The Blank Canvas of Fashion

The Blank Canvas of Fashion by Ingrid Mida 2012

My source of inspiration for this photo was last month's cover of Fashion Magazine which depicted a man dressed as a beautiful woman - although you won't know this unless you read the credits. This man, Andrej Pejic, is fashion's hottest supermodel. He has been on the cover of numerous fashion magazines and also walked the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs - dressed as a woman. With long blonde hair, perfect skin, soft features and a tall angular body, Pejic can present himself as either a man or woman. He is a blank canvas - a fashion clothes hanger transformed by clothing and makeup - and hence the inspiration for this photo.

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum and other Must-see Exhibitions for 2012

Roger Vivier at the Bata Shoe Museum, photo by Ron Wood, copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum

The explosion of fashion exhibitions in museums has made it virtually impossible to see everything that there is to see. Discerning the extraordinary from the run-of-the-mill show takes work and this is my list of top choices for 2012.

1. Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection at the Bata Shoe Museum beginning May 10, 2012
The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto never disappoints. This jewel of a museum is headed by curator Elizabeth Semmelhack and she knows how to put on a good show.  In Process to Perfection, the exquisite work of Roger Vivier, known for bejewelled and elegantly sculptural shoes and one of the 20th century's most important master shoemakers,  will be displayed for the first time in North America. Loans from museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will make this show into a shoe-aholic's dream display.

2. Schiaperelli and Prada: On Fashion at the Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning May 10, 2012
This exhibition at the Costume Institute of the Met in New York will explore the affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miucca Prada who come from two different eras. Curated by Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton, the title of the exhibition is based on Umberto Eco's books on the philosophy of aesthetics - On Beauty and On Ugliness  and organized according to the book's outline by topics such as "On Art," "On Politics," "On Women," "On Creativity". The exhibition will run until August 19, 2012.

3. Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs at Musee des Arts Decoratifs beginning March 9, 2012
This exhibition tells the stories of two men of fashion, separated by a century, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, and will highlight their contributions to the fashion world. Designed to be an analysis rather than a retrospective, this parallel Vuitton-Jacobs comparison is intended to provide new insight into the fashion system during its pivotal periods, beginning with its industrialisation and ending with its globalisation, focussing also on its artistic professions and crafts, technological advances, stylistic creations and artistic collaborations.

I chose these exhibitions because they are about fashion game-changers. Each one - Vivier, Schiaparelli, Prada, Vuitton and Jacobs - brought a unique vision to the world of fashion. Plus, the curators behind these exhibitions are the best of the best....

Book Review: Driving with Plato

Being born, starting school, getting a job, falling in love, getting married, having children, having a midlife crisis, retiring -- these are a sampling of the life markers that Robert Rowland Smith elucidates in his book Driving with Plato: The Meaning of Life's Milestones. Frankly, I never really had an interest in philosophy until I realized that fashion theory is deeply rooted in philosophy and ever since then, I've been immersed in it far deeper than I ever expected to be. This was one of the books I read over Christmas (in the midst of my existential crisis) and offers a charming introduction to philosophy.

Divided into chapters according to life's milestones, the book considers the meaning to key events in our lives. Written in an engaging and warm voice, Robert Rowland Smith offers an insightful, intelligent and witty analysis. In the introduction he says "If life is a mystery, then let's take advantage of everything at our disposal to shed a little light. Besides, where asking about the meaning of life is too large a question to be helpful, breaking things down into life's milestones can give us a little bit of traction. To drive with Plato is to take a fresh look at the moments that define the all too brief transit our car makes across the earth. There are some remarkable ideas to explore en route."

Title: Driving with Plato, The Meaning of Life's Milestones
Author: Robert Rowland Smith
Publisher: Free Press, New York/Toronto
Category: Non-fiction
Number of Pages: 235
Price: US $19.99, Canada $22.99 (hardcover)
E-book also available.
Link: Driving with Plato

What's new?

