PHOENIX (December 9, 2024) – On April 12, 2025, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) presents its newest major fashion exhibition, The World of Anna Sui, which travels to Phoenix from the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. The expansive display features more than 100 ensembles, including looks from Sui’s personal archive, fashions from her newest collection, and various objects and ensembles from the Museum’s renowned fashion collection selected in collaboration with the designer. The World of Anna Sui will be on view at PhxArt from April 12 – September 28, 2025.

“Anna Sui defined a fashion generation, and Phoenix Art Museum is pleased to present The World of Anna Sui—exploring the impact of this extraordinary designer,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “In the 1990s, Anna Sui was one of the driving forces behind the decade’s now-iconic style, many of which inspire today’s Gen Z trends. Ever since, she has continued to shape the fashion landscape, building an elaborate, imaginative universe that draws inspiration from grunge music, goth aesthetics, romanticism, and more. In addition, we are excited to present an expanded version of this incredible archival exhibition through the collaboration between Anna and Helen Jean, Jacquie Dorrance, Curator of Fashion, curating select objects from the PhxArt Collection to appear in conversation with Anna’s award-winning work.”

Raised outside of Detroit and now based in New York, Anna Sui taps into the timeless nostalgia and romanticism of contemporary fashion’s earlier days and pairs it with her signature rocker aesthetic. Since premiering her first runway show in 1991, Sui has launched over 80 collections of ready-to-wear garments, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances through her independent brand, effectively popularizing the boutique fashion look. Through head to toe looks, she has created a graphic universe inhabited by alter-egos from the worlds of cowgirls, grunge girls, hippie chicks, hula girls, Mods, pirate rock stars, Pre-Raphaelite maidens, and surfer nomads.Sui’s designs have been brought to life on the runway by models such as Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Gigi Hadid, and have been worn by Anne Hathaway, Zooey Deschanel, Madonna, and other pop-culture icons. Her work was also featured in the 2019 high fashion exhibition Camp at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The World of Anna Sui features more than 100 ensembles from the renowned designer’s archive, presenting a roll call of 12 archetypes that are staples of the Sui aesthetic. Spanning garments and accessories, to hair styles and makeup, to scent and sound, the exhibition explores in minute detail the materials, cultural obsessions, and global styles that have inspired Sui for decades. As a special addition to the exhibition, PhxArt will present looks from Sui’s recent collections between F/W 2019 and F/W 2024 that show the designer’s ongoing experimentalism as she continues to embrace new materials into her universe of design. A unique example of this is Sui’s use of metallized paper material in her S/S 2024 collection, which is similar to special works in the Museum’s fashion collection. The designer has also been invited to select works from the Museum’s renowned collection that exemplify the spirit and aesthetics from which she draws creative inspiration.

“Anna Sui is a self-taught historian of culture, art, and fashion, and a true master at threading narratives and aesthetics from seemingly conflicting genres into her designs,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion. “Visitors to the exhibition will discover how her work samples elements of popular music, books, movies, and art movements, while referencing wide-ranging fashion trends from sportswear to army surplus jackets to Japanese hankies and qipao dresses. The World of Anna Sui is a pure visual delight, with incredible pop-culture history woven throughout, and is yet another powerful opportunity to see how fashion designers absorb, reference, and engage with the defining styles and social movements of our collective past and present.”

High-resolution photography for The World of Anna Sui can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.

About the Exhibition
The World of Anna Sui is organized by the Fashion and Textile Museum, London, and curated by Dennis Nothdruft, Head of Exhibitions at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London. Its presentation at Phoenix Art Museum is coordinated by Helen Jean, The Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion, with Catherine Wise, the Hirabayashi Intern in Fashion.

Its Phoenix premiere is made possible by presenting sponsor Thomas Carlton Rogers II, with support provided by Arizona Costume Institute, and Bennett and Jacquie Dorrance. 

Additional support provided by Tran Tran, Founder, Axis Employment Services.  

In-kind support provided by Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix and KJZZ. 

All Fashion exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by The Kelly Ellman Fashion Endowment Fund.

All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin. 

Admission is free for Museum Members; youth aged 5 and younger; and Maricopa County Community Colleges students. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 8 pm, made possible by SRP and City of Phoenix. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

About Phoenix Art Museum
Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum (PhxArt) has engaged millions of visitors with the art of our region and world. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, PhxArt creates spaces of exchange and belonging for all audiences through dynamic exhibitions, collections, and experiences with art. Each year, 300,000 guests on average engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 21,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern, and contemporary art and fashion design, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson. PhxArt also presents live performances, outstanding examples of global cinema, arts-education programs and workshops, an art+music festival, and more for the community. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About Anna Sui
Anna Sui is one of New York’s most beloved and accomplished fashion designers, known for creating contemporary original clothing inspired by spectacular amounts of research into vintage styles and cultural arcana. Sui joined New York’s intensely creative cultural underground in the 1970s, forging important relationships in the worlds of fashion, photography, art, music, and design. She was part of a generation of fashion designers who remade American style in the 1990s. Together with Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, Todd Oldham, and Vivienne Tam, she rejected 1980s power dressing, with its corporate suites and big shoulder pads, in favor of a more relaxed silhouette that reflected the values of youth culture.

Sui has received numerous awards, including the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent (1992) and the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). She is also a passionate advocate for New York’s Garment District. She is a first-generation Chinese American and came of age in a suburb of Detroit.

