Beyond Glamour

Zoe Walker previews an exciting new fashion exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Afashionable crowd is swooning over a model wearing a dress weighing 10 pounds. Elettra Wiedemann, the daughter of Isabella Rossellini, is parading a replica of Charles James’ famed “Clover Leaf” ball gown, a sculptural masterpiece that is considered to be an icon of mid-century couture.

We are in the newly named Anna Wintour Costume Centre in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, for a preview of the upcoming exhibition Charles James: Beyond Fashion. Opening in May, the exhibition will examine the career and work of the 20thcentury designer who created glamorous and revolutionary ball gowns for New York society women in the 1940s and 50s. And while James’ name may not be as well-known as those who have previously had their work celebrated at The Met (Alexander McQueen, Miuccia Prada, Schiaparelli, Chanel, Poiret), his influence on fashion is important. Harold Koda, the charming curator-in-charge of The

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The exquisite dresses designed by Charles James (centre, in 1936), including the “Butterfly” gown from 1954 (left) and the famous “Clover Leaf” gown worn by Elettra Wiedemann (far left), are on show at The Met from May. Pictures courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s

Costume Institute, credits him with creating design techniques that designers continue to use today: poufs, body-hugging sheaths, figure-eight skirts, ribbon capes and dresses, and more.

At the early morning presentation during New York Fashion Week, Koda explained to a small crowd — including Aerin Lauder, Suzy Menkes, Andre Leon Talley and the centre’s namesake Anna Wintour, resplendent in a fur coat and perfectly coiffed bob — that the exhibition will be an opportunity to readdress the awareness of the “underappreciated designer”.

“It’s time to readdress the public perception of this great man.”

Outlining the glamour and beauty of the Charles James gowns that will be presented at the exhibition is a story Koda came across during his research. At an earlier retrospective of James’ work in 1982, there was a small fashion show. “The curator approached one of the teenage models, who was small enough to fit into one of these magnificent dresses, and she said, ‘I will never wear one of these gowns, what does it feel like to wear it?’ The young girl answered, ‘It feels like a lesson in beauty’.”

• Charles James: Beyond Fashion opens at the Costume Institute’s Anna Wintour Costume Centre in New York on May 8.

Other museums and galleries to visit while in New York

KELLY GALLERY 154 East 71st St (pictured)

On three floors of an Upper East Side townhouse, this elegant gallery specialises in 20th-century decorative and fine art. Whether browsing or buying, you will find Stephen E. Kelly’s Art Deco collection featuring glass, ceramics, silverware, jewellery, paintings and sculpture by notable designers and artists including EmileJacques Ruhlmann, Eileen Gray, JeanMichel Frank, Jean Dunand, ArmandAlbert Rateau, Henri Simmen, Man Ray and others.

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 1220 5th Ave

Capturing two contrasting worlds of the city are two exhibitions currently at this museum: Gilded New York explores the city at the turn of the 19th century when wealth was flaunted through extravagant costumes, jewellery, and decorative objects, while City as Canvas showcases more than 150 works from the street art collection of East Village artist and graffiti art collector Martin Wong. The exhibition runs until August 24.

SPERONE WESTWATER 257 Bowery

This contemporary art gallery in SoHo, designed by worldrenowned architects Foster and Partners, was the first to move on to the Bowery in 2010, exhibiting an international roster of prominent artists, among them Guillermo Kuitca and Julian Schnabel.