Charlize Theron, Golden Globes 2012

Watching tv has become a guilty pleasure, especially with a list of deadlines and a stack of reading I'm supposed to do.... But I had to track the red carpet of the Golden Globes and took notice of the key trends:
* mermaid shapes 
* headbands
* chandelier-like earrings
* spectacularly high heels often concealed by dangerously long hems

None of these trends work for me.  From experience, I know that mermaid shapes mean the hem drags along the floor, causing a tripping hazard and picking up the dirt! Headbands give me a headache as do big earrings. And high heels only work if I don't have to stand up for more than 20 minutes or walk more than the length of a room.

In a way, the sea of elegant gowns was a bit of a yawn, but I did laugh hysterically when Ricky Gervais mentioned Kate Middleton = Oscars and Kim Kardashian = Golden Globes.

As I predicted, my inbox continues to surprise and 2012 is already shaping up to be an interesting year even though I seem to be in a blogging fog and I have yet to attend any exhibitions. I think reading the erudite writing of Baudrillard and Foucault is taking over my brain and sapping me of my blogging brain power.  In lieu of blog posts, I'm working on a new project in my studio - making a tutu out of mesh and working on a book proposal (plus my thesis).  In the works for Fashion is my muse! is a list of must-see fashion as art exhibitions for 2012. Stay tuned!  As always, I welcome your comments and emails.

The Costumes for the Canadian Opera Company's Production of Tosca

Eszter Sümegi as Floria Tosca and Mikhail Agafonov as Mario Cavaradossi in the COC’s production of Tosca, 2008. Photo: Michael Cooper

It's no secret how much I love opera, especially if there are lavish period costumes to drool over and the Canadian Opera Company's upcoming production of Tosca promises to deliver some eye candy.

This opera by Puccini is set in Rome in the early 19th century and is considered one of the best-loved operas of all time. The fiery and passionate heroine, Tosca, tries to protect the man she loves from the chief of police, but finds herself caught in a web of corruption, lust and betrayal and ultimately commits an act of murder.  This COC production will showcase renowned Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka.

Eszter Sümegi as Floria Tosca in the COC’s production of Tosca, 2008. Photo: Michael Cooper

The exquisite sets and costumes for the COC production were designed by Kevin Knight. There are 117 period costumes made for the 9 principals, 40 members of the COC Chorus, 20 members of the children’s chorus and 14 supernumeraries (the extras of the opera world). Each costume for the female cast members took between 12 to 32 metres of fabric. Six different kinds of fabric were used including cotton, silk, wool, leather, suede and linen, all of which would have been available in the 1800s. There were 25 metres of trim on Tosca's cape in Act II. It took 4 garment-makers 12 weeks to stitch costumes. And the most curious fact of all - 6 different kinds of blood were tested before finding one that washed out of the costumes the easiest!

Tosca runs for 14 performances on Jan. 21, 25, 29, 31, Feb. 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 21, 23 and 25, 2012 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and is sung in Italian with English SURTITLES™. I'm already looking forward to opening night!


Note: Photos were provided courtesy of the Canadian Opera Company and are subject to copyright.

What's on The January Fashion Calendar

The January calendar includes fashion weeks in Paris and Berlin as well as the closing of two not-to-be-missed exhibitions about fashion icons including:

Daphne Guinness

Daphne Guinness at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology ends on January 7th, 2012. Daphne herself was heavily involved in the production of this exhibition. She said "What draws me to fashion is art...and certainly not fashion as status symbol," and "This exhibition is done for the benefit of those out there, students or otherwise, who share this love." The show is hauntingly beautiful and many of the ensembles evoke a sense of fragile and fleeting beauty. Daphne uses clothing like armour -- attracting attention in doing so but also putting a physical barrier between herself and the world that hides her real self within these exquisite creations.

Grace Kelly Engagement

Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess at the TIFF Lightbox ends on January 22, 2012. Having seen this exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, I recall marveling at the elegance of the gowns on display. Grace Kelly embodied the elegance and restraint of a modern princess.

The Haute Couture shows in Paris run January 23-26, 2012, beginning with Versace at 10:30 a.m. on January 23rd and ending with Valentino on January 25th at 6:30 p.m. The complete schedule can be viewed here. How I wish I was going... instead I'll be in class (sigh)....

May 2012 bring good things your way....Live with passion and dream big!