Impossible dresses, mythical scenes from the history of cinema and photographs that we all remember, all combined in the same exhibition directed by the French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier; a man who brought corsets back into fashion, transformed men’s suits into sensual women’s garments and baptized his first men’s collection with the title Man Object. The exhibition, commissioned by Florence Tissot and Matthieu Orléan, has traveled to the CaixaForum in Barcelona where it will be visible until October 23.
The Cinema and Fashion exhibition proposes a journey through time that intertwines these two disciplines through great film directors and designers. It focuses on the context of costume creation, emphasizing key aspects such as female empowerment and its reflection in fashion and in the filmography of the 20th century. “All the films that marked me as a child are the ones that show an empowered woman through clothing,” said Jean-Paul Gaultier during the presentation of the exhibition. The designer has added that this evolution occurred in the fashion of the 40s and 50s with figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn or Rita Hayworth, whose dresses will be visible in the sample.
The public will be able to see designs by Balenciaga, Paco Rabanne, Chanel, Givenchy or Jean-Paul Gaultier and nearly 70 iconic movie looks, worn by Grace Jones in A View to a Kill, Catherine Deneuve in 8 Women, Grace Kelly in Rear Window, or Madonna on her Blond Ambitions World Tour in 1990. “All these women represent an ideal of liberation and take power thanks to the evolution of social codes and fashion,” says the designer.
The exhibition, which has previously been exhibited in Paris and Madrid, includes costumes from some of Pedro Almodóvar’s films, who maintains an excellent relationship with the French designer and with whom he has collaborated on several occasions. Regarding the Spanish director, Gaultier says: “Almodóvar is one of my favorite people in the film industry. I met him at a nightclub in Madrid and he immediately suggested that I dress Rossy de Palma”.
Asked about an anecdote that unites him with the director, Gaultier recalled with laughter what he considers to be the worst wardrobe test of his career: “I was in Paris trying on a dress on Victoria Abril for the film Kika. When Almodóvar came in and saw the dress She started practicing the dialogue with Victoria. They moved so much and acted with such passion and enthusiasm that all the needles fell off the dress and I lost all the references.” The designer defines the director as “unique”, “passionate” and above all as someone “extremely interesting”.
In addition to the exhibition, the CaixaForum also organizes a dozen complementary activities related to the show: guided tours, conferences on fashion and cinema, and screenings of five films selected by Rossy de Palma: Kika; ready-to-wear; Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?; La Dolce Vita and The Women.
