Which is why promotional materials for the exhibition feature not a grand gown of engineered Rococo fantasy\u2014in green silk brocade with coral and cream-colored botanical motifs\u2014or even the emotional heart of the show, a diminutive and comparatively humble-looking corset worn by a young Marie-Antoinette. Instead, they star an altogether different kind of royalty: Utica Queen, n\u00e9 Ethan David Mundt, a favorite in RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race (season 13), in a portrait shot by photographer Eric Magnussen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 18th century had already been revisited, altered, and fantasized over, in theater and in art, before it ever came down to us,\u201d says Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros, the show\u2019s curator and the head of the department of 17th and 18th century clothes and dolls. \u201cYou see a pastel wig, pastel clothes, lace, a rose and you know we\u2019re talking about the 18th century.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the opening displays, women\u2019s fashion is framed as nothing less than a revolution in its own right. The body becomes a canvas for embellishment, defined by artificial constructions, framed by spectacularly embroidered silks and brocades, and lavished with layer upon layer of ornately worked fabric and trim. As the rooms progress, the fashionable robes \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise<\/em>, \u00e0 l\u2019anglaise<\/em>, and \u00e0 la pi\u00e9montaise<\/em>\u2014whose back panels made it fashion\u2019s first transformable, hybrid dress\u2014give way to the narrowed and simplified silhouettes that prevailed through the next 150 years of political upheaval and social change.<\/p>\n One constant is the Pompadour rose, which resurfaced pointedly in the 19th-century when conservatism was on the rise and the bourgeoisie looked to the more reassuring values of the Ancien R\u00e9gime. But that bloom, Gorguet Ballesteros notes, isn\u2019t about nostalgia: it was a political statement, a symbol of a lost world in an intolerable present. A bodice once belonging to the Belle \u00c9poque dancer Cl\u00e9o de M\u00e9rode illustrates that fantasy, all blush and ivory silk satin with Point de Venise lace and delicate silk embroidery. While there may be nothing historically accurate about that piece, the emotional message is there.<\/p>\n And the message resonates as the show culminates in runways past and present. A Givenchy evening gown from fall 1957, in gray taffeta with a pleated back and sculptural skirt appears to be in direct conversation with all that came before, recalling how couture\u2019s postwar infatuation with the 18th century was as much political as aesthetic. Other love letters to French heritage include an embroidered couture look by Galliano from the fall 2007 \u201cBal des Artistes\u201d collection, in icy blue shot-silk taffeta, tulle, and tiered flounces. A redingote from Ghesqui\u00e8re\u2019s spring 2018 collection for Louis Vuitton, paired on the runway with sports shorts and sneakers, pays homage to the habit \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise<\/em>. And straight from the spring runway comes the Pompadour gown, the opening look in Vivienne Westwood\u2019s 2026 bridal collection\u2014a reinterpretation of the late designer\u2019s favorite dress.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 18th century is more than ever a source of comfort,\u201d Gorguet Ballesteros says. \u201cWhen you live in anxious times, there\u2019s something soothing about lightness, about the happiness of color. Aesthetic emotion and beauty relieve stress.\u201d<\/p>\n
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