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CURATING THE TOILE Paola Di Trocchio 1 2 Curating the Toile A study of fashion curatorial practice in the fine art museum This thesis is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Research Paola Di Trocchio B.A. Hons, (Monash University) College of Design and Social Context School of Architecture and Design RMIT University November 2011 3 4 Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. Paola Di Trocchio 5 6 Acknowledgements Many people have helped with this research over the course of my candidature. Thank you to my supervisor Professor Robyn Healy for her expertise and guidance, my second supervisor Senior Lecturer Liliana Pomazan for her feedback and encouragement as well as Susan Dimasi for assistance at the beginning of the project. Thanks also to Stefanie Di Trocchio for editing and Danila Di Trocchio and Anna Koumides for proof-reading the text. To the National Gallery of Victoria for supporting this research and special thanks to my colleagues who contributed to the exhibition Remaking Fashion including Solitaire Sani, Kate Douglas, Christina Ritschel, Annette Soumilas and Bronwyn Cosgrove (Conservation); Margaret Trudgeon (Publications); Diana Dzelalija and John Eccles (Exhibition design); Danny Jacobsen (Graphic design); Diana Ward, Annette Soumilas, Benjamin Walbrook and Jenny Walker (Multimedia) and Narelle Wilson and Christian Markel (Photographic Services). I‘d also like to thank Aimee Van Looy, Alexandra Palmer, Anna Hirsh, Anna Schwartz, The Arts Centre, The Performing Arts Collection (Janine Barrand, Margot Anderson), Brian Nunn, Cose Ipanema (Semra Hussein, Tony Da Silva), Danielle Whitfield, Elegantly Papered (Andrea Van Arkel), Frances Burke Textile Research Centre (Kaye Ashton, Sue Ryan), Fred Biddle, Georgina Weir, Gold Museum (Roger Trudgeon) Henry Talbot (Lynette Talbot, Neil Mortimer) Keith Stammers, Kerry Gardner, Kerry Taylor Auctions (Kerry Taylor, Kate Mitchell), Janet Medd, Lanvin (Fabien Bonnin, Naima Idri), Laurie Carew, Maggie Fraser, Maggie Tabberer, Maison Martin Margiela (Chloé Marengo), Margot Orsatti, MATERIALBYPRODUCT (Susan Dimasi, Chantal McDonald, Erin Santamaria), Melanie Bower, Paton Forster, Paul Knight, Pierre Cardin Museum (Renée Taponier), Powerhouse Museum (Lindie Ward, Glynis Jones), Roberta di Camerino (Cristina Thian), Robyn Beeche, Roger Leong, Rowena Clark, Ruth Wrexler, Ryan Euinton, Sophia Errey, Stephan Gallois, Wendy Marshall and Wilma Garnhm. With the biggest thanks to mum, Stef and Dan; dad, Adrian and Dom; and Marlo, Hugo and Monique for their love, patience and endless support. 7 8 Summary This research reflects upon curatorial practice in the fine art museum through the fashion exhibition Remaking Fashion. By curating the toile, a garment prototype, this research considers curatorial practice, which includes the selection and arrangement of objects to create meaning in exhibition. The exhibition Remaking Fashion provided the mode to convey research, meanings and interpretations of the toile. The toile is usually a remnant from the fashion design process. It is typically made of calico and used to test or develop design, fit or garment proportions and enables the designer to make judgments about design. More recently, its distinctive characteristics, such as its calico fabric, loosely basted threads or unfinished edges have been translated into features of contemporary fashion which reference the process of making in fashion design. My intention was to convey various narratives around the toile. These narratives were informed by the exhibition checklist which included works selected to reflect the toile‘s role in design process. The narratives were also informed by my role as curator at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).1 Through a series of narratives reflective of the exhibition, this research traces ten interpretations of the toile in regards to design process, fashion curatorship and the museum environment which have been presented through groupings with other NGV collection items and select loans. Remaking Fashion was fore grounded by new curatorial practices. These include Judith Clark‘s recent curatorial projects which break with traditional practices of experiencing fashion in an exhibition by using text, image and objects in considered juxtapositions. In order to curate the toile, my research questioned the fashion items displayed in fine art museums to address the gap of representation of design process. Through reflection upon the Remaking Fashion exhibition, I considered the role of the curator as narrator and addressed the potential of the fashion exhibition to convey knowledge and experience. 