This is for the first time that the fashion
exhibition of the 1960s, part of Alexandre
Vassiliev's collection, has been exhibited in
Vilnius. The display comprises rarities of haute
couture clothing produced by the most prominent
fashion houses of the decade: Chanel, Dior, Balmain,
Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Nina Ricci, Cardin,
Courrèges, Laroche, Cassini, Valentino. Parisian
fashion dominates although the exhibition reflects
also fashion clothing from Italy, Britain and the
USA. The 1960s women's fashion is unique due to
constant silhouette changes. The decade started with
1961 when the British fashion designer Mary Quant
invented miniskirts, and two years later they
appeared also in Paris in the fashion collection of
André Courrèges. In the 1960s everybody was strongly
influenced by the cosmic breaks of the humanity, and
this resulted in the origin of the so called “cosmic
style” in fashion design, leading role played by
Pierre Cardin and Paco Rabanne. Young girls
infatuated with the popular songs of The Beatles
willingly adopted mini, yet ladies of older age
preferred evening gowns of prominent houses of haute
couture, which are vastly displayed in the
particular exhibition.
The characteristic feature of the 1960s is the
development of pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear)
clothing, more accessible to a vaster range of
connoisseurs of fashion wear. During the second half
of the 1960s youth movements flourished. These
events lead to the democratization in fashion
design. Jeans won victory over dresses. Meantime the
expanding hippy movement from California
irreversibly ruined the prestige of fashion houses,
which did not want to adapt their models to the
tastes of the younger generation. Bonnets, little
purses and fashion footwear fell out of fashion.
They were substituted by long hair, sack bags and
sandals. Haute couture experienced creative crisis.
In the result the fabulous Balenciaga fashion house
was closed, but many other houses lost their
clients. The exhibition shows unique fashion
clothing worn by two movie stars: Leslie Caron and
Lauren Bacall, and the prima ballerina Maya
Plisetskaya. Apart from 70 fashion dresses,
exhibition viewers will have the possibility to see
also accessories: hats, footwear and bags, executed
by the best fashion companies of the time. There is
also a vast gallery of vintage photographs
reflecting different directions in the fashion
design of the 1960s.
The particular exhibition has already partially been
exhibited in Sidney, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and
Moscow. The new variant of the exhibition was on
display in Riga, and today for the first time is
presented to the viewers in Vilnius.
Alexandre Vassiliev
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