FASHION
(^38) | APRIL 2016
white Laura Bush inauguration suit and Hillary Clinton’s
inauguration ball gown. Next is the Spanish interlude, with
its bullfight and flamenco motifs, all the colors of Spain. The
many Eastern Influences follow, everything from Ikat prints
to the Russian installment, which is literally topped off with a
lot of fur, heavy embroidery and meticulous beading.
There has to be a section on gardens, since they were such
a huge of source of pleasure his entire life.
The garden grouping is one of the largest. There’s a
beautiful Marie Antoinette-inspired gown worn by Kirsten
Dunst for Sofia Coppola’s movie. We’re recreating,
architecturally, this great Steven Meisel photograph done
for Vogue in homage to Cecil Beaton’s 1948 photo in
that magazine. This was done for a story on the rise of
the Asian model, and eight women from all parts of Asia
each wore gowns by Oscar. You can see all the influences
we talked about in this representation. And last is the
Grand Ballroom, where you have red carpet gowns and
fabulous dresses. Between 1993 and 2002, he was asked
by Balmain to be lead designer and had the extraordinary
opportunity to work in couture, where everything is made
in-house, from lace to beading. He was able to work with
amazing materials in this one-of-a-kind approach and
bring the technique back to the United States. This last
gallery focuses on breathtaking evening wear, including a
gown worn at the Met Gala by Sarah Jessica Parker, one
Penelope Cruz wore to the Oscars and another Rihanna
wore to the Brit Awards. Never wanting to remain static, he
was not interested in doing an archive, but we were able to
do this with the help of the Balmain Archives in Paris, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fashion Institute and Kent
State University.
You must have a stock answer for this, and there’s
certainly no argument from me, but how do you answer the
inevitable critics of fashion retrospectives in museums?
You know, I don’t. I think we have a great tradition at this
institution, having made a commitment to fashion and
textiles as art. Answering a controversy over the work of
glass artist Dale Chihuly, one of my first bosses simply
stated, “Everything is Art.”
For me, it’s a conversation, not an argument.
Oscar de la Renta is on view at the Hearst Exhibition Galleries at the
de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park between
March 12 and May 30, 2016.
famsf.org
above (from left)
Ensemble; blouse and skirt,
Spring 1982
Orange and metallic striped
silk chiffon, raspberry silk gauze
Kent State University Museum,
Silverman/Rodgers Collection
Image courtesy of
Oscar de la Renta Archives
Evening dress, Resort 2012
White silk faille, red and green
silk embroidery and appliqué
Photo by Jemal Countess
Getty Images