Exhibition: OceanLiners

As an admirer of travel history, fashion, and feats of engineering, the Ocean Liners exhibit at the Victoria & Albert museum was one of my favourites. Starting from the early 20th century, the exhibit takes you through various stages of ocean travel, and each section dissects the history, engineering and style behind each major ocean liner and what they meant for the time period; including how they re-fitted tourist liners into World War II warships, and the post-war travel period.

Mural from the first class playroom on the Canberra 

Featuring impressive pieces of furniture and fabric from early liners, the exhibit describes the decadence the upper class was able to travel in, in the form of ships. 

Gyrostabilisers

The engineering and multiple uses of the ships were not glossed over as well, including the importance famous ocean-liner related incidences, such as the sinking of the Lusitania, played in the growing global conflict. The ship Queen Mary was used to transport allied soldiers, and cabins were refitted so the living space of 2 passengers could fit 20 soldiers. 

Fashion and style on the ships
Background: German actress, Marlene Dietrich, a constant famous face frequently on Atlanic liners
Right: "new look" Dior suit worn on 21 Dec 1950 worn aboard the Queen Elizabeth
Left: Maison Goyard luggage owned by Edward, Duke of Windsor, 1940-9

Tableware on various ships

Fashion and style played an incredible part on the ship's journeys as well. The 'Grande descente' occurred at the beginning of the evening, where ladies in the first and upper class cabins would descend into the hall wearing the latest fashions. Cecil Beacon on the Queen Mary remarked on its absence, and in every 20th century ocean liner, this was a theatrical part of any evening. More information on its recreation for the Victoria & Albert museum can be found on the Costume Rag,  and the V&A website.

Above: Piece of the Titanic
Bottom: Model of the Viking Jupiter ship, 2017

There is no doubt in denying the cultural impact of the ocean liners-- the exhibit itself ends with a clip from James Cameron's Oscar-winning phenomenon, 1997's Titanic, and 1953's iconic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This exhibit delved into great detail about the importance of ocean liners from a travel and artistic perspective, as well as the advances it created in engineering that we are still learning from till this day. It also well described the innovation and importance ocean liners had during important events of the 20th century, as well as how ocean liners were re-fitted and re-purposed during the post war years, while air travel slowly became the new fashion. Entertaining, educational and expansive, this exhibit is worth the time that will have you slowly uncovering some of modern travel's early secrets.

Exhibition: Vogue: The Centenary

On a sunny day one February, I got a ticket to a room laying out the timeline of Vogue and its defining issues every era since its creation. Every era since its inception had own section, demonstrating the shift in creative journalism, photography and overall vision of the decade.

Art and creativity also seem to do their best work in time of terror, as a form of escapism, I suppose. My personal favourite quote from the show shows the juxtaposition Vogue found itself during the 1930s, from society commentator John McMullin after a visit to Berlin—“Why all this fuss about Hitler? No one could be more commonplace—I am told he represents and idea, but I can’t find out what.” But even when his idea became clear in the 40s, Vogue trudged on doggedly, with the likes of Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller documenting Britain’s darkest hour, as it were, from their own perspectives. Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, an American war correspondent and official war photographer, documented the “Women’s War”,  the Blitz, and the horror of the Nazi concentration camps. As Hitler did his work, so did Vogue, covering the likes of the Blitz and the horror of Hitler’s work alongside wartime picture stories by Beaton on London bombsites with the caption, “Fashion is indestructible.” What struck me the most was the distinct “Vogueness” of it all—today it would almost be blasé, to have a well dressed woman posing in the middle of a demolished road, but at the time, the need to look past the horror and the tenacious need for survival was well documented and understood.

In June 2011, the Road to Revolution by Rana Kabbini detailed the writers’ feelings of being an Arab in a time of regional change, and Paolo Roversi took to abate the pains of the Japanese tsunami with his shoot Neo Geisha. In 2012 a controversial Boris Johnson posed in a controversial Olympic Park construction site. By then, Patrick Demarchelier had documented the Princess of Wales in December 1990, the Iron Lady had been photographed and profiled in the same decade as Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford, Vogue had made legends out of David Bailey and Grace Coddington and Kate Moss had solidified her status as the eternal London It Girl.

The artistic direction also changes with the times. I noticed the covers used to be handpainted and drawn, but from the 1970s the photographic covers that we know today started to take over. I found the cover illustrations to be illuminating, detailed and intricate, something which isn’t as obvious in the photographic covers as I find them more sanitised and alike, especially within the last few years. It’s a loss that present day magazines of such calibre can sometimes resemble a slightly more expensive tabloid, and the showcase made me appreciate the artistic direction when the camera was still a luxury.

The exhibition is more than just a showcase of what the Condé Nast archives has to offer, but a jarring realisation as to why we even bother to put up with this frivolity in the first place—it is a glimpse into the trials and culture of our contemporaries while recognising that in times of despair, in the words of Norman Parkinson—“people want style. They need romance.”

From teaching its readers the social graces of the 30s to jumpstarting the careers of fashionable modern designers to its patchwork quilt of long-form journalism on pressing issues, the show is more than just about fashion. Its about photographers, creators, designers, haute couture, photojournalists and the women (or men) that define our eras and those in history.

There is no doubt that whether you love it or hate it, the influence and mystery of the magazine and its editors has seceeded generations. In the last hundred years or so since Vogue debuted, it has always been at the forefront of art, introducing the world to the likes of Picasso and Sonia Delaunay. In 1916, Virginia Woolf commented on the letters of the navigator and professor, Walter Raleigh, and last April, Christiane Amanpour’s interview graced its pages. From Naomi Campbell to Cara Delevingne, it has defined the names and designs for my mother and her generation, to mine. Whether or not it will make its mark in the lives of my children is yet to be seen, but its place in history has already been set in stone.

