Fashion's golden age of theatrical excess

In recent decades we’ve experienced a resurgence of arty excess in the fashion world, and can probably all admit to the occasional theatrical indulgence when it comes to dressing up for an evening out. I hope, amidst everything you’re up of a day or an evening, you get a chance to visit the ‘Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes’ exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Living the crazy life us Londoners do, I barely had time to whiz around the rooms – and this exhibition seems larger than most, with an awful lot to see. I’m not going to talk about the collections here, as they’ve been widely reviewed elsewhere - and there’s plenty of background information on the V and A’s own website. But I’d just like to point out a few things I noticed:



Firstly, the curator of the exhibition, Jane Pritchard seems to use the word ‘curious’ an awful lot. Perhaps she picked this up from Serge Diaghilev (variously known as a charlatan, devil, director, dictator, sorcerer, charmer and impresario) who believed himself to be much like the King of Spain,“I do nothing, but I’m indispensable, curious and elusive.”

Secondly, never mind the dancers, the creativity behind the scenes is responsible for the bulk of what’s on show here. Take the extraordinarily large and stunning backcloth for the 1926 production of the Firebird, for instance, which is said to be the largest single object currently on display at the V and A.



 


Thirdly, what this event showcases best is an amazing collection of costumes and illustrations for costume, advertising and set design by a whole host of world renowned artists and designers - including Matisse, Picasso, Bakst, Cocteau, Berard, Miro, Braque, Dali, de Chirico and even Chanel.

And, if that hasn’t whetted your appetite, here are few of the arty pieces currently on offer at ShopCurious, which bear more than a passing resemblance to some of the musuem's unique exhibits:

The collectable vintage silk kaftan coat above reminds me of the trousers worn by the Polovtsian Warriors in Prince Igor, as well as the costume worn by the Chief.




This embroidered Chinese silk dressing gown is vaguely reminiscent of Pablo Picasso’s costume for the Chinese Conjuror from Parade, which is apparently the most expensive costume ever purchased by the museum. There's also a costume for a Mandarin, that looks a little like another of our jackets.

I adore the stunningly simple, but very arty design by de Chirico (shown at the top of this post), which is slightly similar in style to our hand painted, swishy-skirted number. Of course, there are plenty of jewel embellished ballet tights too, just like the fancy pairs you’ll find on our website. And we haven’t even got on to the jewellery and headwear yet, but I’ll have to leave those for later…




It's possible to lose yourself in ballet's fantasy world at this exhibition, but don't get too carried away - I have a feeling that fashion’s golden age of excess may soon be coming to an end...

Do you?

The (curiously hot) dance of love

I’m saddened by the media’s absurd obsession with weight. I know there’s a growing problem of obesity in the 'developed' world, but there also seem to be a lot more people with eating disorders, or just plain unhappy with their size and shape. Having been through the whole dieting thing - transforming myself, within the space of a few years, from a painfully plump teenager to a bag of bones, I can confirm that being unnaturally thin didn’t make me any happier... In fact, controlling my eating habits made for an anti-social, miserable way of life.

I subsequently discovered a much more enjoyable way of maintaining a realistic and healthy weight: exercise. Always one to try something new, I’ve experimented with all manner of work-out classes – from Jane Fonda style high impact aerobics, to gymnastique aquatique, Bikram yoga and pole dancing (after which my legs were black and blue with bruises).






In the course of my love affair with energetic pursuits, I’ve shadow-boxed with WBA World Heavyweight Champion, David Haye, and qualified as a Body Attack aerobics instructor. A few years ago, I even joined The London School of Samba, dancing maniacally for seven hours non-stop at the Notting Hill Carnival, dressed as a giant butterfly.






The best thing about dancing is that it’s a really fun way to burn calories. The other day, my curiosity aroused by some of the strangest promotional material I’ve ever seen, (see left and below), I simply had to try out the latest craze at my local gym. The new Zumba class is a mixture of various types of dance - including salsa, samba, meringue, calypso and jive.







I’m used to jumping around, but this proved to be a much hotter form of exercise than I’d anticipated, though a lot more entertaining too – in fact, most participants found themselves grinning from ear to ear throughout the class. It’s great exercise for the waist (a tricky area to shapen up, that often gets overlooked in the gym), and is totally exhausting. I can guarantee you’ll ache all over the following day.






By the way, if your partner loves to dance, how about these curiously kitsch retro pictures of exotic dancers in harem pants from ShopCurious, as an unusual gift for Valentine’s Day? They remind me a little of the Ballets Russes costumes – like the ones designed by Leon Bakst for Michel Fokine's Schéhérazade.








This illustration, by Georges Barbier in1913 (from the V&A London), shows a member of a harem being caressed by a black slave. In the early 19th century, fashion was still heavily influenced by lavish theatrical productions, often based on Russian folklore/Oriental themes. These occasions were an opportunity to see scantily dressed women on stage, at a time when the difference between chorus girls and ballet dancers wasn’t very well defined.

Which reminds me of another enjoyably heated activity I’ve tactfully avoided mentioning …

I’m curious to know what you’re thinking of.

Are you?