Exhibitions can be great occasions for museums to buy new pieces and expand their collections. For example, after showcasing an embellished gown by fashion designer Claes Iversen (Århus, Denmark, 1977) in its "Haute Bordure" exhibition (that closed in July this year), the Fries Museum, in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, recently purchased the dress.
Currently based in Amsterdam, Iversen studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, obtaining his master's degree at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Arnhem in 2008, with a collection that he showed during Paris Fashion Week.
The strapless gown bought by the Fries Museum was part of Iversen's 2014 collection that comprised eight pieces and, if you look at it from a distance, it may not strike you as incredibly innovative especially for what regards the silhouette that calls to mind classic designs from the '50s.
Yet, look at the gown closely and you will realise that the embellishments are very unique: the designer combined indeed beads, rhinestones and crystals with lasered Perspex plates and metal objects such as screw eyes, washers and scissors, elements that you may find in a hardware shop rather than in an atelier. The hadware materials, combined with more classical elements, perfectly work as a rather unusual yet perfectly balanced and aesthetically pleasing, geometrical decoration.
By mixing glamorous and delicate materials with hardware pieces, the designer tried to make a comment about craftsmanship and construction, after all, a dressmaker and an ironmonger can be considered as artisans, so why not paying homage to these professions by reuniting their "tools" in one creations?
You can still take a virtual tour of "Haute Bordure" at this address - it was a rich event as it provided an overview of four centuries of handmade embroidery in Dutch fashion, so sit down, relax and have your unique tour of this exhibition from your sofa.
Image credits for this post
1. Claes Iversen, Strapless grey interlock eveningdress with a dégradé embroidery of various materials, plexiglass, metal hardware, stones, Swarovski elements, sequins & beads (collection: 8 pieces), 2014. Photography: Jacob van Rozelaar. Styling: Mark Lentelink. Hair & make-up: Magdalena Loza. Model: Marije Kea.
2 - 4. "Haute Bordure" Exhibition, Fries Museum. Foto: Ruben van Vliet.
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