Since I graduated from Uni I have found that I am talking about art a lot less than I used to. Mainly because I am no longer learning about art history in all of my classes, spending hours researching and writing art history essays, and volunteering weekly at a contemporary art gallery.
Photo by Miriam Bertagnolio
Art and fashion are my biggest passions in my life. When the two come together in a fashion exhibition, it is my own form of Disneyland. So, in order to talk about art more and stay on brand with this blog of mine, I am going to start including reviews of fashion exhibitions on The Aussie Prep. What better exhibition to start things off than perhaps the biggest fashion exhibition of the year, The House of Dior at the National Gallery of Victoria. The exhibition celebrates 70 years since Christian Dior opened his eponymous fashion house, featuring original couture pieces from all seven of its head designers, including pieces from Maria Chiuri, Dior's current and newest designer.
The exhibition is a big deal for the NGV. Dior has a special relationship with Australia, which the NGV takes care to highlight with a walkway between two of the galleries, and by casually slipping "oh, Australia was the first country to be shown a full Dior collection outside of Paris, don't you know?" into every article about the exhibition. It is actually a smart move for the NGV to emphasise this relationship between one of the biggest fashion houses in the world and our humble country. As fashion exhibitions become more popular, doing so boosts Australia, and Melbourne, as a player in the global cultural scene. Let's not forget the inaugural NGV gala that was the opening night of the exhibition which was modelled after the Met Gala. If the National Gallery of Victoria can get an exclusive Dior exhibition, and host a fashionable gala, then this gallery means business.
Photo by Samindi Yapa
Photo by Samindi Yapa
As for the exhibition itself, I am in awe. I saw it as part of the NGV Friday Nights program where you have after-hours access to the exhibition plus you get to see a musical act play. The event was sold out, so there were some crowds. Unlike the NGV's recent Van Gogh exhibition and it's lack of crowd control, the crowds didn't bother me as much for this exhibition. I think it is because I am in love with the exhibition design. The gallery with two levels and a chandelier is the most beautiful exhibition space I have ever seen. It really showed the unique opportunities fashion brings to exhibition design, as I feel like you could not execute the same thing with other mediums of art.
 |
| Photo by Miriam Bertagnolio |
Love from Australia,
Grace.
No comments