Model as Muse

"Exploring the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion focuses on iconic models of the twentieth century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition, organized by historical period from 1947 to 1997, features haute couture and ready-to-wear masterworks accompanied by fashion photography and video footage of models who epitomized their epochs." (The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art)


In a nutshell:

Designers
1950s - Madame Grès, Christian Dior, and Balenciaga
1960s - Rudi Gernreich, Yves Saint Laurent, and Cardin
1970s - Giorgio di Sant’Angelo and Halston
1980s - Christian Lacroix, Versace, Comme des Garcons, and Calvin Klein
1990s - Marc Jacobs, John Galliano, and Alexander McQueen

Models
1950s - Dorian Leigh, Lisa Fonssagrives, Dovima, Sunny Harnett, and Suzy Parker
1960s - Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy
1970s - Jerry Hall and Lauren Hutton
1980s - Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista
1990s - Kate Moss & Gisele Bundchen

Looks
1950s - femme fatale, utmost elegance
1960s - swinging sexiness
1970s - the athletic look
1980s - idealized glamour, dissolving boundaries between runway, editorial, and advertising
1990s - minimalist, edgy, street-inflected

It comes at an opportune time. Celebrity culture is tired. Campaigns fronted by actors are “not selling” as effectively as they did back in the late Nineties (when Hollywood became the focal point of fashion). And furthermore, it occurs at a time when it seems there is no defining designer, model, or look for this decade that is now coming to a close. Almost everything is in the form of recycling, "homages" as a euphemism...