1 I was appointed Assistant Curator, International Fashion and Textiles at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in 2003. In this role I have curated and co-curated numerous fashion and textiles exhibitions. 9 10 Contents Introduction 15 Narrative 1: The idea 95 Narrative 2: Translation 127 Narrative 3: Transition 139 Narrative 4: Myth creation 159 Narrative 5: Reproduction 175 11 12 Narrative 6: Creative direction 197 Narrative 7: Selling 211 Narrative 8: Promotion 225 Narrative 9: The undergarment 239 Narrative 10: The found item 305 Conclusion 327 Appendices Bibliography Please note: all images are courtesy of NGV unless otherwise stated 13 14 Introduction 15 1. Inside wardrobe of toiles in NGV storage 16 This Masters thesis is structured around ten narratives. It began with a discovery of toiles, or garment prototypes, within a wardrobe in the International Fashion and Textiles collection at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). The toiles were made in lawn and calico fabric and attracted my attention because of their colour, silhouettes, repetitive quality and quirkiness. This contrasted with the bulk of the collection which consisted of individual garments from various decades made of luxurious fabrics that represented pivotal moments of excellence or transition in fashion. Instead, the toiles were brightly coloured and hung together closely in the wardrobe ranging in colour from blue, purple, pink, green, yellow to cream. Many of the toiles featured striking silhouettes aligned to styles of the 1950s with cinched waists, full skirts and structured undergarments, while others from the early 1960s had cropped jackets and asymmetrical collars. Some included unusual details such as hip padding on one side but not the other, a dress with two fronts or a belt that threaded through the dress and disappeared under the fabric to grip the body. In block colours, their forms were prominent and showed sophisticated construction techniques, yet the vibrant and inexpensive fabrics seemed incongruous with their designs. Some of the textile surfaces were pebbly and uneven, and their dyes were unstable and appeared in blotches where blue had turned to green. 17 The experience of the toiles immediately invited a number of questions about collecting fashion in museums concerned with curatorial selection, exhibition display, design process and object experience which began to challenge my assumptions about museum practices. My previous knowledge of the toile had largely been through images in designers‘ monographs, therefore I expected to see them in a designer‘s studio, partially made and wrapped around dressmaker‘s dummies rather than preserved in a museum collection. In these images, toiles were typically made in cream coloured calico, rather than vivid colours. They also had raw edges and were covered in ink or thread markings to indicate grain and guide stitch lines. Instead, these toiles featured turned edges which likened them to garments. Some were finished with zips and fastenings, others were fitted with corseted undergarments. They appeared ready to be worn, save for their rough fabrics and as part of a museum collection, they triggered the possibility of further investigation. These conflicting assumptions and discoveries guided my initial research. 2. Marie-Andree Jouve & J. Demornex Balenciaga 1989 featuring toiles by Cristobel Balenciaga 18 3. Pierre Cardin Toile for Dress 1960 winter 19 The toiles encouraged further investigation. Each toile had a designer label affixed inside as well as paper swing tags.2 These labels summoned questions in regards to authenticity and authorship. The majority of the affixed labels were credited to designer Pierre Cardin and paper swing tags were partially printed and then completed with model numbers inscribed in pen that read, for example, ‗This Style is an ADAPTATION of our EXCLUSIVE IMPORTED MODEL M313 from 1090 E. LUCAS and company propriety limited Ballarat and Melbourne.‘ I sought to decipher this cryptic information attached to the toiles. This information made me more curious about these toiles and their role in the process of design. In addition I queried, who was Lucas? 3 I began by researching the context for the toiles at the company Lucas by locating documents related to the acquisition of the works and resources in the NGV library. Lucas began as a modest manufacturer. Its commemorative company biography, The