The post Phoenix Art Museum presents major exhibition of rock-and-roll inspired fashions by Anna Sui appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

PHOENIX (November 29, 2022) – This winter, Phoenix Art Museum will premiere MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene, a major fashion-design exhibition celebrating the dynamic fashions of the late designer renowned for revolutionizing American sportswear and for his trailblazing runway ballets. Organized by Phoenix Art Museum with the support of Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and featuring garments drawn from the institution’s Geoffrey Beene Archive, the exhibition features a wide array of jumpsuits, jackets, and dresses, along with materials and ephemera from Beene’s personal archive, which will be displayed to the public for the first time. MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene will be on view from February 1 through July 23, 2023, in the Ellman, Harnett and Orme Lewis galleries at Phoenix Art Museum.

“Geoffrey Beene was a fashion innovator who created garments that were unparalleled in their combination of extravagance, comfort, and precision,” said Jeremy Mikolajczak, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene illuminates his impact on contemporary fashion, from streamlined jumpsuits to athleisure wear, while offering a rare
glimpse into his distinctive creative process. We are excited to present Beene’s groundbreaking designs and engage our Phoenix community with the latest archive of work in our internationally recognized fashion-design collection.”

Considered the godfather of American sportswear and one of the most whimsical designers in history, Geoffrey Beene created modern, minimal designs that prioritized comfort, mobility, and luxury. Born in Louisiana in 1927, Beene studied medicine for three years at Tulane University before pursuing a career in fashion. He attended New York’s Trapenhagen School of Fashion and eventually relocated to Paris to study at L’École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. With unrivaled tailoring skills, Beene got his first fashion job in 1951 as an atelier designer. He then worked as a womenswear designer for Teal Traina until 1963, when he launched his own label. In 1967, Beene designed a wedding dress for Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughter of the then-U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson and First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson. In the same year, he unveiled a sequined floor-length “football jersey” evening gown, illustrating his ability to not only appeal to the tastes of society’s elite but also create imaginative garments that reflected his distinct wit, humor, and artistic vision.

In the 1970s, following a searing critique that his party dresses resembled “concrete,” Beene moved away from structured silhouettes and adopted pliable materials such as double-knit jersey, which at the time were primarily used in t-shirts, to construct stylized designs that ensured mobility and comfort, molding to the wearer with ease. He went on to earn widespread acclaim for prioritizing comfort and luxury through designs such as versatile jumpsuits, intricately detailed boleros, and elegant evening gowns, fortifying his legacy as a visionary of modern dressing.

Beene’s rebellious spirit also extended to the runway. Beginning in the early ’90s, the designer eschewed the conventions of global fashion weeks and traditional catwalks, introducing various multimedia and performance elements into his presentations. His Fall 1991 show, which he deemed a “multifaceted media show,” was set at the School of American Ballet, utilized video projections and artistic lighting schemes, and featured posed mannequins and dancing models to create an immersive fashion experience. In 1992, he began working with the New York City Ballet, casting dancers alongside models to wear his garments while performing choreography to demonstrate the mobility engineered into his designs. Throughout his career, Beene received various awards and accolades, including eight Coty Fashion Critics Awards and a lifetime achievement award in 1998 from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was also inducted into the Fashion Hall of Fame. His work can be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, de Young Museum, Fashion Institute of Technology, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Phoenix Art Museum, among many other internationally renowned fashion collections.

MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene spans three galleries and offers deep insight into Beene’s remarkable career while showcasing his impeccably tailored and unapologetically playful designs. The exhibition’s first gallery features materials and ephemera from the designer’s personal archive on loan from ABG, which today owns and manages the Geoffrey Beene trademark. These objects, including photographs, contact sheets, press kits, and more, are on view publicly for the first time and provide an intimate view into Beene’s distinct design process and forward-thinking vision for women’s clothing.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with Phoenix Art Museum to celebrate Geoffrey Beene and his legendary career as a designer and visionary,” said Natasha Fishman, Chief Communications Officer and EVP Marketing at ABG. “Beene’s contributions to the fashion industry continue to make an impact on today’s trends, and we are thrilled be a part of this first-of-its-kind public exhibition.”

Visitors will also have the opportunity to experience a large selection of works drawn from the Geoffrey Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum, the majority of which are on view for the first time and were gifted to the Museum in 2019 by Patsy Tarr. These garments—many of which were custom-made for Tarr—include dozens of the designer’s most cleverly devised silhouettes from the late 1980s through the early 2000s that were conceived as part of a fully interchangeable wardrobe of jumpsuits, boleros, jackets, and gowns for the modern, on-the-move, professional woman.

The exhibition’s third and final gallery explores how Beene fused design with ballet and re-imagined fashion-show presentations altogether. Garments appear to dance throughout the gallery as if suspended in motion. The format and presentation of this particular section of the exhibition channels the energy and vibrancy of Beene’s groundbreaking runway shows.

“Geoffrey Beene was, at his core, a fashion rebel,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, responsible for the curation of this exhibition. “He disregarded trends and instead preferred to design garments that began as geometric shapes and evolved into silhouettes that moved naturally with the human form. This prioritization of movement, this celebration of boundless, maximum mobility is evident throughout his work, his process and his runway presentations. Plus, his evening gowns had pockets!”

Along with featured works and archival materials, MOVE presents various multimedia elements, including video interviews with the dancers, models, muses, and choreographers who helped bring Beene’s runway ballets to life.

About the Exhibition
MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene is organized by Phoenix Art Museum with the support of Authentic Brands Group, LLC. It is made possible through the generosity of Major Sponsors Ellen and Howard C. Katz, Partner Sponsor The Virginia M. Ullman Foundation, and Contributing Sponsors Miriam and Yefim Sukhman.

