A while back I did a post on fashion designers who created during the 1900s, costumes for the theatre, ballet and opera.
There have been a few contemporary designers – among them Iris van Herpen who recently did the costumes for a production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, directed by Dutch choreographer Nanine Linning – who are currently renewing this tradition.
Yet many of them seem to be more interested in creating costumes for ephemeral fashion icons and pop stars than for theatre, ballet or opera shows.
You get indeed the feeling that, rather than establishing long-lasting relationships with the highest forms of art, too many designers are at the moment lured by the possibilities offered by instant fame and by the superficiality of being en vogue now.
An exhibition entitled "Teatro alla Moda" (Theatre à la Mode) - that recently opened in Rome - is instead rediscovering the long-standing connections between Italian fashion houses and costumes, and the art and craftsmanship behind some of these designs.
The event - with a title inspired by a satirical 1720 essay by poet, writer, composer and lawyer Benedetto Marcello that focused on opera - is organised at the Museo della Fondazione Roma in Via del Corso (on until 5th December 2010) and features 100 original costumes, sketches, drafts and video installations with clips from different shows.
The costumes showcased are borrowed from different private and public collections (mainly from Milan’s La Scala and Piccolo Theatre, Rome’s Opera, Parma’s Regio Theatre, Naples’s San Carlo and the National Opera of Washington DC) and the exhibition is divided in eight different sections.
"Teatro alla Moda" starts with a focus on the 80s, when Italian designers first started collaborating with important directors, set designers, singers and dancers.
This period of time was very important since designers infused in the shows their imprint in such a strong way that many critics started talking about “Missoni’s Lucia di Lammermoor” or “Armani’s Così fan Tutte”, rather than mentioning the directors of the shows.
Among the most interesting costumes included in this section there are Gianni Versace’s designs for Richard Strauss’s Capriccio (1990) worn by Dame Kiri te Kanawa, full 18th century dresses with extravagantly ample petticoats and panniers sprinkled with multi-coloured crystals that create geometric motifs inspired by Sonia Delaunay’s works.
The second section is instead dedicated to Fendi and fur coats, cloaks or costumes with fur inserts designed for Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Bizet’s productions.
Apart from three examples of costumes from Bizet’s Carmen (1986), among the best pieces in this section there is a pink fur cloak designed in 1984 and worn by Raina Kabaivanska in an edition of La Traviata directed by Mauro Bolognini, with costumes by Piero Tosi.
The next section provides instead an interesting insight into Missoni’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection.
As you may remember, that collection was inspired by Scotland and Africa and the historic Italian fashion house created in 1983 costumes inspired by Scottish atmospheres for Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, while the house's costumes for the Italia 90 World Cup opening night show featured references to African culture and abstract art mixed with the fashion house’s trademark zigzagging motifs.
Viktor & Rolf's fans will definitely enjoy the section dedicated to Roberto Capucci that features some of the most experimental designs for the stage he ever created.
In 1986 Capucci designed 12 costumes in white and silver taffeta with an 11-metre trail for the vestals in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma staged at the Verona Arena (Lady Gaga, beat this...).
Pink, orange, red and green explode instead in Capucci’s designs created for opera singers such as Anna Caterina Antonacci and Raina Kabaivanska.
Armani dominates the fifth section of the exhibition: the designer created his first costumes in 1980 for Schonberg’s Erwartung at Milan’s la Scala.
Armani’s love affair with theatre and opera continued through the years with Richard Strauss’s Elektra (1994), Offenbach’s Les Contes D'Hoffmann (1995), Mozart’s Così fan Tutte (1995) and Verdi’s Rigoletto (2000), though he is more famous for his contributions to ballet shows and musicals such as Neumeier’s Bernstein Dances.
Antonio Marras’ costumes for Hippolyta and Titania in A Midsummer’s Night Dream (2008) - in the sixth section of the exhibition - have instead a dreamy, yet dark and folkish quality about them as they are decorated with metallic appliqués, embroideries and sequins.
The seventh section is dedicated to a different group of designers and costumes and includes Romeo Gigli’s 1995 colourful and surreal designs for Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte; Alberta Ferretti’s white, red and black costumes for Carmen (2001); Coveri’s dresses for The Great Gatsby (2000) inspired by Art Deco, jazz and Charleston, and Valentino’s works for the modern opera based on the life of Rodolfo Valentino, entitled The Dream of Valentino (1994).
The last section is dedicated entirely to Gianni Versace and this is definitely the best one because it shows the strong passion the late designer nurtured for the stage, a passion his sister didn’t inherit and an obsession that too many Italian designers forgot about.
Versace collaborated with some of the best dancers, choreographers and directors, among them Maurice Béjart, Bob Wilson, Roland Petit, John Cox, William Forsythe and Twyla Tharp, creating masterpieces for Richard Strauss’ Josephlegende (1982), Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (1984) and Strauss’ Salomé (actually the Salomè connection deserves a separate post...).
Versace’s inspirations and vivid imagination seemed to work at their best in the most extravagant costumes displaying incredible chromatic combinations, Baroque motifs, sculpted lines, graphic motifs inspired by Mirò and Oriental elements reminiscent of Paul Poiret.
The best costume he ever created remains the 1987 gargantuan Matrioska dress in hand-painted silk shantung with embroideries and appliquéd motifs for the "Souvenir de Leningrad" ballet, choreographed by Béjart.
This ensemble can indeed be conceived as a symbol of Versace's joie de vivre and exuberance.
There is a negative note about this exhibition and that regards the way the costumes are displayed as - despite the video installations - it's sometimes difficult to imagine the effects these designs had when brought to life by a dancer, and actor or a singer.
Yet it's still very inspirational to be able to explore this endless connection between fashion and the stage and to be reminded every now and then that - as Versace taught us - fashion can have a role in all the arts.
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