glad I came to the private view of this exhibition. Seeing dressed up people always cheers me up. On top of that, I have a wonderful book that could become a collector's item in years to come, a book from which I can draw inspiration for my own work (that I have postponed/abandoned recently). On this note, I will leave you till next time. Have a great week. Kx

Wendy Ramshaw - take three

This is what The Mall, connecting Buckingham Palace (at the distance) with Trafalgar Square, looks like a week after the Jubilee celebrations. Last week, The Mall together with Trafalgar Square, Westminster and the river banks were a no-go area as I have experienced first hand. There were people everywhere you looked. I wrote about it a little in my last post when we waited and waited by the river Thames for the arrival of the Queen (and at the end left a bit early anyway).

Last week, I also tried to go to the Somerset House to see 'Room of Dreams: Wendy Ramshaw'  exhibition. Because of the Jubilee celebrations, there were so many road and pavement closures that one needed to plan well in advance - something I simply forgot to do. And so I ended up being refused access to the key areas twice, the path I would usually take was not accessible. Therefore today was my 'take three' to go past Buckingham Palace, through the edge of Trafalgar Square, down to the river and further to Somerset House. Yes, today I succeeded.

Wendy Ramshaw is a jewellery designer whose career spans over 50 years. Coming to prominence with a pop-up paper or acrylic jewellery in the '60s, she took jewellery design further with not only the actual precious metal pieces but also the way they are displayed/stored. She introduced the Rocket-like stands for her rings as seen on the left.

Over the years, she has worked with precious and non-precious metals, gems, glass, wood, bronze, leather, textile and found materials designing both small delicate pieces and large architectural works.

Returning to the exhibition, it consists of three small rooms. The middle room houses a maquette of the 'Room of Dreams' (right). When you look inside and than around you, you realise that you are in the 'Room of Dreams'. Whatever is attached to the small walls of the maquette is also precisely displayed in the room you are standing in. Silver or gold jewellery, necklaces combining precious materials with fine threads, matching or unmatching ear-rings, rings and others. All these works executed with such care and uniqueness.

Wendy Ramshaw's practice spans further past jewellery design. Working on a bigger scale, she is responsible for designing the gates to Number One Hyde Park in London, St. John's Gate in Oxford and many other sculptural pieces. And this was the reason why I had to see this exhibition. Not only for the jewellery but also for the person behind the larger scale sculptural pieces. I had gone past these on so many occasions but would not even think that somebody who works in a delicate territory could upscale so much and be a competition to the industrial field. Kx

Diamond Jubilee - I was there

I was hoping to share some great pictures from the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant floating down the river today. However, this is as close as I got to the river. Not a great view of the flotilla, a fantastic view of the backs of people's heads and their flags though. Yes, even I dared to attack this madness. And madness it was but definitely worth undergoing.

It seems to be a rule that whenever there is some occasion in the UK, the weather decides to make its mark. It was grey and cold, later also accompanied with rain. However this did not deter people from sharing their enthusiasm. There were people and people and people everywhere, as you can see at the picture on the left.

However, the atmosphere was so magical. Everybody was well-tempered, joyful, smiling. Indeed, the Queen has managed to bring people together. And this is only London. What about the rest of the UK and the world?

One more picture to share. This is how London celebrates. With lines of flags and a sea of white red and blue everywhere one looks. Such neat formations, such pride.

I am not English but this feeling is catching. Standing in the middle of it all and having been bombarded with various documentary programmes about the monarchy over the past few days somehow turns something in an individual. I personally felt that I had to be present at such occasion even though I new that I will not see a thing. 'Since I am here, I need to be present' was my belief.

Having said that, we escaped a bit earlier so that I could see the finale on the screen of my TV, with a hot cup of tea at a cosiness of my home. What a day. I soaked the English pride, I was there.