“I wanted to be a sculptor — for me it is just the same to work with fabric or stone.” – Madame Grès
I think nothing embodies that sentiment more, than the collection of seven extraordinary dresses in white at the special Madame Grès exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle.
Although the exhibition was staged at Musée Bourdelle only because of renovations to the Musée Galliera, I think it was particularly apt that the collection was displayed at museum for sculpture. Not only because of Madame Grès’ initial aspirations, but also because her dresses, this set of seven in particular, do look like statues in marble.
I never knew fabric could be draped, tucked, shaped, braided, gathered and ruched so many ways, and with such beautiful results. And while the colored gowns are just as beautiful, there is no better way to appreciate the detail, the work and the structure of Madame Grès’ gowns than when they are in white:
I can’t decide if the dresses above (or almost all of Madame Grès’ dresses, for that matter) are impossibly intricate or actually deceptively simple. Because it could be argued, after all, that they are all just draped dresses. But at the same time, they aren’t JUST that. They are, through the genius of Madame Grès, works of art, too. Like sculptures.
PS: If you want to see more pictures of the exhibition (I’ve got about a hundred), click here or on any of the photos to see them on my Flickr account. There are TONS of other gorgeous dresses, trust me.
Don't ask me to smile... 