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What is Ireland's place on the world fashion scene? Looking good in the latest and the greatest
is a dream on the horizon of many girls' minds.
It is a common wish, be she in the rural countryside hemmed in by
patches of fields, or living in a tall, downtown building skirted by sidewalk
and café life.
Be she here or there, the introduction of fashion magazines
on the scene transports a girl from quiet Kerry bedroom to Parisian
catwalk. The glossy pages are a window
into the glamorous world of the New York City socialite and her fabulous wears
for every unfathomable occasion. Irish
girls fantasize how they would wear this or that dress and become this or that
image of femininity and seductive prowess.
The magazine pages offer answers to real questions of self-image. They are an escape from everyday life. But the pages can also promote confusing
messages.
The 50s Chic, 60s Chic
fashion and photography exhibition at The Hunt Museum gets my head exploding
with ideas about this complex issue in Ireland.
Photography is a powerful form of visual communication for the fashion
world. The team of models, stylists,
hair and makeup artists, fashion designers, editors, and photographers behind
each image create a story that communicates very specific messages to the
audience. Often sells images and ideas
and products. This summer exhibit at The
Hunt contrasts differing messages about femininity in two decades of the
photography and fashion.
The 50s messages promoted a sophisticated, ultra-feminine,
hourglass-figured, moneyed appearance as the ideal femininity. This look is not just pulled out of thin
air. It emerged from a definite
historical context. In the years
following the Second World War, the aristocrats, actresses, and society models
- the actual people depicted in the fashion magazines - were the only people
who own elaborate clothing, after years of strict rationing and deprivation by
the general population. The images in
the pages of Vogue, shot by Baron Adolf de Meyer who was known as the father of
fashion photography, were of the wealthy in their natural settings. Thus, a girl looking at these images was a
voyeur into the life of the wealthy - it was this lifestyle that was esteemed.
In the 60s, as the ready to wear industry got off the
ground, it brought high-end styles to the mass market, and fashion
photography's focus shifted. Through a
series of photographic innovators such as Richard Avedon, Norman Parkinson, and
William Klein, fashion photography became less classical and more modern,
appealing to a wider consumer base. The
ideal femininity shifted to being younger, freer, and more street oriented, a
reflection of the growing youth culture.
This exhibition includes fashion from the private
collections of many Irish women as well as an informative, historic tour of the
boutiques that once graced the streets of Limerick city. In fact, many of these boutiques are still
open today. It was the only fashion
exhibition of its kind we found on our travels in Ireland, and I recommend it.
The Hunt Museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10AM to 5PM
and Sunday from 2PM to 5PM. For more
information, visit www.huntmuseum.com.
Written by Liz O'Malley - Summer of Travel 2007
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