Walter Van Beirendonck; black leather dress, early history!

Hello wonderful '99ers!
As you know, or maybe don't, but do now ;), in 2009 I lived in Antwerp (en), and it was amazing. I worked with A.F Vandevorst through a season and half and then helped put together the exhibition Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume which was shown in 2010.
One freezing winter evening I had to go to collect some Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto acquisitions from a German woman whose name escapes me now. Her shop/house was way down south in Antwerp but the tram stopped right outside. I carried those goodies like my life depended on it, and I promise you I did not try them on as they stayed with me overnight in my room before being officially donated the following day, no matter how much I was tempted!
A few weeks went by, and my friend Michelle came to visit from Milano just before I was due to return back to Australia. An avid lover of fashion, as any Milanese should be, Michelle and I went shopping, or rather, looking at expensive clothes. We ended up at Jutka & Riska, a rather well known vintage designer store on the Nationalestraat, ironically almost opposite the MoMu.
Michelle found a few things to try on while of course I went casually looking around, not as interested as I maybe should have been, but something caught my eye; a long sleek black leather dress with long sleeves, epaulettes on the shoulders and pretty much completely open back, gorgeous.
I whooshed it out of the rack and looked at the tag.
'Walter van Beirendonck leather dress' (the Flemish escapes me..). What? How? Who? When? Black leather? How uncharacteristic!
I said to Michelle, you must try this on and we must take photos!!

As it was a Saturday I explained my involvement with the MoMu to the girl at the counter and asked if the dress could be put aside so that we might be able to research the matter a bit further and perhaps procure it for the collection.
And so it was that I took my evidence to Kaat, the wonderful aforementioned (in the previous post..) director of the museum, who took it upstairs to the man himself (or maybe he came down to see her, the particulars I don't recall), and found out that the dress had been made for a runway show sometime between his graduating from the Academie and the official launch of the Walter van Beirendonck label, and that it had been bought by none other than the fabulous German lady whose name still escapes me! Over the course of her selling off/donating her collection it had clearly ended up at the vintage shop for me to find!
Voila! With provenance and all, I believe the piece did find its way into the archive of the museum, to be stored and kept for the posterity of the Belgian fashion movement!
Now, back to 2013!
I admit I was so wrapped by the 'Dream the World Awake' exhibition that I just had to go back again, in the company of my lovely mother (afterwards we had coffee, it was sweet haha). Trust me, like I said in the previous shpiel, go again, and again, and again! I saw things I didn't even notice, and noticed that one of my favourite silhouettes had actually been removed! (deterioration, runway sample, international travel and wearing by different models, latex falling apart, etc etc etc).
This time I took some care to look at a few of the video loops, and lo and behold, there it was, well a version of! In 1982, entitled Walter Van Beirendonck 'Multidimensional', was the series of puffy white tops. The middle model took off the top to reveal a well constructed leather bondage harness, and I realised I may just see the dress I've been prattling on about for the last few paragraphs!
Down came the lights, up again, onto a series of black leather coats, military details and all! Lights down, up again, and there is was, hair swept to the side and face harness on, was a long sleeved (knee length) black leather dress with epaulettes. I felt the anticipation of the 'turn around', and there it was! completely open back! I imagine Ms German wanted it full length, hence the difference between 'my' dress and the runway piece, but still, close enough haha. Please excuse the grainy iPhone shots in the dark, from a film from 1982, I realise they are pretty lo-fi, but hey, so was the whole experience! :)

Ladies and gentleman (if you're reading), the dress and I had come full circle and I hope all is well with it!
See the exhibition, urging again. ;)
xxx!

Walter Van Beirendonck Dream The World Awake!

Halloooo '99ers!
I seem to be in an exhibition mode and am always excited to share with you. During my European visit not long ago, a bevvy of interesting and important people swapped sides of the world with me and made their way down to Melbourne.
I am aware this happens all the time, but this time it was a particularly mad affair as it was none other than the wonderful Walter Van Beirendonck; the wild and lethal conscientious fashion bear, the head of Fashion at the Royal Academy in Antwerp and of course one of the original Antwerp 6! Accompanied by his partner in crime and fashion and fellow 6-ian Dirk Van Saene and the amazing Kaat Debo, director of the MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp, who I personally know has an incredible Belgian designer wardrobe and looks fab in it, not to mention has curated some of the most awesome fashion exhibitions of all time.

The exhibition, entitled 'Dream the World Awake', is a retrospective of Walter's grand career in fashion, beginning with a dress from his graduate collection in 1980 and then in a seemingly chaotic manner takes us right through to a silhouette from the most recent winter 13/14 collection. I write seemingly as with anything that Walter does there is consideration of every last detail in the cacophony, both aural and visual. As the first major fashion exhibition to be presented at the new Design Hub at RMIT, the exhibition was brought directly from Antwerp's amazing MoMu, where you know I spent some time at working on another exhibition in 2009. Already then the wheels were set in motion for this exhibition which was first shown in 2011.

Bono's Godzilla feet in from the Pop Mart world tour 1997, wow.

Collaboration with Erwin Wurm, reminds me of the petal ruffle looks by Junya Watanabe and Hussein Chalayan, but those were on women, tres different!

