I just got back from a long weekend jaunt to New York City to celebrate the fact that I have turned a year older. Yay. Take a moment to feel my enthusiasm. But, seriously, I was so happy to catch the Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit “Impossible Conversations” at the Met before it closed on Sunday. While it didn’t have the moodiness or elaborateness of the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty installation, it was still an interesting exploration of two celebrated designers separated by time (the 30s and present day)—Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.
While I didn’t wear Prada (feel sorry for me), I did throw on my new Ducie dress and Balenciaga bag (happy birthday to me!) for the occasion.
Shame on me, no photography allowed. And they let me know right after this photo was snapped!
The exhibit starts with a film, directed by Baz Luhrmann (I cannot wait for his “The Great Gatsby”), starring Judy Davis (as Elisa Schiaparelli) and Miuccia Prada as herself. In “Neck up, Knees down” Schiaparelli’s hats are paired with Prada’s shoes (oh, I could talk about the shoes all day!) which is a play on Schiaparelli’s focus on the neck up and Prada’s focus on the waist down.
Speaking of shoes, let’s pause this conversation for a moment and discuss my first ever pair of Prada shoes. I’ll never forget the day I bought them. I walked into Barneys because when I was in my early 20s, my girlfriends and I loved to make believe that we were all kinds of wealthy. Shoes were definitely more important than food. Or rent. Anyway, I walked into Barneys, took one look, pulled out my credit card and spent more than my weekly salary in five minutes. These shoes to me were works of art and they made me feel more glamorous than anything else possibly could. In that moment, I was Carrie Bradshaw. The irony here of course is that part of the dichotomy between Schiaparelli and Prada rested largely in their conflicting points of view about fashion as art. Prada does not believe fashion is art. I have to agree with Schiaparelli on this one—don’t you think my shoes are works of art?!
And now back to our regularly scheduled program. This was one of my favorite collections! I love the belted cashmere coat over the embroidered dress from Winter 1999-2000. It is timeless, so chic and very wearable.
If you haven’t ever visited the roof, it’s a must. The views are incredible.
After the main exhibit, we headed over to the Modern Art.
So, I know it’s a bummer that this exhibit is now over, BUT, they are about to open one on Andy Warhol. I expect it to be all kinds of cool. It opens to the public September 18th and will be there until the end of the year. If you get a chance to go, let me know how it is!
So awesome…and I loooove that dress ur wearing 🙂 happy birthday Molls – glad it was a great one!
I was there when you bought your first Prada shoes!
I remember! You were always my partner in crime and shopping!
A) Those shoes absolutely are works of art and should be in a museum as well :-). Are those new pix? If so, you sure know how to take care of a shoe! You should see my 1st Prada shoes (red satin kitten heel with teeny rose buds).
B) What a marvelous and extraordinary life you have!!! Can I borrow it just for a week???
They are new pics! Are you kidding me…It took me years to pay off those shoes so I had to keep them in museum quality condition!!! :)xx