the classics

Sorry for the ages-long gap in blogging. I am in a bit of a fashion funk at the moment, but anyway here is a nice reminder that it's not all bad:

Evening dress (1958) by Madame Grès, silk jersey, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

There's a good little piece here on the links between classical art and fashion. In particular the wet drapery of classical sculpture is echoed in many of Grés' extraordinary designs.

Unknown artist, "Muse Terpsichore" (Roman copy of Greek original), marble, 2nd century AD, 

State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

I spent a while looking for a good example of wet draping in sculpture before settling on this one of Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance. In the sculpture the 'fabric' suggests movement and the form of the wearer's body below. Conversely, Grés' silk creation seems to do the opposite, the dress conveying a sense of deep stillness - as if hewn from marble, I guess.

And just because I can't bear not to share this image, here is another example of fabric in sculpture:

Raffaelo Monti, "Veiled Lady", c. 1860, Minneapolis Institute of Arts