Additional support provided by KJZZ/KBACH, Arizona Costume Institute, the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Endowment Fund, and Kimpton Hotel Palomar.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the public. Visitors may also enjoy reduced admission to the exhibition during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, made possible by SRP and supported in part through the generosity of the Angela and Leonard Singer Endowment for Performing Arts. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2117 or samantha.santos@phxart.org.
About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) is a brand development, marketing and entertainment company, which owns a portfolio of global media, entertainment and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in New York City, with offices around the world, ABG elevates and builds the long-term value of more than 50 consumer brands and properties by partnering with best-in-class manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Its brands have a global retail footprint across the luxury, specialty, department store, mid-tier, mass and e-commerce channels and in more than 9,100 freestanding stores and shop-in-shops around the world.

ABG is committed to transforming brands by delivering compelling product, content, business and immersive experiences. It creates and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging media.

ABG’s portfolio of iconic and world-renowned brands generates more than $24 billion in global annual retail sales, and includes Marilyn Monroe®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O’Neal®, David Beckham®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Sports Illustrated®, Reebok®, Eddie Bauer®, Spyder®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Nautica®, Izod®, Forever 21®, Aéropostale®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Lucky Brand®, Nine West®, Jones New York®, Frederick’s of Hollywood®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Van Heusen®, Arrow®, Tretorn®, Tapout®, Prince®, Vision Street Wear®, Brooks Brothers®, Barneys New York®, Judith Leiber®, Ted Baker®, Hervé Léger®, Frye®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Thomasville®, Drexel® and Henredon®.

For more information, visit authenticbrands.com.
Follow ABG on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Image Credit: (Left to right) Geoffrey Beene, Scarf, Fall 2003. Silk satin. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Patsy Tarr; Geoffrey Beene, Jumpsuit, Fall 1994. Silk crepe. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Patsy Tarr; Geoffrey Beene, Jacket, Fall 2003. Silk duchess satin with silk satin appliques, metallic embroidery and paillettes. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Gift of Patsy Tarr. Courtesy of Phoenix Art Museum, Photo: Dan Vermillion

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PHOENIX (November 4, 2021) – This winter, Arizona audiences will have the opportunity to explore paper garments from one of fashion’s most experimental and whimsical eras in Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s at Phoenix Art Museum. Featuring work from 1966 through 1968 by designers and manufacturers such as Mars of Asheville, Scott Paper Company, The Disposables, Sterling Paper Fashions, Hallmark Inc., and others, the exhibition showcases more than 80 rare garments and accessories, including dresses, bikinis, skirts, hats, jumpsuits, rompers, beach cover-ups, and accessories made from paper, plastic, laminate, and other nonwoven textiles. Generation Paper will be on view from December 18, 2021 through July 17, 2022 in the Museum’s Ellman and Harnett galleries and highlights a special component of the Museum’s fashion-design collection.

“We are delighted to present Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s to our audiences,” said Mark Koenig, the Interim Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “The fashion-design collection at Phoenix Art Museum is home to one of the leading collections of paper garments in the United States, and Generation Paper is a unique opportunity for Museum visitors to experience these vibrant, fascinating, and imaginative designs.”

During the 1960s, paper dresses took the world by storm when Scott Paper Company launched an ingenious marketing campaign—an early forerunner of viral marketing strategies—to promote “Dura-Weve,” a nonwoven textile featured in their new disposable tableware line. With the idea that paper dresses were the future, other companies like Mars of Asheville joined the excitement and were soon selling 80,000 dresses per week.

Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s explores the phenomenon of the era through more than 80 rare objects selected entirely from the Museum’s comprehensive fashion-design collection. Featured exhibition works, donated in large part by longtime Museum supporter Kelly Ellman, include garments that mimicked kitchen countertop and carpet patterns as part of a promotional for Viking appliances; a knit paper mini dress by Mars of Asheville; coordinated dress, placemats, and napkins by Seagram’s 7, created so the ultimate party hostess could match her décor; and, mostly notably, the Campbell’s Souper Dress donated by Gail and Stephen Rineberg and the first two original Paper Caper dresses from Scott Paper Company donated by Kelly Ellman.

While featured works showcase the whimsical and imaginative side of fashion, Generation Paper also opens and encourages dialogue on the environmental impact of paper designs and other garments made from disposable media. The exhibition acknowledges that while visually provocative, these garments were not the future of fashion but rather were a fad fueled by the textile industry’s efforts to explore new nonwoven materials and the public’s desire for ultra-modern fashion and space-age technology. Visitors are encouraged to consider how the garments they purchase today may or may not be created sustainably and how contemporary designers continue to find ways to make clothing more environmentally friendly. Generation Paper will additionally include exclusive behind-the-scenes content that gives insight into the process of paper-garment conservation.

“The Museum’s fashion-design collection is home to an enviable selection of paper garments from the 1960s, some of which were created as commentary on social moments and political movements of the era,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, who curated the exhibition. “We are deeply grateful to Kelly Ellman for donating the vast majority of this special collection and are excited to showcase these incredible designs in Generation Paper. The exhibition encourages viewers to consider how fashion can sometimes be a playground for testing new technology and materials, a canvas for artists, and a whimsical experience for the wearer. I hope everyone who explores our fashion-design galleries this winter are inspired to look at the impact their clothing choices make and consider a longer commitment to their wardrobe. Perhaps we will find a stronger connection to one another if we are less ‘fast’ with our fashion and less ‘throw-away’ with our culture.”

About the Exhibition

Generation Paper: Fast Fashion of the 1960s will be on view from December 18, 2021 through July 17, 2022 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery and the Lila and Joel Harnett Gallery. It is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of Arizona Costume Institute, the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Endowment Fund and Stephen and Gail Rineberg, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please visit link. 

