Charles James was an American couturier of unmatched elegance and exactitude. He worked like a sculptor ~ concerned with pioneering shapes, impervious to trends. He was both an historian and an engineer, obsessively studying historical precedent in clothing construction in order to forge into the future with totally new innovations ~ much in the same way that painting students copy the works of great masters in order to deeply comprehend true technique. A sign in his studio’s workroom commanded the staff: “If you’re going to make a mistake, make a new one.”
In the realms of the fashion-informed, his name represents a standard of perfection ~ and indeed, he sought that crown with uncompromising determination. The shapes he created transformed the face of fashion; in his relentless study and pursuit of perfection within this métier, he proved himself to be a true artist. Obsessed with proportion and single-minded in his vision, he devoted his life to pioneering technical and structural innovations. He was, in fact, the true originator of the wrap dress (which he called the ‘Taxi’ dress, inferring that a woman could change into it in a cab ~ titillating in 1929, the year it was conceived!)
A true virtuoso, it fits that Charles James should be the subject of this year’s costume exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The show focuses primarily on the ball gowns he built during the 1940′s and 1950′s, all emblematic of his fascination with complex cut and seaming, with mathematic rigor and an insatiable creative curiosity.
|LAST YEAR| the punks prevailed, but this summer’s costume exhibit is simply a lesson in beauty. If you have the good fortune to be in New York between now and August 10th, you must make it to the Met to immerse yourself in the grand dreams, the sculptural bravura and the sophisticated color sense of this singular and inspired artist.
|PHOTOS| by Kelly
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