Dressmaking on stilts at the V&A
Just to clarify – couture? The word inspires everything from hushed awe to vague mutters of appreciation, to confused squeals of enthusiasm from pink velour-clad plastics. Couture is the French term for “dressmaking”, and haute means “high”. Hence, the literal translation of haute couture is “high dressmaking”, in the same way the microscopic portions in your local Michelin-starred restaurant are referred to as “haute cuisine”.
Haute couture is the pinnacle, the absolute peak of creative expression through the medium of dress (gents – the equivalent of a bespoke Savile Row three-piece with matching shoes, only at least three times more expensive and ten times more coveted). Haute couture combines untempered artistic flair with made-to-measure precision.
Commissioned by the wealthiest of patrons and created by only the most skilled designers and their ateliers (workshops), couture is regarded as much as collectors items and museum-worthy pieces as clothes. Dolce & Gabbana? Not even close.
Even your relatively average couture gown would put all but the most special of wedding dresses in the shade – the most extravagant and elegant sit comfortably alongside the private jet and Lamborghini on the wishlists of fashionistas and romantics the world over.
Thus, to the V&A’s autumn exhibition. The Golden Age examines in detail the period after the Second World War when Christian Dior introduced the now-legendary New Look, Cristobal Balenciaga reopened his doors and the stellar talents of Hubert de Givenchy and Pierre Balmain rose to prominence.
The period is regarded as one of the most glamorous and remarkable in fashion history, not only for the extraordinary bloom of creativity that took place, but also for Dior’s revolutionising of the industry and the swansong of an era that ended with the sixties and the advent of a mass market more directed to teenagers and prêt-a-porter (ready to wear).
The period and the New Look (rounded shoulders, nipped-in waist expanding into dramatically long and wide skirts) also saw a return to ethereal glamour and luxury after the austerity of the war.
95% of the exhibition is from the V&A’s remarkable archives, but is also notable in that it includes original pieces from Dior’s first collection and the painstakingly restored Zemire ensemble, which was previously only known to editors and researchers through photographs and recently rediscovered in a building on the banks of the Seine.
Stepping through the hushed spaces resplendent with the quiet stir of archive footage, it feels more like witnessing a private labour of love than waltzing through an exhibition. A room is dedicated to the process of creating a couture gown, from the preparatory sketches and material samples right down to the accessories and finished product; one could spend hours in this room alone.
Another is given over to the imagemakers favoured by the emerging international press, namely familiar publications like Vogue and Harpers. Where previously illustrations had been used, photographers such as Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton dominated during the postwar years as the medium had a modernity that editors favoured.
The trend of showing the “face” as opposed to the whole figure emerged during this time as large cosmetics advertisers such as Elizabeth Arden began to take more space in the increasingly influential fashion press.
Lovers of all things Audrey Hepburn will be glad to know her favoured couturier is well represented – show-stopping Givenchy couture dresses are amongst the best of the entire exhibition – and a reel shows film footage of famous film fashion moments, including the aforementioned Ms. Hepburn’s Parisian romp in Funny Face.
Most dramatic of all though is a room dedicated to the most achingly beautiful couture of the whole collection; the wealth of beauty on display here is worth the admission alone. Pieces from familiar names such as Dior, Balenciaga and Givenchy stand alongside those from the less familiar such as Fath, Lelong and Schiaparelli. All are stunning.
The exhibition returns us round into the present with a timeline dating the emergence of major players and the establishment of the regulatory Chambre Syndicale, ending with three pieces from the most dramatic couturier of the present day, Dior’s John Galliano.
Though the couture from British dressmakers such as Hardy Amies is worthy in itself as to compete with their contemporaries on the continent, the vast majority will come to see the well-known names, though even the most avid couture fan will have something to learn.
The breadth and depth of research and effort that has gone into this exhibition is obvious and it shows – The Golden Age is a fitting tribute to a dying craft. Sublime.