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

The post New exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum explores the whimsical world of 1960s paper fashion appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

PHOENIX (February 12, 2021) – This summer, Arizona audiences will have the opportunity to view some of fashion’s most daring and iconic designs in Fashion’s Subversives at Phoenix Art Museum. Spanning the 19^th century through today and featuring work by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Geoffrey Beene, Giorgio di Sant’Angelo (commonly known as Giorgio Sant’Angelo), Balenciaga, Rudi Gernreich, and Paco Rabanne, the exhibition showcases nearly 40 examples of garments and accessories—from the humble denim jean to the scandalous bikini—that broke from culturally accepted norms and forever changed popular fashion and the fashion industry. Fashion’s Subversives will be on view from June 5 through November 28, 2021 in the Museum’s Ellman and Harnett galleries and complements the forthcoming exhibition Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich, organized and circulated by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.

“We are excited to present Fashion’s Subversives to our audiences,” said Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “This exhibition, presented in conversation with Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich, examines the history of garments and their designers who bucked tradition. These stories, of artists who used their craft to challenge societal norms that limited self-expression, will surely resonate with current conversations about what’s beautiful and possible.”

Created as a complementary exhibition to the upcoming special-engagement exhibition Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich, Fashion’s Subversives amplifies the concepts of revolution, resistance, and authenticity captured in the retrospective of Gernreich’s life and work, which is organized and circulated by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles. Much like Gernreich’s own brave and audacious designs, including the topless monokini, the ensembles in Fashion’s Subversives changed contemporary fashion not only on the runway, but in real life. 

“Fashion’s Subversives is very much born from the energy of Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, who curated the exhibition. “These designers thumbed their noses at the idea of conforming to traditional standards of popular fashion and were uninterested in anticipating the newest trends. Instead, they sought to create something entirely new, something that people had never seen before, and this exhibition celebrates those moments of going against the grain in big and small ways to challenge long-held views of propriety, beauty, and taste.”

Jean organized the exhibition’s ensembles and accessories into sections based on the subversive ideals they embody. Works by designers who prioritized utilitarian function and comfort, including jumpsuits by Gernreich, Diane von Furstenberg, and Geoffrey Beene, contrast with garments by those who departed from the use of traditional fabrics and materials to create dresses made of chainmail, plastic discs, and, like Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, Lycra. A 1968 dress made of the stretch fabric by di Sant’Angelo hugs the body of its mannequin in, what was then, a scandalous celebration of the human form.

Additionally, miniskirts and hot pants from the 1960s and 1970s and bathing suits that scandalized the beaches from the 19^th century through the birth of the bikini after World War II, including iconic versions by Emilio Pucci and Rudi Gernreich, address the complicated subject of modesty. The exhibition also explores the histories of denim jeans as a symbol of 1950s youth culture; designs such as Chanel’s little black dress and the advent of costume jewelry, which undermined the socioeconomic hierarchy of the industry by making versatile, stylish, and expensive-looking clothing and accessories affordable for the masses; and various ensembles that, in their time, transcended accepted gender norms, including Yves Saint Laurent’s 1967 smoking suit—the first tailored tuxedo suit for women.

Presented in both the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery and the Lila and Joel Harnett Gallery, Fashion’s Subversives features nearly 40 ensembles and accessories selected entirely from the Museum’s comprehensive fashion-design collection, including the Emphatics Archive. Featuring avant-garde fashions by legendary designers Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, and others, the archive was established in 2015 through an expansive donation to the Museum by James and Karin Legato, who owned and operated Emphatics, the chic, storied Pittsburgh boutique that was the first in the United States to carry clothing by Jean Paul Gaultier. In addition, the exhibition will feature garments from its newly established Geoffrey Beene Archive, made possible through a generous gift from Manhattan-based Patsy Tarr, president of the 2wice Arts Foundation and the founder and publisher of 2wice magazines and books.

About the Exhibition

Fashion’s Subversives will be on view from June 5 through November 28, 2021 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery and the Lila and Joel Harnett Gallery. It is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of Arizona Costume Institute, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/fashions-subversives/.  

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty military, and their immediate families; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.307.2003 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

The post Phoenix Art Museum showcases daring, revolutionary fashions by trailblazers Paco Rabanne, Rudi Gernreich, Geoffrey Beene, Yves Saint Laurent in new exhibition appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

PHOENIX (UPDATED December 21, 2020) – From April 7 through September 26, 2021, Phoenix Art Museum will present Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich, an exhibition that focuses on the significant social and cultural impact of the work of Rudolph “Rudi” Gernreich (1922–1985), the acclaimed designer best known for innovative designs such as the “monokini” topless swimsuit, the thong, unisex clothing, and pantsuits for women. Organized by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, Fearless Fashion will present more than 80 ensembles, along with original sketches, letters, personal papers, photographs, press clippings, and newly filmed oral histories of Gernreich’s friends and colleagues, to provide a broader understanding of the late designer’s life and how his work continues to influence fashion trends and current perceptions of beauty, gender, and identity. 

“Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich offers a significant opportunity to explore how fashion has the power to effect social change,” said Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “The exhibition sheds light on Gernreich’s life and how his forward-thinking designs responded to and challenged societal pressures and cultural forces that attempted to marginalize him and others. We are excited to share this meaningful exhibition with our audiences in Arizona and to continue our commitment to presenting artworks that present a diversity of thought, experience, and action.”

Born in 1922 in Vienna, Austria, Gernreich, who was Jewish, fled Nazi oppression as a teen and immigrated to Los Angeles, where he continued to face discrimination. He eventually found safe haven in the performing arts community and the gay rights movement, which drove him to seek social change and promote a truer expression of self through fashion design. Gernreich was propelled to fame when he launched his “monokini” design and, throughout his career, continued to create trailblazing designs that illustrated his dedication to inclusivity, non-conformity, and liberation.

