In the Museum of Applied Art and Design of the Lithuanian Art Museum, the eighth project prepared by the well-known fashion historian Aleksandrs Vasiljevs is presented - the exhibition "Tamed Nature".
The exhibition is dedicated to the eternal connection between nature and fashion, its manifestations over the past three centuries - from the XNUMXth century. until these days.
Man has always tried to change and tame nature, perceiving its possession as one of the proofs of his power and dominion. However, nature has always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for painters, musicians, poets, architects and clothing designers. The rich and ever-changing world of living nature always comes up with wonderful ideas on how to make the environment around us more beautiful, harmonious and comfortable, how to highlight our uniqueness, emphasize our individuality. Water, ocean depths, forests, meadows, flowers, animals, birds and insects - these are great examples of unusual color combinations, new forms, graceful silhouettes, sophisticated ornaments that provide fodder for our imagination.
According to the concept of the owner of the collection and the curator of the exhibition, the exhibits are not grouped chronologically, but according to themes - forest, garden, sea, ocean, jungle, savannah, exotic.
The clothes and accessories of each thematic group (hats, handbags, shoes, jewelry, furs, leather and suede products) reflect a unique connection with nature. Let's say the brightly colored jungle and its inhabitants - pythons, parrots, panthers, birds of paradise; pastel savanna and its impressive fauna - elephants, zebras, lions. Sandy shades, amber and shells remind you of the beach, and the vast underwater world teems with a variety of fish, turtles, starfish, corals and pearls.
The exhibition also reveals how park and garden culture influenced original fashion ideas: tree shadows, colorful flower beds, butterflies and songbirds. Not only flowers, berries, but also vegetable motifs - lettuce, cabbage, onions, carrots - can be seen in wonderful printed factory fabrics and products of famous clothing designers.
"Each age and decade was famous for its favorites: in the 18th century, during the time of Marie Antoinette, men preferred waistcoats embroidered with flower garlands, in the 19th century jewelry made of coral, items made of mother-of-pearl and tortoise shell became relevant, embroidery with pearls became popular, - recalls A. Vasiljevas. - 20th century in the first decade, ladies of high society wore mulberry fur cuffs, whalebone corsets, wide hats decorated with flowers, in the forties the fox fur boa became extremely popular, in the fifth - crocodile, lizard and toad skin handbags, python skin shoes came into fashion, and in the sixth - every woman's wardrobe you could definitely find a romantic floral dress like a polka dot dress.”
A total of 100 never-before-seen costumes and more than 300 accessories were selected for the exhibition.
Where: LDM at the Museum of Applied Art and Design (Arsenalo St. 3A, Vilnius).
