1991

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ITS CREATORS

An exhibition at the Museum of Costume and Fashion in Paris

In a world where everything is a deception and nothing is a deception, imagination is the only way to survive one's own reality.
“L'ideologia del traditore: Arte, maniera, manierismo”, A. B. Oliva


Jean-Paul Gaultier, Romeo Gigli, Vivienne Westwood, Sybilla, Martin Margiela, Jean-Charles De Castelbajac
An exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris highlights the fantasy and creative freedom that these designers' individual expressions embody. 
The fact that contemporary fashion designers' work is exhibited in a museum reflects more on the development of new ways to observe and understand fashion than on the quality of their creations. 
Each of the designers was given total freedom in their presentation, which unfolds across two planes: the real and the ideal... Thus, the world of the designer as it is and as it could be. And yet, this is a world of materials, fabrics, and initial ideas that take their final form in a realm of fantasy: a life that takes shape through its stereotypes – fashion. 
With this concept for the exhibition, the designers have outlined their relationship to the style they create, or their vision of fashion, specifically understood as a continuous flow of time, marked by the rhythm of change that has become the mechanism of life.
Several elements distinguish these creators from one another, ranging from their social and geographical origins to their approach to the profession and the extent of their fame. 
The one thing that unites them is the strength of their individual styles, which has sometimes been pushed to the point of eccentricity, driven by a desire to establish certain rules of status recognition and patterns of behaviour. 
Fashion, created by reconciling avant-garde trends with the benefits of commercial appeal, takes on the character of a cultural document of its time.

JEAN-PAUL GAULTEIR
First part - the space of the real world is resolved according to the principle of architectural perspective, to which the presence of the model gives rhythm. As in a kind of laboratory, from model to model, through the study of anatomy and the variation of motifs, an idea develops, culminating in a “space of fantasy” where projections on the walls, floor, ceiling and curtains reveal the sequences of his shows from the late 1970s to the present day.

ROMEO GIGLI
Inspiration from the exoticism of distant lands, ancient civilisations, myths, and rituals... He perceives the real world as an interconnected whole, a way of life, disseminated between New Guinean terracotta pots, spice baskets, and Pygmy decorative patterns or clothes crafted from pineapple fibre. The realm of fantasy is an atlas, an entire globe, an open realm of possibilities... a journey. 

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
For her, reality is a realm that celebrates superficiality and mask, a style born from a deliberate flirtation with vulgarity and an affection for kitsch. Models and objects bearing her logo are displayed. Simultaneously, innovations from various collections are projected onto the wall, inviting the viewer into the room where a fantastical wedding scene is showcased.

SYBILLA
The world of reality is portrayed as a woman's intimate space through photographs, pictures, invitations, jewellery, hats, shoes, handbags, and dresses. Reality and fantasy unfold in the rhythm of a woman's life, through work, travel, entertainment, leisure, dreams, seduction, and moments of inspiration.

MARTIN MARGIELA
Within the space where the models were displayed, the author, through the concept of graffiti, also encouraged the public to participate, leave their mark, and express their creative potential. In the pure whiteness of another environment, animated footage from his shows is projected, accompanied by music that, as the author states, he loves the most.

JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC
A passion for materials guides his garment design process, sometimes recalling his childhood (teddy bears), or distant shores (“Hudson Bay” blankets). He envisions the world of fantasy as a Gothic chapel, a space with high windows and stained glass, where angel figures are replaced by miniature models from his collections, resembling small fashion icons.