Fearless Fashion chronicles Gernreich’s rise to prominence and underscores how his designs revolutionized the perception and understanding of beauty in the fashion industry. Developed by Bethany Montagano (formerly of the Skirball) and Skirball co-curator Dani Killam—with support from acclaimed fashion designer and exhibition creative adviser Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony and Kenzo—the exhibition is organized into the following seven sections:

• Becoming Rudi Gernreich traces the designer’s childhood in Vienna through his immigration to the United States in 1938. Visitors will learn about Gernreich’s early life in Los Angeles, with particular focus on his participation in the interracial Lester Horton Dance Theatre and his role as the second founding member of gay rights organization the Mattachine Society. This portion of the exhibition also highlights his first jobs in the fashion industry, including his work with Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie, and clothing manufacturer and fellow Austrian immigrant Walter Bass, with whom he shaped the aesthetics of California sportswear.

• Dance and Theater illuminates Gernreich’s interest in freedom of movement through the Swan and Duotard costumes he created for the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company performance Inscape, as well as other theatrically inspired ensembles from throughout his career.

• Minis, Mods and Pantsuits focuses on the 1960s and 1970s, exploring Gernreich’s support for second-wave feminism. Featured garments, such as the mod “micro-mini” skirt and the pantsuit for women—including his “Marlene Dietrich” and “George Sand” ensembles—pushed boundaries and challenged ideas of how women should dress and present themselves.

• Swimsuits and Undergarments showcases Gernreich’s knit bathing suits, the wireless “no-bra” bra, thong underwear, and the topless “monokini,” many of which remain staples of contemporary fashion. These garments exemplify how Gernreich prioritized functionality and comfort in his designs.

• Youth Culture and Politics explores how Gernreich responded to the crises of his time, particularly student protests, growing racial tensions in the United States, and armed conflicts around the world such as the Vietnam War, by creating a military-inspired collection.

• Unisex Solidarity features the designer’s Unisex Collection of 1970, in which he stripped away gender markers and presented garments that could be worn interchangeably by any person. Caftans, for example, abstract the bodies of the exhibition’s mannequins and reflect Gernreich’s interest in gender fluidity.

• Experimental Fashion and Legacy illustrates how Gernreich’s cutting-edge use of sheer fabrics, leather, vinyl, dog leashes as belts, exposed zippers, and metal springs continues to influence mainstream fashion.

In addition, the exhibition showcases a whimsical environment titled Concept to Rack that illuminates the relationship between Gernreich, model and muse Peggy Moffitt, and various retailers, including LA’s Jax Boutique, for which he designed activewear. New video oral histories of several of Gernreich’s colleagues and friends, including modern dancer Don Martin, fashion designer Renee Firestone, and models Barbara Flood and Léon Bing, will also be featured throughout Fearless Fashion, while media stations play historical footage of Gernreich fashion shows, along with what is widely regarded as the first fashion video, Basic Black, featuring Gernreich, Moffitt, and hair stylist Vidal Sassoon.

“Fearless Fashion is such a timely and important exhibition,” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design. “It underscores Gernreich’s rejection of conventional ideas of identity and his commitment to promoting gender fluidity, body positivity, and the equality and beauty of all people. This inclusive approach to humanism and the desire to empower others to define who they are and who they are not through the clothing they choose to wear is something that will resonate with contemporary audiences, many of whom are still advocating for the same issues and rights that Gernreich also fought for through his work, blazing a trail decades earlier.”

About the Exhibition

Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich will be on view from April 7 through September 26, 2021 in Steele Gallery. The exhibition is organized by the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles. Its premiere at Phoenix Art Museum is made possible through the generosity of the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design Endowment, The Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Endowment Fund, Lee and Mike Cohn, The Virginia M. Ullman Foundation, The Arizona Republic | azcentral, and Arizona Costume Institute, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.

This special-engagement exhibition is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military; and youth aged 5 and younger. All special-engagement exhibitions are included with general admission. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices, including admission during voluntary-donation times on Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm, please see phxart.org/visit/.

Download high-resolution photography here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.307.2003 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Skirball Cultural Center

The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. We welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society. To learn more about the Skirball Cultural Center, visit skirball.org.

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PHOENIX (November 11, 2020) – This winter, Phoenix Art Museum will present Collective Inspiration. Drawing from across the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 objects, the exhibition will showcase eight fashion ensembles and accessories spanning the 20th century that have been paired with paintings, sculptures, and prints to illuminate how formal artistic and design principles can be applied equally across fashion objects and more traditionally recognized forms of arts. Featured object pairings in the exhibition include a suit by American designer Ralph Rucci and a sculpture by contemporary Japanese artist Fujikasa Satoko; a jacket by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo placed in conversation with a favrile glass vase created in the early 20th century by Tiffany and Co. and drawn from the American art collection; a dress by Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons paired with a painting by Flemish artist Jan van Dalen from the European art collection; and the fashion collection’s oldest objects, a pair of metal-lace gloves from the 1640s, set alongside an 18^th-century portrait of Doña Maria Moreno y Buenaventura from the Latin American art collection. Collective Inspiration will be on view from December 12, 2020 through May 2, 2021 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery.

“Phoenix Art Museum is excited to present Collective Inspiration to our audiences,” said Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “Featuring objects drawn from across the Museum’s broad collection, this new exhibition provokes thoughtful and unexpected conversations about art. Our community can expect to see more exhibitions like this in the future that generate and advance ideas about the nature and value of different forms of artistic expression.”

Collective Inspiration features approximately 15 works drawn from the Museum’s various collection areas, including fashion design and Asian, American, European, Latin American, and contemporary art. These objects are organized into pairs, placing a fashion garment or accessory in conversation with a painting, sculpture, or print to prompt dialogue on how the principles and elements of art and design, including color, line, form, texture, and value, can be applied to fashion objects as well as more traditionally recognized forms of art.

