|
Before there was Alexander McQueen,
there was Lucile, the first British
fashion designer to achieve
international renown. It was Lucile who
introduced the "mannequin parade," which
is what we call a fashion show - or else
ballroom culture - depending upon
whether we're at the tents in Lincoln
Center or up in Harlem - and it was
Lucile who is widely credited with
teaching the first fashion models how to
"walk." Think about it, children:
without Lucile, there would be no Naomi,
no Christy, no Kate, nothing, nada.
Furthermore, it was Lucile who launched
slit skirts and low necklines, selling
them alongside sexy lingerie at her
boutiques in London, Paris, New York,
and Chicago. This woman Lucile, née Lucy
Christiana Sutherland, later to become
Lady Duff Gordon, deserves our
attention.
In 2005, the fashion historian Rebecca
Jumper Matheson, who is also an adjunct
instructor in the History of Art
Department at the Fashion Institute of
Technology in New York City, co-curated
the Museum at FIT graduate student
exhibition Designing the It Girl: Lucile
and Her Style, which was the first
exhibition to focus on the life and
career of the designer Lucile - and now,
as part of the Philadelphia
International Festival of the Arts (PIFA),
Matheson will give a lecture on the
couturière Lucile. The event takes place
on the 14th of April at 7 pm at Nesbitt
Auditorium in Philadelphia - and best of
all, tickets are free.
Just be sure and bring your house - and
be ready to walk.
Buy tickets: FREE
LINK:
http://www.pifa.org/events/980191507
Ninth in a series of features about
the Philadelphia International Festival
of the Arts (PIFA), continuing through
May 1 with the support of PIFA.
Follow PIFA at
http://www.twitter.com/PIFAPhilly
“Like” PIFA at
http://www.facebook.com/PIFA.Philly |
