Click for full photo gallery: Daphne Guinness Displays Her Most Iconic Clothing
Haute couture, like sculpture, is meant to be seen up close and from all sides especially if it comes from Daphne Guinness s closet.
With her unmistakable platinum-streaked chignon, otherworldly costumes and gravity-defying footwear, the unflinching style icon has prodded the fashion universe to stretch its imagination for nearly a decade. The results can be found at the Fashion Institute of Technology s latest exhibition Daphne Guinness, a sartorial opus of Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dior and Givenchy culled from Guinness s own wardrobe.
I do believe she is the most individual, inspiring fashion icon in the world today, said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the F.I.T. museum, standing beside Guinness at a press preview held last week.
In Pictures: Daphne Guinness Displays Her Most Iconic Clothing
The exhibit, two years in the making, showcases more than 100 garments and accessories spanning a diverse spectrum of tastemakers from Christian Lacroix to Noritaka Tatehana to Gareth Pugh. Mannequin sylphs styled in the likeness of Guinness give viewers a chance to closely inspect configurations of spikes, feathers and sequins from some of the world s most renowned couture houses, dozens of Alexander McQueen creations included.
In a world sopping with undeserved superlatives, Daphne Guinness is a true nonpareil. Tom Ford deemed her one of if not the most stylish women living and Vanity Fair regularly counts the socialite (of the Guinness brewing stock) among the world s best dressed. However, it is her uncompromising style arresting, preternatural and exquisitely tailored that inspires her legions of admirers.
It was this visionary spirit which Steele sought to capture when she first approached Guinness in 2009. At first reluctant, Guinness agreed on the basis that the designs should be shared for their artistic value. Fashion is really art and it says so much about culture, said Guinness.
The wide-ranging collection is housed in a series of six sections, each separated by translucent scrims. Visitors begin with sharply cut jackets paired with black leggings in a section designated Dandyism, a reference to Guinness s love of men s clothing.
Across the way, a Gareth Pugh nail-studded catsuit and wine-colored Alexander McQueen exoskeleton of sorts in Armor allude to the style setter s fascination with protective coverings. Overhead, Guinness writhes in a silver jumpsuit, suspended by hologram, while video installations on opposite walls display selections of performance art.
In Pictures: Daphne Guinness Displays Her Most Iconic Clothing
Though known for her more eccentric looks and patronage of the late dramatist Alexander McQueen, the retrospectives of Chic and Evening Chic capture a lesser-known persona one that is demure and classically elegant. Black and white Chanel suits, along with finery from Dior and Valentino suggest the influence of Guinness s grandmother, Diana Mitford, a fashion connoisseur and cultural sensation in her own right.
The exhibit s grand finale comprises Exoticism and Sparkle, two sections wrought with McQueen showmanship, manifested in exaggerated plumage and sequins. One mannequin in particular makes a strong argument for McQueen s genius: a glittering gold bodysuit peeking out from underneath a massive, floor-length feathered cape. Daphne Guinness wouldn t be caught dead in anything else.
Daphne Guinness at the Museum at F.I.T. in New York runs through Jan. 7
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