“The idea for Collective Inspiration came from a question I am often asked during interviews and in the galleries: ‘Is fashion art, and why?’” said Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, who curated the new exhibition in the Ellman Gallery. “This exhibition is a way for the Museum to address those questions directly and educate our audiences on how to apply the principles of art to fashion as they do to a painting or sculpture. Through Collective Inspiration, I want our visitors to see how the conversations they’re having about art in the Asian or American galleries can carry over as they explore our fashion exhibitions.”

One object grouping in Collective Inspiration features a cream-colored suit by American designer Ralph Rucci and a work of a similar hue by contemporary Japanese sculptor Fujikasa Satoko. Beyond their similar color palette, both works are characterized by exacting technical precision and organic, undulating lines. Another section of the exhibition places a dress by Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons’ spring/summer 2018 line in conversation with a still-life painting by 17^th-century Flemish artist Jan van Dalen, inviting visitors to explore the form and composition of each work. The exhibition also presents an Op-Art painting by Victor Vasarely alongside a suit by Alexander McQueen, both of which rely on linear, geometric patterns to create optical illusions of movement and vibration. Visitors will additionally have the opportunity to examine the fashion collection’s oldest objects, a pair of gloves from the 1640s that are decorated with handmade metal lace, which are paired with a portrait of Doña Maria Moreno y Buenaventura from 18^th-century Mexico to explore the evolution of lacemaking and its detailed rendering in portraiture.

To encourage contemplation on formal aspects of the art featured in Collective Inspiration, each pairing includes interpretive text written by Jean, as well as curators who specialize in other areas of the Museum’s collection, including Janet Baker, PhD, the Museum’s curator of Asian art; Betsy Fahlman, PhD, adjunct curator of American art; and Gilbert Vicario, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator, who provides interpretations of featured modern and contemporary works. Audrey Sands, PhD, the Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, who holds a joint curatorial role at both Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona in Tucson, also contributes text for the exhibition, exploring the work of Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, which features photographic imagery woven into textiles and formed into a dress.

“Collective Inspiration is meant to set the stage for conversations and debate about what makes something art,” Jean said, when reflecting on what she hopes the Phoenix community takes away from the exhibition. “I want debates in the gallery—I want people arguing about why a particular dress and vase make sense together or why they don’t. I am excited to see what kind of ideas and feedback this exhibition elicits from our audiences.”

About the Exhibition

Collective Inspiration will be on view from December 12, 2020 through May 2, 2021 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery. It is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of Arizona Costume Institute, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/collective-inspiration/.  

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military; and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance into the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 7 pm and the first Friday of each month from 3 – 7 pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see phxart.org/visit/.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.307.2003 or samantha.andreacchi@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

The post New exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum pairs fashion designs with paintings, sculptures, and photographs to answer the question, “Is fashion art?” appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.

PHOENIX (March 9, 2020) – Phoenix Art Museum announces the appointment of Helen Jean as its next Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design, following Jean’s service as interim curator of fashion design since September 2019. Jean first joined the Museum in 2007 as a curatorial assistant for Dennita Sewell, Curator Emerita, who previously led the fashion design program at the Museum for nearly 20 years. Jean, who brings more than a decade of experience as a fashion scholar and educator, recently curated the Museum’s latest fashion design exhibition, India: Fashion’s Muse.

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PHOENIX (December 17, 2019) – From February 29 through June 21, 2020, Phoenix Art Museum will present India: Fashion’s Muse, an exhibition examining the ways in which Indian dress, aesthetic, and artwork have inspired Western fashion designs from streetwear to couture. Spanning the 19^th to the 21^st centuries, the exhibition showcases nearly 40 garments and more than 20 accessories drawn from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum and on loan from private collectors and museums. Featured designs include the paisley shawl, the sari, and the Nehru jacket, with traditional Indian garments exhibited alongside modern works by Indian fashion designer Anamika Khanna and Western designers such as McQueen, Givenchy, and Versace. Curated by Helen Jean, the interim curator of fashion design of Phoenix Art Museum, the exhibition will also present complementary artworks from the Museum’s Asian art collection and a four-minute film on Yves Saint Laurent’s 1982 collection, which was inspired by Indian design.

“Phoenix Art Museum is excited to present India: Fashion’s Muse to our audiences in Arizona,” said Gilbert Vicario, the Museum’s Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and the Selig Family Chief Curator. “This exhibition explores how international designers have been inspired by and adapted Indian silhouettes, trends, and more into their creations over the past century. India: Fashion’s Muse will also open a window onto the current Indian fashion scene that is redefining the future of style and innovation for a global audience.”

India: Fashion’s Muse features ensembles and accessories from the 19^th through the 21^st centuries. Drawing primarily from the Museum’s renowned fashion collection, Jean selected garments that illustrate how fashion designers have referenced imagery, color palettes, and silhouettes from India for their Western clientele. Featured designs include vintage and contemporary interpretations of the sari; menswear, including the Nehru collar and the Sikh turban; and accessory cases showcasing a collection of gold jewelry from local collectors and Judith Leiber purses, on loan from the private collection of Kelly Ellman, who in 2006 endowed the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery in which the exhibition will be presented.

Visitors will also be able to view the U.S. premiere of I Thought I Was Dreaming, a four-minute film by award-winning artist Sarah Singh featuring Kirat Young, widely-known as India’s first supermodel, and based on the 1982 collection by Yves Saint Laurent that was inspired by India. Presently Singh showcases her work in museums, galleries, think tanks, and universities around the world and, in 2018, launched a new international arts salon in India for concept-driven experiences. The film, which presents a kaleidoscopic world of reflected images as an interpretation of culture, will be shown as a continuous screening within the exhibition.

