Last weekend, while visiting family, I had the opportunity to see an extraordinary exhibit at the Frick Museum in Pittsburgh of astonishing life-sized trompe l’oeil paper art fashions by the acclaimed Belgian designer and artist, Isabelle de Borchgrave. De Borchgrave was inspired to begin making her paper sculptures in 1994 after viewing an exhibit of historical costumes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This incredible show at the Frick, entitled “Fashioning Art From Paper,” features paper art fashions from all of the major series of De Borchgrave’s dress sculptures. As you look at these amazing dresses, don’t forget that every single element including shoes, jewelry, trims, everything, is all made entirely of simple paper.
Paper Art Fashions
Fashions Á La Mode
The show begins with works from her first series entitled Fashions á la Mode. It was a collaboration with Canadian costume designer, Rita Brown. This ambitious collection seeks to interpret over 300 years of historical style from Elizabeth I to Coco Chanel. Since I am a huge fan of art, fashion, and history, this exhibit appealed to me on every level.
Details like lace, embroidery, and beading are all stunningly rendered in paper.
Splendors Of The Medici
Some of the most elaborate and ornate costumes come from De Borchgrave’s series Splendors Of The Medici, inspired by Renaissance paintings of the infamous family. These costumes dazzle with realistic renderings of pearls, lace, gold brocade, jewelry, and even shoes.
Special details of the paper art fashions in the Medici series include crowns, earrings, necklaces, and wigs.
Les Ballet Russes
The exhibit also has pieces from her latest collection which was inspired by modernist costumes designed for the famed ballet company, Les Ballet Russes, by artists like Picasso, Bakst, and Matisse.
House Of Fortuny and Silk Road Textiles
Other paper art fashions displayed in the exhibit include designs by the famous Spanish Design House Of Fortuny as well as a series of colorful kaftans inspired but the Silk Road textiles of Central Asia.
While each costume is a beautiful work of art in its own right, what is truly amazing is that every piece of “clothing” starts out with the same plain white paper measuring 3.3 feet by 4.9 feet. By painting, pleating, gluing, and a myriad of other techniques, De Borchgrave seems to have magically transformed ordinary paper into satin, silk, brocade, lace, and gauze fabric. The exhibit is a feast for the eyes and a lot of fun.
“Fashioning Art From Paper” will be on display at the Frick Museum in Pittsburgh until January 6, 2019. If you find yourself in the Pittsburgh area before then, I highly recommend the exhibit.
Books On The Art Of Isabelle Borchgrave
These books about Isabelle de Borchgrave’s work would make great Christmas gifts for the art or fashion lover on your list:
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Fascinating blog post. Thank you. Unfortunately, no pictures came up when I looked at your web page, but the pictures did come through in your email. Truly stunning.
Thanks so much for your comment, Alexandra, and for letting me know about the glitch on my website. Every now and then WordPress goes berserk and screws up the pics on my posts. I think the issue has been fixed. Thanks again for the heads up. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Lisa,
That was amazing! Looking through the pictures and remembering they are paper was astonishing. Do you know if this exhibit is traveling.
Thank you for sharing,
Deborah
Thanks, Deborah. The exhibit has been traveling but I believe that after it goes to Naples Florida in February, it will no longer be touring in the states.
Lisa, your comments were soooo much better than our docent at the show!! Thanks I enjoyed this the 2nd time around more!
So glad you enjoyed the post. I did a lot of research for it, so it’s gratifying when people appreciate it. It was particularly fascinating to me to discover that all those dressed started out as plain white sheets of paper. Who knew? Thanks for commenting. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
So glad to see this post shared on NOTP – I have the booklet from the Frick sitting on my coffee table right now and am planning to go.
Thanks so much for commenting. I know that you will really enjoy this truly amazing exhibit.
Just spectacular. And, as a huge Catherine de Medici fan, I was happy to see her family mentioned. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks very much for your comment. The Medicis are truly a fascinating family.
OH MY GOSH I saw those paper dresses once and couldn’t believe they were paper
I purchased the blue book The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave and still love looking through it. I’ll go get it out again now.
Thanks so much for your comment. I am glad you had the opportunity to see De Borchgrave’s exhibit for yourself. It is such a fun show and, as you know, her dresses really do look like real fabric even when viewed up close and in person.
These are absolutely amazing! I do some costuming with fabric. Just WOW. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for commenting. I really appreciate it!
Wow! Wow! and Wow! Beautifully photographed and curated post. Hopped over from Wow Us Wednesdays. Now on to explore your blog. Thanks you so much for taking the time to share this exhibit, which will probably never make it to New Mexico.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Heather. I am so glad you enjoyed the post and I hope you find other posts of interest to you on my blog.
Do you live in Pittsburgh? Because I do, and I saw the exhibit in November with three friends. Afterwards we had a fabulous lunch at the cafe. We loved the exhibit and had a wonderful day. But, I was only able to take three pictures as they were telling us we weren’t allowed. It was fun revisiting it with you.
Thanks for commenting, Debbee. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh but now live in North Carolina. I was in Pittsburgh visiting family when I had the opportunity to view the paper fashion exhibit. I am happy you enjoyed my post. It really was a remarkable show. Happy Holidays!