birds of paradise in momu antwerp is my review of their ongoing show. i have been following the activity of the museum for some time and i was very sorry to miss their dream the world awake a couple of years ago.
since i spent a day in town, i had to put momu on the list. i walked along the empty streets of a public holiday until i reached nationalestraat 28. the wood-paneled walls of the lobby are beautiful and unmistakable.
a normal 8 euro ticket will get you access to the main show. currently, it’s called birds of paradise – plumes & feathers in fashion.
the exhibits were stunning. i learned about the dying profession of plumassier – feather worker. the show collaborated with maison lemarie de paris. they are one of the few traditional feather studios who work on a regular basis with the likes of dior, chanel, givenchy, louis vuitton, etc. they specialize in processing plumes mainly for haute couture.
the opening piece is metamorphosis of a chrysalis into a butterfly woman from the 1997 thierry mugler haute couture collection. maison lemarie used peacock, rooster, eagle and bird of paradise.
this is a louis vuitton silk tulle dress. the flowers are made of cut feathers.
i love this dior haute couture dress! maison lemarie applied chicken and pheasant feathers on it.
this is another dior haute couture dress, only the “feathers” on this one are made of embroidery.
this is a thierry mugler haute couture chimera dress from 1997. it includes many elements among which man made scales, horse hair, sequins, rhinestones and bead embroidery. also, ostrich, swan and goose feathers.
the dress is by prada, 2005. the muff is from the 1860s. and the headdress is from marc jacobs’ last collection for louis vuitton. they all feature peacock feathers.
this is a breath-taking swan dawn coat made in 1957 for marlene dietrich. the feathers from 300 swans were used. the dress beneath has 227,000 rhinestones. wow!
ann demeulemeester is a local fasion star who is fond of using feathers. she chose the few silhouettes on display and the soundtrack: p.j. harvey’s 2011 let england shake. the singer is featured in three pictures wearing her ann d. wardrobe for the eponymous tour.
gucci 2012 dress covered with rooster feathers.
alexander mcqueen 2009 dress covered in dyed goose feathers.
giambatista valli haute couture 2013. the skirt is covered in organza and dyed chicken feathers.
i loved this 1950s hat.
i wonder if designers use cruelty free materials or not. i believe they should find alternatives to feathers, leather and fur since they certainly have the means.
the show included a few pieces by artist kate mccgwire. i love how she uses feathers in her work.
vex, 2008: mixed media with pigeon feathers in antique cabinet.
gyre, 2012, mixed media and crow feathers.
stifle, 2009, mixed media with pigeon feathers in antique glass dome.
preen, 2013, mixed media with pigeon feathers in antique dome.
as a bonus, the extended student show on ethnic costumes. very interesting!
the exhibition is still open for visits until the 24th of august. the new show is called contemporary fashion from the momu collection and it will debut on september the 25th and end on january the 4th.
style bubble has a similar post, you can check it out here.
photo credits: little aesthete
2 comments
PPBF: The Stupids Die | julie rowan-zoch says:
Jul 25, 2014
[…] is so very preposterous, have a look at the dress below and the exhibit of feathered fashions HERE; read other titles in The Stupids series – list posted HERE; suggested use for the classroom […]
ANTWERP IN 50 PICTURES - little aesthete's blog says:
Jul 30, 2014
[…] took pictures of the delicious belgian stew at l’entrepot du congo, of the street ads for momu, of the acne studios shoes i saw in a window and of the gorgeous garlic flowers in the botanical […]