“India has inspired Western fashion designers for hundreds of years, and this exhibition tells a small but integral part of that very complex story,” said Jean. “With today’s growing awareness about the impact of cultural appropriation by the West, there is greater opportunity to examine how we can better respect those cultural elements in an increasingly globalized world. My hope is that after viewers experience the exhibition, they will be encouraged to look in their own closets, wonder about the origins of their clothes, and research the history of designs and silhouettes they are drawn to in an effort to become more informed about their choices.”

For interviews and high-resolution photography, contact the Press Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2160 or melissa.dunmore@phxart.org. For more information about Phoenix Art Museum and its collections, exhibitions, and education programs, visit phxart.org.

About the Exhibition

India: Fashion’s Muse will be on view from February 29 through June 21, 2020 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery. It is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of Arizona Costume Institute, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/indiafashionsmuse.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military and their families; Maricopa Community College students (with ID); and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm and the first Friday of each month from 6 – 10 pm, and general admission is free for visitors aged 17 and younger on the last Saturday of each month. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Marketing and Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2160 or melissa.dunmore@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (February 14, 2019) –From April 13 through August 18, 2019, Phoenix Art Museum will present Flora in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design and Orme Lewis galleries. Spanning the 18th century through the present, the exhibition will feature more than 30 botanical-inspired ensembles and accessories for women, men, and children to trace the evolution of floral fashions throughout history. Drawing exclusively from the collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Flora will showcase historical garments alongside pieces by such designers as Prada, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Comme des Garçons, Charles James, and Slava Zaitsev. The exhibition will also highlight various textiles and embroidery and embellishment techniques used by designers to incorporate flower motifs, patterns, and silhouettes into their creations.

“We are delighted to present Flora to our Phoenix community,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “Flora will bring together many timeless pieces from the Museum’s fashion collection to showcase the breadth and depth of our holdings, and we look forward to sharing this flower-inspired exhibition with our audiences in Arizona.”

Presenting a wide range of historical and contemporary fashions drawn from the Museum’s collection, Flora will explore how designers across centuries have interpreted flowers and the botanical world through their work. Garments from the 18th and 19th centuries will showcase traditional, realistic representations of flowers, whereas modern pieces will feature bold, abstract floral prints and silhouettes inspired by organic shapes. Exhibition highlights include an embroidered leather coat and boots by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton; a 1951 petal dress by Charles James; and a skirt and jacket by Slava Zaitsev, known for his colorful, theatrical designs often adorned with floral patterns and inspired by Russian folk costumes.

Flora will also feature objects recently acquired by the Museum, including an ensemble from the Spring/Summer 2019 collection of Comme des Garçons, purchased with funds provided by Arizona Costume Institute, a support group of Phoenix Art Museum. The contemporary ensemble includes a slouchy, black tuxedo jacket paired with rose-print trousers, distinguished by their abstract, multidimensional silhouette suggesting a flower form.

“Flowers are a beloved, classical theme explored by fashion designers throughout history,” said Dennita Sewell, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design. “With its breadth of historical and contemporary garments and accessories, Flora will illustrate how the approach to representing flowers in fashion has evolved from realism and naturalism to abstraction, hyper-abstraction, and hyper-realism.”

In addition, the exhibition will highlight textiles and various embroidery and embellishment styles, illustrating the creative ways in which designers through the centuries have interpreted botanical forms in fashion. A linen suit by Prada from 2003 showcases raffia-embroidered rose buds on netting, the bohemian styling of a Givenchy couture dress from the 1960s is enhanced with a scattering of wildflowers, and a piece by Yves Saint Laurent features an all-over print of American Beauty Roses on silk crepe de chine.

“In an era when we view most things digitally, Flora will underscore the significance of materiality in fashion design,” Sewell said. “The exhibition will provide viewers with the opportunity to look closely at an object and examine its details to help build an understanding of how and why designers use specific materials and techniques to articulate their ideas and inspirations.”

Along with showcasing the richness of the Museum’s fashion collection, Flora will explore the enduring influence of flowers on fashion while demonstrating how inspiration drives design. With its range of material and deep insight into the creative process, the exhibition will encourage viewers to contemplate a well-known topic and discover the subtle, bold, and sometimes surprising ways in which fashion can reflect the natural world.

About the Exhibition

Flora will be on view from April 13 through August 18, 2019 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design and Orme Lewis galleries. The exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and made possible through the generosity of The Virginia M. Ullman Foundation, The Ellman Foundation, and Arizona Costume Institute. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/flora.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans and active-duty military and their families; Maricopa Community College students, staff, and faculty (with ID); and youth aged 5 and younger. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary-donation times, the exhibition is offered to the general public with pay-what-you-wish admission. Voluntary-donation times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Friday of each month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second Sunday of each month from noon – 5pm. For a full breakdown of general-admission prices and hours, see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact the Marketing and Communications Office of Phoenix Art Museum at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

Exhibition Programming

Discount Tire Free Family Sunday | April 14, noon – 5 pm

Explore Flora during voluntary-donation times on the second Sunday of each month. Guests will also enjoy exciting activities, scavenger hunts, live performances, story time, free tours, and more. See phxart.org/events/calendar for updates as information becomes available.