"... If she guesses right, she is a gentleman and a scholar..... If you mistake Quentin Latour for Fantin Latour, you can laugh it off; but God help you if you cannot tell Brawue from Brook. If she is wrong, her cultural standing is usually impaired"

Location: National Portrait Gallery

Cost: £17

Duration: 11 Feb-22 May

Exhibition: Alice in Central London

Image source: British Library

I stumbled upon the exhibition almost as curiously as Alice stumbled down the rabbit hole—a little dazed and confused, but unlike poor Alice, I ended up pleasantly surprised. To celebrate 150 years of Lewis Carroll’s fantasy dream, the exhibition explores how Alice captured generations of wonder, through a journey consisting of Lewis Carroll’s original manuscripts, illustrations and interpretations over the years.

Life-sized illustrations of bottles and the Red Queen welcome the visitor as they come through the exhibition. The main bit is separated into 3 parts—the story he told Alice Liddell, the publication of the original text, and the memoribilia and spin-offs it had over the next 150 years. In this section, the highlight is Carroll’s original manuscript, where he scribbled and fleshed out the inspiration for his wondorous story. 

My other personal favourite was reviewing the interpretations and re-interpretations of the Alice story over the decades. The famed author Salvador Dali’s interpretation of Alice was also on display, suggesting how Alice’s enchating story has touched all of us over the world. It was interesting to note that no matter what the interpretation of the story was, and no matter who was interpreting it, the story never strayed far from Carroll’s original.

The pop-up shop for the exhibition is littered with all sorts of cool artefacts like dainty plates and journals written in pretty manuscript to colouring books that induce both adults and children alike. While the exhibition is not as large or grand as one might expect, the pop-up shop offers visitors a place where they can browse and purchase bits of the Alice story that resonate the most with them.

Alice in Wonderland’s marketing heyday seems endless. Even today, every variation of the Alice story has been done and beat to death. From Tim Burton’s creepy live-action film rendition, Electronic Arts’ psychological game thriller versions to Disney’s lovable, children’s cartoon, Alice still continues to inspire. The underlying and overlapping themes and layers to the Alice story will continue to be unwrappd and unravelled, as we interpret her story in new lights and new perspectives. Like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, our adventures through this strange and sometimes twisted and confusing world will scare us and cause us to question our decisions. Like Alice, the world will continue to try talking sense and convince us with reason in an otherwise senseless situation. But like the Cheshire Cat says, “Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality” and the continuous wonderment Alice gives us is a reminder of that.

Details

Name:	Alice in Wonderland
Where:	Entrance Hall The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB
When:	Fri 20 Nov 2015 - Sun 17 Apr 2016
Price:	Free

Exhibition: 18, Place Vendôme

Rooms come alive with the story of Gabrielle, as her devout readers find themselves in a story set in a Saatchi Gallery-esque Chanel flagship store, trying to glide as effortlessly as Coco would’ve done through the impeccable white walls with black piping and wood and marble floors. Her story features gardens, inside and outside of the gallery, designed by Chelsea Flower Show favourites Harry and David Rich, the story of the No 5, a film made featuring Karl Lagerfeld and walls lined with iconic muses. The story comes alive with an app designed to show her readers snippets of what the haute couture house and Mademoiselle is really like behind the scenes.

The crowning jewel would be the short film, Visite Nocturne, directed by Karl Lagerfeld—to some, the Coco reincarnate of his generation. In a sleek, lacquered office reminiscent of Miranda Priestley’s in The Devil Wears Prada, Gabrielle Chanel’s ghost, played by Geraldine Chaplin, comes alive and chastises Karl for his leadership style and the direction he took with Chanel. In a witty exchange of dialogue, which features a rare, chatty side of Lagerfeld, we see the evolution of what the fashion house once was, and the future that the industry sees for it. In a heated argument, it’s explained that the creative minds behind Chanel are always aware of the heritage and modernity that are implicit with every season and design that the fashion house creates, and its Lagerfeld and his team that has to bridge the two with every collection.

Despite admission being free, guests who signed up were able to experience the parfum making process, and workshops that focused on fabric and clothing details. However, this didn’t mean those who didn’t could not be a part of the delicate fabric and fragrance experiences. Entire rooms devoted to the colour red, fabrics hung from the ceiling with various textures, and an LED light show featuring colourful pots of fragrances were still part of the cumulative experience.  

However, aside from the giant fabric swathes, selections of Chanel’s life and the bijoux de Diamants collection, it still feels as though the show wasn’t quite certain of what it wanted to achieve. True revellers in her artwork may feel alienated from the strong, confident and powerful Mademoiselle that was so instrumental in changing the perception of women’s fashion and women in fashion. It had informative, stylish rooms devoted to aspects of her classic designs—everything from her first diamond project to dresses and jewellery some of the most iconic in-house ambassadors wore—but only scratched the surface on an influential woman who’s quotes and quilts we still consider staples today. There was little explanation of what the pieces meant, which reduced the exhibition to a basic appreciation of who she was and an incredible amount of iPhone flashes. But where there is Keira Knightley on a wall, a story of interlocking Cs, and pictures of Gabrielle in tweed and pearls, an exhibition will still never cease to wonder fans of fashion, culture and history alike.