It is a crossed route that the Palais Galliera offers us here. In its new galleries, which were given a facelift during construction in 2018 and 2019, the museum offers a plunge into the history of fashion, from the 18th century.e century to the present day, while telling us its own story. Or how the gift of the Society for the History of Costume in 1920 will lay the foundations of what will become the Fashion Museum of Paris.
Searching, preserving, contextualizing, exhibiting, telling… so many essential missions are played out here, while the history of fashion with a capital H is not yet fully considered as a scientific discipline. However, you must see these French-style dresses dating from 1755, in brocaded silk cannetille, with double flat pleats in the back, or even these male dressing gowns dating from the mid-eighteenth century.e century, which bear witness to the rise of trade routes: their flowery and richly embroidered prints come from Indian craftsmen with golden hands.
The part devoted to the XIXe century puts into perspective everything that is woven around a woman’s body: tight waist, arched backs, pastiches placed under petticoats to give volume to the silhouette … donations from individuals, including the descendants of Countess Greffulhe who can be seen as imperial in her ornaments signed Worth in the princess line, without seam at the waist.
From Poiret to Dior
Land of experimentation, emancipation, but also technical prowess, the XXe century is studied here from every angle. From the liberation of female bodies in the 1910s by Paul Poiret and his supple dresses to the splendor of the 1920s and his richly embroidered proposals, through the new golden age of haute couture in the 1950s, after the Occupation. It was in 1958, after the first donation of a creation signed by Christian Dior, that the haute couture department of the Palais Galliera was created.
The rise of ready-to-wear in the 1960s is illustrated here by pieces by Yves Saint Laurent or Courrèges. Then, we gradually saw the arrival of the show fashion of the 1980s, served by Thierry Mugler or Claude Montana, whose ardor then confronted the rigor of the Japanese school, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto in the lead.
Contemporary fashion then takes over, with sleek or richly crafted creations by Phoebe Philo, Martine Sitbon, John Galliano or Alexander McQueen. Added to this are a few treasures from the collection, such as invitations for fashion shows or even buttons signed by the artist François Hugo, who collaborated with Gabrielle Chanel or Elsa Schiaparelli. This exhibition will evolve over the successive displays, the treasures preserved by the Palais Galliera all deserving of their little moment of glory.
“A history of fashion. Collecting, exhibiting at the Palais Galliera ”, until June 26, 2022. Palaisgalliera.paris.fr
