Stylish sews

A first look at couture’s Golden Age

Published On: July 27, 2010

It’s not all about the photos at Nfocus. Well, it’s a lot about the photos. But we also strive to inform, educate—or at least remind—our already well-informed and highly educated readers about things that truly matter in creating a life well-lived. Of course “style” is at the top of the list.

By attending the recent Member Preview, a select group of very stylish members of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts made sure they were among the first in Nashville to see “The Golden Age of Haute Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957” appearing until September 12 at the Center.

If you weren’t among this well-dressed and exuberant crowd (You are a member, aren’t you?) here’s a mini study guide for your own upcoming visit to the exhibition, which explores the rebirth of high fashion in Europe after World War II. Just consider this article your very own summer reading list, a little soupçon of chic lit.

Although your prep school French is no doubt adequate for ordering wine, please recall that “haute couture,” literally means “high sewing.” “Golden Age” probably sounds familiar, perhaps from a long-ago World History class? The expression comes from early Greek and Roman poets who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure.

Pure is a good word to describe visiting the Frist’s Ingram Gallery, pure, as in “pure delight.” Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the exhibit had record breaking attendance at its London launch and subsequent presentations in Australia, Hong Kong and Canada. This showing at the Frist is the only U.S. venue for the exhibit before it travels to Museums Sheffield in 2011.

Straight guy alert: we realize you don’t know the difference between a Balenciaga and an outfit from Target, but you want to score points with your woman don’t you? Buy her a ticket and take her yourself, if she’ll let you. Trust me; you won’t have a bad time looking at photos of Suzy Parker, Dovima and some of the other iconic fashion models from the era that gave birth to the term “super model.”

And, you’ll find it an interesting imaginary exercise to guess just what those women are wearing that gave them wasp waists and bosoms that look like bumper guards on a 1957 Cadillac. Hint: it wasn’t Spanx! If you really want to know, check out the display case with foundation garments and other items once politely referred to as “intimate apparel.”

Don’t miss your chance to see this important decade in fashion history firsthand. In addition to Christian Dior, other iconic fashion designers featured include: Balenciaga, Givenchy and Pierre Balmain, as well as celebrated London designers Hardy Amies, Charles Creed and Norman Hartnell.

There are also instantly recognizable and fondly recalled photographs by Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn that illustrate how images in fashion magazines enhanced the prestige of couture while making its innovative ideas widely known and accessible in America and Europe.

“Golden Age” offers a rare opportunity to learn about how creative, social and economic forces shaped fashion in the dramatic postwar years through the clothing itself. The good news: you don’t have to travel to another city for this once in a lifetime experience. How good is that? Welcome to the big leagues, Music City, USA. MLT