Under the Great George Washington Bridge.
July 22nd, 2018
Category: july 2018
A City of Brick and Mortar
From Fort Tryon Park, a walk through the Hudson River Greenway offers a glimpse into utopia – or so it seems, if you can call yourself a resident in the Castle Village and read your newspaper in that garden with the George Washington Bridge only a breath away.
Designed by architect, George Fred Pelham Jr. in 1938-39, only about fifteen years after his father, George Fred Pelham Sr., designed another distinctive complex just across the street, the Hudson View Gardens. From a time when Manhattan was still a city of brick and mortar and had not yet succumbed to glass and steel.
July 22nd, 2018
A Heavenly Garden
Of Earthly Delights
Dolce & Gabbana
”Penelope” wedding ensemble, S/S 2013
Valentino
Evening dress, S/S 2014
Undercover, Jun Takahashi
Ensembles, S/S 2015, printed with iconography from Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych ”The Garden of Earthly Delights”
House of Dior
Raf Simons, Evening dress, A/W 2015-16
A more abstracted interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s painting ”The Garden of Earthly Delights”
Valentino
Evening Dress, A/W 2015-16
Jean Paul Gaultier
‘Lumiere’, Evening ensemble, S/S 2007
Steinunn Thorarinsdottir
Armors, 2016-2018
Rick Owens
Ensemble, A/W 2015-16.
With a pee(p) hole at the crotch, Owens’ playful, subversive ”habit” evokes the popular literary stereotype of the lecherous, debauched and scandalous medieval monk, satirized by Geoffrey Chaucer in ”The Canterbury Tales” (1387-1400).
The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park
July 14th, 2018
Heavenly Bodies || The Cloisters
Well, I don’t know about the bodies but some of the gowns were heavenly, indeed! The exhibition was two-part, the main segment being at The Met on Fifth Avenue, and an annex displayed at the medieval monastic environment of The Cloisters, where the gowns seemed to have found their natural habitat, as if they had always belonged there. If I had to describe the display, setting & ambience in one word, that would have been ”sublime”.
Viktor & Rolf, ensemble, 2018 original design: A/W 1999-2000
Valentino, evening ensemble, A/W 2015-16
Philip Treacy, ”Madonna Rides Again II” hats, 1998 – 2001
House of Chanel, wedding dress, A/W 1990-91 by Karl Lagerfeld
The Unicorn in Captivity
Wool, silk and silver and gilded-silver wrapped thread
South Netherlandish, ca. 1495-1505
Altarpiece with the Virgin and Child and Saints
Master fo the Burg Weiler Altarpiece
German, Swabia, ca. 1470
Reliquary busts of female saints
South Netherlandish, Brabant, possibly Brussels, ca. 1520-20
Valentino, red silk velvet dress, S/S 2015
Thom Browne, wedding ensemble, S/S 2018
Olivier Theyskens, evening dress, S/S 1999
House of Dior ”Hyménée” wedding dress by Marc Bohan, 2018; original design: S/S 1961
House of Balenciaga, wedding dress, spring 1967
Fashion history has designated this garment by Cristobal Balenciaga the ”one-seam wedding dress.” If the dress were indeed made from a single length of fabric, it would claim a biblical source: Jesus’ seamless robe at the Crucifixion. The dress, however, is made of two pieces of fabric stitched together and it has three shaping seams – two at the shoulder and one down the centre of the back.
Grisaille Panels
French, probably Normandy, ca. 1270-80
Jean Paul Gaultier
”Regina Maris” evening ensemble, S/S 2007
House of Dior
Ensemble, S/S 2006 by John Galliano
Book of Hours
Simon Bening (1483/84 – 1561)
Tempera, gold and ink on parchment
South Netherlandish, Bruges, ca. 1530 – 1535
This tiny Book of Hours is one of Simon Bening’s prayerful jewels, intended for use at regular intervals throught the twenty-four-hour day (ideally every three hours). It was a reminder of the omnipresence of God, meant to be attached to its owner, or stored with precious possessions.
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Chasuble for Saint John Paul II (reigned 1978-2005), 1997
This chasuble was created for Saint John Paul II to wear on World Youth Day in 1997.
The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park
July 14th, 2018
Watching the World Go By
A sudden downpour found me completely unprepared and looking for shelter. A welcome, cooling break to wash away the grime and that distinctive New Yorky stink that clinks to your nostrils all summer long.
Soon, it was over.
Midtown, Manhattan N.Y.
July 17th, 2018
Spherical View
Of Midtown Manhattan
July 18th, 2018
A Fashion’s Guide to Heraldry
How many hours did it take to create this modern coat of arms, would you say?
Gown:
Jean Paul Gaultier
”Ex-Voto” evening ensemble, S/S 2007
Grey silk mousseline, white silk-metal lace, crocheted gold and silver silk and iridescent crystals, appliqued holograms and aluminum ex-votos
Rosary:
Ivory, silver and partially gilded mounts
Carved in Germany, ca. 1500-1525
This rosary’s Latin inscriptions read ”Think on death” and ”This is what you will be.”
Reliquary arm of Saint Valentine:
Silver, gilded silver and blue cabochon
Made in Switzerland (Basel), ca. 1380-1400
Headdress:
Alexander McQueen – Shaun Leane, A/W 1998-99
Silver and faceted red crystals
Breastplate:
House of Givenchy
Alexander McQueen & Shaun Leane, S/S 2000
Silver-plated metal, resin and old gold
From the Heavenly Bodies exhibiton, held @The Met in 2018
July 14th, 2018
Ascetic Opulence
From over the top opulence to extreme modesty and back. Fashion is inextricably connected to human nature. To understand the former, you may want to start deciphering the latter first.
Spinario (Boy Pulling a Thorn from his Foot)
Bronzse, partially gilt hair and silvered eyes
Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi)
probably modeled by 1496, cast. ca. 1501
Seated Paris
Bronze statuette, partially gilt and silvered
Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi)
Mantua, ca. 1500
Christian Lacroix
”Gold-Gotha” ensemble, A/W 1988/89
Gianni Versace
Evening top, A/W 1991-92
Gianni Versace
Evening top, A/W 1991-92
Gianni Versace
Jacket, A/W 1991-92
Jean Paul Gaultier
”Surprise de l’Icine” ensemble, A/W 1997-98
Dolce & Gabbana
”Idamante” ensemble, S/S 2016
Dolce & Gabbanna
”Angelica” ensemble, S/S 2016
From the Heavenly Bodies exhibiton, held @The Met in 2018
July 14th, 2018
Deep || Midnight || Blue
If I had to pick one from this plethora of extraordinary gowns, it would have to be this one; an eclectic combination of taffeta and lace, paired with leather biker trousers in Lee McQueen’s inimitable style.
House of Givenchy
Evening Ensemble, S/S 1999 by
Alexander McQueen (1969-2010)
Black silk taffeta, white duchesse satin, white cotton lace, white silk organza, black leather
From the Heavenly Bodies exhibiton, held @The Met in 2018
July 14th, 2018
Halocinations
The Angels wear tiaras.
Fragment of a floor mosaic with a personification of Ktisis [Greek for foundation (of a city or colony)]
Marble and Glass
Byzantine, made 500-550
House of Lanvin (Jeanne Lanvin)
”Incertitude” evening dress, 1936
And a closer look at Goossens’ tiara and accessories over the statuary vestment for the Virgin of El Rocio, by Yves Saint Laurent.
From the Heavenly Bodies exhibiton, held @The Met in 2018
July 14th, 2018
The Humble Fabulist 