Women Fashion Power!!
So at the Design Museum show ‘Women Fashion Power’ it was more like ‘mannequin mannequin mannequin!’ (which made me happy). From the free guide the curator states ‘this exhibition is a celebration of exceptional women. All of the women we invited to contribute to the exhibition were chosen because they are leaders in their field.’ So now I was getting excited, especially as I had purchased my ticket in advance through Amazon Local for entry inc a hot drink for £5! Saving at least £8 straight-away! (so what’s not to like about that & I got to beat the queues to get in…bargain..result!)
Firstly I was impressed by the sheer size of this exhibition starting in 1850 right through to the present day. Encompassing many different styles and periods of history, (as you might expect) but still I was ‘agog’ at the choice on offer, & I was getting pretty ‘snappy happy‘ with it, ‘click click clicking away at all the models on display.’
So pictured here are some of my favourites from the show (& to be totally honest from a photographic point of view the best shots that weren’t too dark...low light levels..etc) with designers from Laura Ashley to Vivian Westwood from Ossie Clark to Zandra Rhodes I’ve selected a ‘mere snapshot’ of what was on display. (Most of the big designers like Karl Lagerfeld, YSL, Chanel were represented as well as lesser known brands like Akris – well at least to me…)’
The whole emphasis of the show was the women who wear the clothes and how they use fashion to create their ‘own look’ suited to their personality and how it gives them confidence to go out into the world and achieve what they need to achieve, (well at least that is what I understood..) even Margaret Thatcher’s 1972 green suit with matching orange & green tie and cuffs was on display and look where she got! Despite this rather ‘kitsch’ ensemble! (actually looks rather ‘hostessy’) though it certainly didn’t hold her back! I mean really, would you ‘mess with’ a women dressed in this outfit..? Interestingly the 1970’s style is in vogue at the present – maybe no coincidence..eh?
But my focus was on the mannequins themselves so ‘power to these stand-ins‘ who take the place of the women, the clothes they wear and the stance they take. So ‘well done ladies’ for encapsulating a look, a feeling a message & doing it so serenely, so quietly…these ‘unsung heroines of exhibition design‘ are ‘anonymous’ white…blank they could be anyone from anytime…wear any look..and never complain..they are silent but they have presence, we can project ourselves onto them and wear what they wear (more on this in my next post…exciting!) but I digress as though I was ‘under a spell’ of ‘projected glory’ and so going back to near the beginning of the exhibition and spying some Edwardian outfits, I was surprised to read that they were actually costumes for the up & coming film Suffragette starring Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst, whose outfit I have pictured here with a message. We must never forget them, what they did or what they achieved, I know I never will.…so I end this post with power to these brave women as they really mean power after all it’s what they fought for despite the personal cost…
