If Petrarch wanted to express his gratitude, he might write someone a sonnet; Emerson, a short story. Charles James, on the other hand, might design someone a dress, much like he did for Washington, DC socialite Sidney Kent Legare. James, a British-American designer who Christian Dior once credited with inspiring “The New Look,” approached fashion in the same way brilliant artisans approach a canvas. “A great designer does not seek acceptance,” James is quoted as saying in one of 18 signature Metropolitan panels. “He challenges popularity and by the force of his convictions renders popular in the end what the public hates at first sight.”
Charles James, curated in conjunction with the newly-minted Anna Wintour Costume Center, furthers the Met’s ongoing campaign to meld the worlds of art and fashion. Unlike 2013’s Punk: Chaos to Couture – a wildly popular exhibit which contrived a certain necessary grit – Charles James remains exquisitely resplendent … engaging, bare and honest throughout.
(Charles James: Beyond Fashion continues at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through August 10th. Free with suggested donation. 5th Avenue @ 82nd Street.)
Five More For The Offing:
- In a World of Their Own: Coney Island Photographs by Aaron Rose @ The Museum of The City of New York ($10 general admission, through 8/3, 1220 5th Avenue @ 103rd Street)
- Paintings & Drawings by Robert De Niro, Sr. @ DC Moore Gallery (Free, through 7/11, 535 West 22nd Street)
- Mark Cohen @ The Danziger Gallery (Free, through 6/20, 527 West 23rd Street)
- Theater and Orchestra Paintings by Silke Schoener @ Dillon Gallery (Free, through 6/11, 555 West 25th Street)
- Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Harmony Korine, Robert Rauschenberg, Julian Schnabel, Rudolf Stingel, Franz West @ Gagosian Gallery (Free, through 7/18, 555 West 24th Street)