First Friday | May 3, 6 pm

Join us on First Friday to experience Flora and in-gallery programs inspired by the exhibition. This event is open to the public with voluntary-donation admission. Please check phxart.org/events/calendar for updates.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for nearly 60 years and is the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents festivals, a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed to enlighten, entertain, and stimulate visitors of all ages. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

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PHOENIX (July 19, 2018) –For the first time ever at Phoenix Art Museum, guests will have the opportunity to experience photography and video in a whole new dimension. From August 11 through September 30, 2018 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery, Moonage Virtual Reality takes guests on a simulated journey through the fashion and culture of Pop Art, rock and roll, and the East Village Art Scene in New York City thanks to three virtual reality films by filmmaker Travis Hutchison. Offering an out-of-this-world perspective, the suite of films celebrates the music, fashion, and style of three legendary figures who helped define popular culture in the late 1960s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s: Andy Warhol (1928-1987), David Bowie (1947-2016), and Kenny Scharf (b. 1958). Guests will be able to explore the simulated environments of Moonage Virtual Reality by using ordinary smartphones and virtual reality headsets provided by the Museum. The exhibition will be accompanied by select works from the Museum’s fashion collection, each drawn from the eras represented in Hutchison’s videos.

“Phoenix Art Museum looks forward to featuring virtual reality films in our galleries for the first time,” said Amada Cruz, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum. “These dynamic, innovative works will engage and inspire guests of all ages, and we look forward to sharing them with our community.”

Using special 360-degree computer programs, filmmaker Travis Hutchison layered photographs and videos in an infinite stereoscopic universe to create the exhibition’s three virtual reality films. In Billy Name’s The Warhol Silver Factory, Museum guests explore Andy Warhol’s studio known as The Factory, through the visually stunning images by famed Warhol photographer Billy Name, who lived at The Factory and was responsible for “silverizing” every surface. Name’s images of Warhol’s filmmaking, silk screening and superstars Edie Sedgwick, Brigid Berlin, Gerard Malanga, Lou Reed and Nico are experienced here in high definition black and white.

Mick Rock’s Ziggy Stardust is a colorful dreamlike, kaleidoscopic experience of David Bowie’s legendary 1972 Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars tour, featuring the iconic photographs and videos by Bowie’s personal photographer Mick Rock. Bowie was enthralled by Lou Reed’s song writing and the first Velvet Underground album that came out of the Warhol Factory when Bowie was creating his alien stage persona.  Just as Billy Name had been Warhol’s personal photographer, Mick Rock was always on hand to capture the quintessential shots of the outrageous stage performances, colorful makeup and extraordinary costumes of the Starman’s two-year existence.

In Kenny Scharf’s Cosmic Cavern, guests are transported to an immersive Day-glo, Pop-Surrealist art installation by visual artist Kenny Scharf filmed in 360 degrees. It’s an ‘80’s dance art party, turned psychedelic virtual reality experience. The very first version of the Cosmic Cavern was in 1981 in the closet of the small New York apartment Scharf shared with artist Keith Haring in the East Village.

Although each film in Moonage Virtual Reality offers a separate—but equally dazzling—experience, Hutchison said he made all three with a unifying idea in mind. “What each of these artists instilled in me is the idea of living your art,” he said. “They were so innovative and in the moment of everything they did, each creating such a strong visual universe all their own, that when I thought about working in virtual reality, these were the worlds I wanted to explore in 360 degrees.”  

Space is also a common theme across the virtual reality films and was a central topic among all three artists’ work from the eras explored by Hutchison, specifically The Warhol Silver ‘60s, Bowie’s Starman of the ‘70s, and Scharf’s Cosmic Cavern in the early ‘80s. In his book “Popism: The Warhol Sixties,” Andy Warhol wrote about Billy Name, “Why he loved silver so much I don’t know, but it was great. It was the future, the space age, and also it was the past, the silver screen and old Hollywood. Maybe more than anything, silver was narcissism – mirrors were backed with silver.”

“Hutchison’s work brings the aesthetic of Pop Art and rock-and-roll music to life through immersive virtual reality experiences,” said Dennita Sewell, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design. “These multimedia collages, melding iconic photographs with stereoscopic sound, represent the cutting edge of art- and fashion-inspired film, and provide a novel experience for lifetime Museum-goers and new guests alike.”

Moonage Virtual Reality offers the Phoenix community a singular opportunity to immerse themselves in the art and fashion of Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Kenny Scharf. But more than that, the mind-bending exhibition exposes Museum guests to the versatility of virtual reality as a new form of storytelling and asks them to consider what the transportive technology means for the future of art—beyond the white walls of a museum.

About the Exhibition

Moonage Virtual Reality will be on view from August 11 through September 30, 2018 in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery. This exhibition is organized by Phoenix Art Museum and is made possible through the generosity of donors to the Museum’s annual fund. For more details about the exhibition, please visit phxart.org/exhibition/moonagevr.

Admission is free for Museum Members; veterans, active-duty, and retired military and their families; Maricopa Community College students, staff, and faculty (with ID); and youth aged 5 and under. Entrance to the exhibition is included in general admission for the general public. During voluntary donation, pay-what-you-wish admission hours (no General Admission required), the exhibition is offered free to the general public. Pay-What-You-Wish times include Wednesdays from 3 – 9 pm, the first Fridays of every month from 6 – 10 pm, and the second Sunday of each month from noon – 5pm. For a full breakdown of general admission prices and hours, see bit.ly/VisitPhxArt.

High-resolution photography can be downloaded here. To request interviews, contact Phoenix Art Museum’s Marketing and Communications Office at 602.257.2105 or margaree.bigler@phxart.org.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for nearly 60 years and is the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 19,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents festivals, a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed to enlighten, entertain, and stimulate visitors of all ages. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visitphxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

The post Phoenix Art Museum presents first-ever virtual reality exhibition, immersing guests in the art and fashion of Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Kenny Scharf appeared first on Phoenix Art Museum.