Blackest of the Blacks?

I've yet to visit an exhibition at the MOMU in Antwerp and NOT post about it and whilst I have an estranged relationship with the subject of the current exhibition, its universal appeal means that I would be a fooligan if I didn't at least say a few words about it.  "Black: Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume" is the current exhibition at the MOMU which is on until August when Stephen Jones takes over the space.  When I say I have an estranged relationship with black though, I think what I'm really trying to say is that I have an estranged relationship with the supposed cornerstones of fashion where black reigns and is apparently meant to be THE colour that dictates the foundation of our wardrobes.  Just to pull "xxx is the new black" as an example already gives the colour weight and superiority above all else.  Then there's the allying of black with a little dress… LBD, a fashion acronym that is consecrated into modern vocabulary, one that people beyond those that love fashion will know.  Even if I personally have my suspicious doubts over the prevailing of the colour black, that's not to say I'm dismissing the significance of this colour in fashion.  And fortunately, MOMU have come to my analytical rescue and have explored the colour within the context of fashion beyond the LBD's and actually gives the colour a lot of depth and complexity that perhaps would not be possible with other shades.  I doubt that the conclusion is that black is at the top of the colour hierarchy either but just that it happens to be the sole colour with the ability to be feted with an exhibition…

I'm sure this is a problem with my camera which found it hard taking pictures in such low light sans flash but what came up was that a lot of the garments were not made out materials in the blackest of blacks and that shades of brown (most common), green, blue, red etc underlined the veneer of black.  This isn't necessarily the case with other cameras and in real life, everything is as it should be… BLACK.  Apologies in advance for the photos that perhaps don't do the shades of blacks justice…

We begin with a Givenchy haute couture A/W 06-7 piece which already conjures up several notions of the colour black – its associations with Catholicism and its eroticism… themes which of course Riccardo Tisci has explored in his work…

It seems even more apt for the exhibition to be in Antwerp because in the 16th and 17th centuries, Antwerp was the Europe's leading centres for dyeing black textiles as it was once an expensive and laborious process.

Throughout the exhibition, contemporary fashion is punctuated with the representation of black costume in paintings to emphasise the longevity this colour has endured but also to bring up the meanings of black that portraits quite often reveal… here another Givenchy S/S 07 haute couture piece is displayed alongside a portrait of a man in 1620, wearing black to signify nobility and to command respect.  This may well be why I personally shy away from black… I'm not the commanding-respect-kinda-gal…

Bernhard Willhelm's S/S 09 medieval costume got mistaken for being an actual medieval piece by some of the people there as it was next to a portrait of a man sporting similar ruffled breeches as well as a pair of authentic leather gloves from the 15th century…

Cornelsi van der Voort's portrait of a familly from 1620 showcases the Spanish fashions at the time of wearing a stiff and stached ruff (the French wore unstarched ones…)…

Seeing these two pieces from Gareth Pugh S/S 09 gave me the tingles as that was his first Paris show which rocked my ickle world back then…

Quite a few Olivier Theyskens pieces made their way into the exhibition along with other supposed 'princes of darkness'.  This is from S/S 02 – the leather 'jacket' bustier dress…

Yves Saint Laurent's 1966 'Le Smoking' style for women punctuated the convergence and interchangeability between men and women's fashions which began in the 20th century…

Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto (then a couple…)'s contribution to black fashion in the early 80s cannot go amiss and though Kawakubo has moved on significantly from her initial black rhetoric, to this day, her work in black still manages to mark themselves out…

Comme des Garcons A/W 04-5 // Junya Watanabe A/W 09-10

The theme of black in mourning was explored quite thoroughly in the exhibition and whilst most of us have images of Victorian mourning (namely perpetuated by Queen Victoria herself…), I didn't know about the different stages of mourning; how in the first part, only black woolen clothing was worn, then later on, you could start to wear fabrics like black silk with jewels and shades of grey and lilac being allowed to infiltrate later on…  in which case, I rather like the sound of a half-mourning outfit of grey, black and lilac…

Examples of mourning jewellery with the material jet from Great Britain being the most commonly used…

Congrats to recent Antwerp graduate Helena Lumelsky for one of her film noir-inspired pieces from her graduate collection to be included in the exhibition…

Loved the room dedicated to Raf Simons' A/W 99-00 'Disorder, Incubation, Isolation' collection with capes mingling with a lone Victorian hooded cloak, which has blended in seamlessly…

In the section dedicated to black as a symbol for counter-culture or romantic/rebellious notions, quite a few designers (of Belgian origin I might add…) are included… Haider Ackermann, Natali Brilli, more Theyskens, Rick Owens and this Veronique Branquinho half-biker, half-Victoriana outfit…

Of course…that acronym has to have its place and Chanel's Ford T-dress which became the prototype for ensuing LBD's takes its place…

… alongside Dirk Van Saene's A/W 08-9 collection of black bow dresses…

Ann Demeulemeester gets a section all to herself with her varying applications of black with fur, feathers, fringe and leather which physically has given her the ability to go back to black time and time again adding fresh textures to her repetoire…

This Rochas A/W 06-7 dress from the Chimney Sweepers collection IS black but is pictured as a dusky pink here… all the better to see the applique embroidery…

A textural injection comes in the last portion of the exhibition which does much to stop black from being portrayed as a singularly matt surface… a silk Chantilly bobbin lace dress with a portrait of Mrs Mols-de Brialmont in 1853 by Nicaise De Keyser…

… going very nicely with this Alexander McQueen S/S 07 machine lace dress…

I didn't get a decent picture of it, but it was quite cool seeing Charlie le Mindu's real hair 'lips' headdress pop up in the exhibition alongside this Patrick Van Ommeslaeghe synthetic hair dress… it was a real vs. synthetic hair-off…