Contributor - Rebecca
Rebecca's recent posts
Burberry’s Capes Reimagined at Masterpiece London
This summer I was given the chance to visit Masterpiece London. Upon arrival, I was more than excited to see a fashion exhibit there amongst the prestigious art and antiques that are usually on display. The exhibition featured a selection of limited edition handmade capes from Burberry’s Capes Reimagined show and February 2017 catwalk, combinedRead more
Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage
Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage, a whimsical look at the costumes and sets Marc Chagall created for four theatrical productions, is on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until January 7th. This exhibition examines the three ballets and one opera that Chagall designed. Beginning in 1941 with the ballet Aleko and ending in 1967 with the opera The Magic Flute theRead more
Andrew Grima: Art Jewellery Uncut
There is something immediate about jeweller Andrew Grima’s work. His designs frequently used raw, uncut semi-precious stones, scattered with tiny diamonds and fronds of gold that frame the irregular surface of an opal or tourmaline. I first saw his work at a Bonham’s fine jewellery sale earlier this year, and was fascinated by the impactRead more
Diary Dates: Documenting Fashion Events Autumn Term 2017
We have two fascinating events coming up this term – do join us if you can. We want to open up discussion of the many, varied themes within fashion and its history and these are a wonderful forum for meeting and talking about dress. Both are held in: Research Forum Seminar Room, The Courtauld InstituteRead more
Passing: Fashion In American Cities Call for Papers
Hello, Welcome back to the Documenting Fashion blog – hope you’ve all had a good summer. We will be returning to our usual schedule with new posts on Tuesdays and Fridays – and don’t forget you can subscribe by entering your email address on the right of the page to be sure never to missRead more
Are Clothes Modern? Or How to Read A Diagram
One of the many marvellous things about research is that you don’t just find out what you wanted to know, you discover what you didn’t know you needed to know. So when I embarked on reading for an article I was writing on pockets for Cos I rediscovered the wonders of Bernard Rudofsky’s 1947 bookRead more
Au Revoir MA Documenting Fashion Graduates of 2017!
Even after all these years, it is still a little surprise when graduation suddenly appears again on my calendar. My MA course at The Courtauld seems to rush by – nine months of seminars, visits, discussions and so much more. The most exciting aspect for me is always meeting the students as a group forRead more
One Aspect of an Exhibition: Viewers and Wearers at MoMu’s Margiela: The Hermès Years
Teaser – Margiela, the Hermès years from MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp on Vimeo. How can you tell people what it is like to wear certain clothes without letting them try anything on? For curators this is a constant question – how to create an exhibition that expresses every facet of what clothes are. Frequently, theRead more
Jewellery, Adornment and the Pursuit of Brilliance
To Georg Simmel, adornment is a contradiction – on the one hand, it displays the wearer’s value, aesthetic taste, membership of a particular group, on the other, it is visible to the viewer, giving pleasure to her, as well as to the owner. In his 1908 essay ‘On Adornment’, Simmel elaborates on this theme, outliningRead more
Vanessa Bell, Patti Smith and Creative Living at Dulwich Picture Gallery
There is a beautiful coupling of portraits in one of the central rooms of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s Vanessa Bell exhibition, which places together two images of Molly MacCarthy, one a painting from 1912, the other a papier collé of 1914-15, linked by a small, everyday gesture that frequently goes unremarked. Each holds her hands inRead more