What I think is wonderful is that we here in faraway Melbourne didn't get some abridged half baked version, but in fact pretty much the entire show has come from Belgium and been reconfigured for maximum bang! in the current space. And (after naughtily checking out some pics of the show in Antwerp) I wonder if maybe this time the way its presented here might actually pack more of a punch?!
The entry room has costumes from U2, a collaboration with artist Erwin Wurm and an incredibly long mural of models in Walter's clothes in no order. This excites already as there is no need for a chronological or thematic display when it comes to his work, it all just fits in together and the themes run through from year to year, collection to collection, though with remarkably different results each time. Then, as you come down the stairs of the actually rather eerie building, you turn right and are thrust right into the middle of the action!

Graduate collection leather dress. All the signatures were there waiting to be released!

There are basically two long long rooms filled with mannequins on towering pillars. All of them are at different heights, the majority rotate, and none do so at the same angle, so the silhouettes we see are never facing the same direction. You never know what to look at next, or last, or wow, didn't see that detail, and distracted by the next mask, or shiny panel, or beautiful applique. Added to that there are about 40 of these right next to each other and there isn't much room to step back as the space is quite narrow; you are literally IN the exhibition. Intense! The wall on the other side is floor to ceiling an enlarged version of Walter's 'scrapbooks', where he cuts and pastes images, phrases, words, textures, creating the mood for the collection before he draws the actual silhouettes. Amazing to really see into another designer's though process which is so different to mine!
Now if you weren't aware, this isn't all whizz bang colour and print and tom foolery. No indeed! Walter is a superb cutter and the tailoring is beautifully formed and nods at traditional techniques which is obvious that Walter knows but chooses to subvert and explode. The man is master with the elements of design, fusing colour, texture, fabrication and fit in a way that only he can, a more is more is more aesthetic. 3D elements, embroidery, knit and leather are all used and utilised with precision, a word we like to associate with minimalism. Of course here we have the ultimate 'maximalist', which to me is interesting as in person Walter seems rather an introvert when his work is anything but.

From A/W 13/14, with many references to David Bowie.

Aliens, a recurring and wonderful theme in Walter's work.

Beautiful embroidery shows Walter's depth of design.

And here some amazing feats of construction!

And intricacy of cut.

Environmentally minded :)

Backpack raincoat from 199-something.

A bit of breathing space in the centre room where Walter's toy collection is shown on wooden shelving and carpet with a cartoon version of the man himself. A good way to prepare for the next room, the 'dark room' I say. Same presentation, but in very low light and looking at the darker, more lurid and sexual side of Walter's work. This time on the opposing wall are screens showing loops of different shows, soundtrack and all, from the designer's past. In combination all the sounds create a highly tense and as I said before, cacophonous atmosphere which works with designs chosen for this room.

Remember Gaga's 'implants', thank you Walter in 1998, and thank you ORLAN!

The cock rocket!

Political Walter, STOP TERRORIZING OUR WORLD!

Happened to see the wonderful David Flamee, model and MoMu man now :)

And then its over. Well, not if, like me, you turn around, walk back to the beginning, and see it all again picking up on things you never saw before. Go again I say, and again, and a third time, its stunning!!
xxx!

Haute Couture Paris Exhibition, the finale!

Hello dear Paris '99ers!
We come to the end of our time spent in the great city just as spring arrives here in Melbourne. To finish off I thought I would show you some of my favourites from a most gorgeous exhibition held at the Hotel de Ville (city hall, not another fancy hotel), showcasing arguably the most illustrious and luxurious level that can be achieved in fashion: Haute Couture!
Put together by the Musee Galliera from their extensive collection, the exhibition had been opened for a while, and as luck would have, was due to close the same week as our visit to Paris, how parfait!
Strangely enough for a European exhibition there was strictly no photography, flash or none, ridicule :S.
So of course naughty me, what do I do, but casually and deliberately take candid photos.
Now, like all things done a little on the sly, some of these turned out better than others, some reflections in the glass, some wayward bystander obstructing the shot, so please use your imagination; couture invites you to do this naturally! xxx

Gaultier Paris (Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture), the label is all lace and amazing, just like this totes shredded denim number!

 Wow!

Maison Martin Margiela, I like it better here than on Kanye :)

No gym for the week just wear this insanely divinely crystalled Dior Couture by John Galliano!

Maurizio Galante cut out long gown, to die!

Gaultier Paris all in one suit tuxedo dress everything, LOVE!

Christobal needs no introduction, such intense feathering!

Tischy at Givenchy Couture, individual gold chains, seriously.

Love a satin taffeta number, Montana at Lanvin!

Everyone loves Azzedine, especially me! Divine!

Adeline Andre on the left, a French couturiere known for her use of the 3rd sleeve to change a dress completely!

Schiap! She was friends with Dali and Chanel's number one rival!

Hour-glass Thierry Mugler on the left, love how the pos/neg makes you look sooooopppeeerr skinny!

Lanvin knot twist hat, fabulous! No bad hair days here, bit straw-like perhaps :)

Famous Yves Saint Laurent circle cut lace back dress, amazing!

The cover image, a stunning bias cut Vionnet gown.

The folding technique on the dress is insane, all circular folds leading into the pleated skirt!

Take yourself on a journey far far away with John Galliano, could only be him!

Lacroix bustling it up! (With Dior blue in the background!)

Chanel by Chanel and Chanel by Karl.

Vionnet draping an awesome back!

Givenchy again, I love this dress, I have a poster of it at the salon, fierce!

All decades in one, 60's 80's take your pick! 

What Balenciaga was doing in the 60's, youthquake poothquake! Amazing!

Who can you spot! (clues, Christian x 2, John, Jean Paul, Azzedine, Karl, Elsa and more!)

Till next time, remember to stay in touch on FB, INST, TWT and of course best is to come say hi at the salon, call first haha! xxx