Monday 28 September 2015

Day 26 Creativity: Yves St Laurent


We are now back in Norfolk and have had a wonderful holiday in south west Scotland and the remaining ‘Creativity’ postings are all written. The intention was to add them while I was away but I have been hampered by my lack of internet access. Now this one is out of sequence but I am posting it first just because someone who reads it might like to get to Barnard Castle before the 25th of October 2015.

Sometimes the nicest things happen when you least expect them. We had to alter our return travel to Norfolk from Scotland by fitting in an extra night! Splitting the planned leg of the journey gave us Barnard Castle and suddenly I remembered the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition ( YSL - Style is Eternal) at the Bowes Museum  and yes it was still on. The next problem was to get tickets at short notice - and hurrah I finally managed it. So we got there early and after delightful coffee and cake in the cafe - highly recommended - we got in to the exhibition before our slot. It was beautifully quiet so I was able to talk to a very knowledgeable lady about the marvellous toiles and other items in room 2.
So lovely to see such superb toiles and the care taken over them. They were mostly in calico and this one is showing just the sort of detail I love....

The match marks for sleeve insertion



Matching stripes on another garment





So much to enjoy, I concentrated really on looking at the details .....
I have seen the work of other 'famous' people and at times been very disappointed over 'finish', but these items were in a completely different league. Nothing short of perfection.
This quote from the exhibition sums it up for me:

‘Elegance is a way of life, a way of moving through the world.
Isn’t elegance about completely forgetting what one is wearing?’


The whole exhibition is stunning, brilliantly put together and you can get close to the garments and other exhibits. The labelling is great and there are several videos that add to the whole experience.
If you have any interest in sewing or style do try and see this exhibition - it ends 25th October but I would recommend booking as it did get busy with ( I guess) 2 coaches of fashion students later on. It is the first exhibition of his work in the United Kingdom and being packed up and returned to France at the end of its time at Bowes Museum.

Macintosh on the way up and Yves Saint Laurent on the way back - you can't get much better than that for inspiration in my book.

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