Valerie Steele News

The groundbreaking and critically acclaimed exhibition Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity, which opened in Paris in October 2012, lands at the Art Institute this summer as the final stop on its world tour. Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, the exhibition broke attendance records in Paris and has been lauded by international and national critics alike. Roberta Smith of the New York Times called the New York presentation a “thrilling, erudite show” with “visual fireworks, historical clarity, and pitch-perfect contextualizing.” Vogue proclaimed the show “breathtaking” for its portrayal of “art's passionate love affair with fashion in the boulevards and salons of late 19th-century France.” And now audiences in Chicago will be able to spend the summer with the first exhibition to explore the role of fashion in the revolutionary Impressionist movement.

The Brooklyn Museum will be the only East Coast venue for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first international exhibition dedicated to the groundbreaking French couturier, organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The critically acclaimed touring show, already seen by half a million people, spans the Paris-based designer's 37-year career and includes iconic examples never before exhibited. The Brooklyn presentation will include new material not shown in the previous venues, including ensembles from his recent runway shows.

The Staten Island Historical Society has announced the launch of its Online Collections Database featuring over 100 selections from the extensive clothing collection at Historic Richmond Town. The Online Collections Database enables virtual visitors to study selected highlights in addition to the objects on view in museum galleries and historic house settings. This new resource can be visited by using the New! Online Collections Database link found on the home page of Historic Richmond Town's website.

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) presents American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion, the first exhibition to explore how the 'philosophy of beauty' is allied to the craft of dressmaking.