THE NEW ORDER

Fashion houses open their archives to educate and inspire, but asri jasman discovers that some eponymous museums share the spotlight with other artists too

fashion and art no longer exist on separate planes, as you can see from the Insta-fanfare surrounding the latest Met Gala presentation Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. It’s an invitation-exclusive fundraising shindig (tickets are US$30,000 a pop) with a galore of the who’s who of celebrities, but you can still enjoy the biggest exhibition to date — about 5,444sqm, spanning three galleries — at just US$25, though that doesn’t buy you a fast pass.

In recent years, the Costume Institute’s spectacular productions have grown popular with the masses. Alexander Mcqueen: Savage Beauty in 2011 made headlines for snaking queues, leading to an extension in 2015 when it moved to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. That same year, China: Through The Looking Glass became a blockbuster hit when it broke attendance records with a whopping 815,992 visitors.

With the industry’s penchant for spinning the designer carousel, exhibitions can serve to showcase the evolution of a fashion house’s brand identity under the helm of different creative directors.

Last year, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs held a Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams exhibition to mark the house’s 70th anniversary. It explored the Dior universe through the visionary eyes of founder Monsieur Christian Dior, and his successors: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and the current head Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Presently, the Parisian museum is shining the spotlight on Martin Margiela, fashion’s renowned recluse. Specifically, it highlights the Belgian designer’s 1997-2003 stint at Hermès, while the Palais Galliera dedicates space to the first-ever Martin Margiela retrospective in the city. These complementary shows are a testimony of how a fashion designer can be versatile, yet retain his creative sensibilities — much like fashion collaborations these days.

Speaking of Hermès, it is one of the prime examples of fashion houses having their own museums. Émile-maurice Hermès, grandson of founder Thierry, turned his office above the Faubourg Saint-honore store into a secret archive brimming with his collection of precious artefacts, but privy only to staff and invited guests.

Thankfully, there are fashion houses that open their museums to the public.