“Camp: Notes on Fashion” Exhibit Presented in Milan
MILAN — The memory of Karl Lagerfeld is permeating nearly every event in Milan this season, including the press presentation on Friday for the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibition to be held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute May 9 to Sept. 8.
With a crack in her voice, Vogue editor in chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour described Lagerfeld as “a great friend, a benefactor, a collaborator, erudite and incredibly generous,” having lent 120 pieces to the Met over the years. “He had a wicked sense of humor and would have loved this exhibition.
Related stories
Georgia May Jagger's Best Ever Concert? Her Dad's, Of Course
Gucci Friends Saoirse Ronan, Jared Leto Attend Fall Show
Designers Fete 'Franca: Chaos and Creation' Book in Milan
“Camp is hard to define,” added Wintour, noting with a smile that the exhibit will display items “from the Sun King to drag queens,” and quoted Oscar Wilde: “Either be a work of art or wear it.”
Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, which is supporting the exhibit, also addressed a crowed that included Kering chief François-Henri Pinault and Thom Browne at Milan’s intimate, 19th-century Teatro Gerolamo, where two of Michele’s designs were displayed with two Palomo Spain looks. At the entrance, a voluminous pink pleated Viktor & Rolf couture gown declaring “Less is More” graphics stood in front.
Michele enthused about the exhibition, which in itself “holds something of the DNA of what I’ve done in these past years,” and pointed to “the idea of working on something that is an expression of God and human.” He said it does not refer only to “exaggerated and extravagant,” but also “it hides the great power of clothes and appearance, I fully embrace this thought and I am happy to be able to give a small contribution.”
“Camp is a beautiful word, it hides all the secret of those who want to exist,” added Michele, segueing into a brief tribute to Lagerfeld, who embodied life “on the stage not only of fashion, and his love for fashion.”
Curator in charge Andrew Bolton said Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on Camp,” catapulted camp “into the mainstream where it has remained ever since.” He noted it came to the fore especially in the Sixties and Eighties.
In the first part of the exhibit, Sontag is the ghost narrator, said Bolton, “in a journey from Louis XIV to Molière,” while the second part comprises “100 examples of 1960s theatricality and duplicity and ambiguity.”
Physically, the two sections are also different, as the first part features “narrow corridors with low ceilings,” telegraphing a “clandestine” mood with Sontag “narrating in whispers,” while the second part “is an open piazza,” mirroring “mainstream acceptance,” said Bolton, noting that the exhibit “raises more questions than answers.”
Bolton also emphasized the generosity of Lagerfeld. “This is the 18th exhibition in which [his clothes] are featured,” he marveled.
Launch Gallery: A Look at MET's "Camp: Notes on Fashion" Exhibit Presented in Milan
Get more from WWD: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
