Museum Exhibit

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She’s long been a source of inspiration of some of fashion’s top designers, and a new art exhibit in the heart of Paris is setting out to examine Kate Moss’s status as a modern-day muse. France’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs has announced plans for an exhibition dedicated entirely to British supermodel. Just yards from the Mona Lisa’s famous perch in the Louvre, the display will showcase Moss’s 19 years in the industry. Museum Director Beatrice Salmon explains the choice, saying that the museum intends to “decode the phenomenon” the supermodel has become. “This is an occasion to ask a certain number of experts in image and communications to explain why and how [Kate has] become someone the whole world knows.” As for just how involved Moss herself will be in the project, the Museum’s press officer Marie Laure Moreau says that “Kate Moss has agreed to cooperate, to collaborate on the exhibit. The show will concentrate on her life, her career — and be a celebration of her 19 years.” But will Moss be there to kick off the launch of the show, which will run from November 26, 2009 to April 25, 2010? Moreau adds laughingly, “We certainly hope so!” Tell us: Would do you think of the national museum’s choice to create an exhibit based on Kate?–Reporting by Peter Mikelbank

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From the iconic pink “Material Girl” video dress to the Jean Paul Gaultier cone bustier, over 300 of Madonna’s most personal items will go on display for a month at London’s Old Truman Brewery. In one of the biggest collections ever, fans will be able to see an array of clothing, photographs, film props, costumes and more. Some of the most memorable items will include Madonna’s gold tassled bustier, her League of Their Own baseball outfit and Evita wedding dress. The exhibition, “Simply Madonna,” which will celebrate the star’s 25-year career, will kick off Febraury 21st and end March 22nd. If you can’t wait or won’t make it to London, check out our 50 unforgetable Madonna looks. Tell us: What is your favorite Madonna look?

courtesy Costume Institute

If you love talking about fashion as much as we do, then you’ll be thrilled to hear about the new blog that has style hounds buzzing. The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute (famed for their yearly celeb-studded bash) wants our thoughts on the newest, most stunning additions to their world famous closet. Their new exhibition, called “blog.mode: addressing fashion”, features a blog that asks for viewer participation — both in the museum and on the web. Can’t visit the Institute’s priceless works of fashion in person? Then be sure to post your comments on 18th century gowns and contemporary masterpieces from designers like Olivier Theyskens and John Galliano at metmuseum.org.

Olivier Theyskens (Belgian, b. 1977) for Nina Ricci (French, founded 1932)
Evening Dress, spring/summer 2007
Steel gray heat-crinkled silk organza embroidered with linear chain stitch in white silk
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mario Grauso, 2007 (2007.376.2a, b)

While we can’t stop buzzing about all things stylish from Britain across the pond, London’s biggest art and design museum has turned the focus on us. The Victoria & Albert’s exhibit ‘New York Fashion Now’ opened on April 17, and the results are great. The fierce young N.Y.C designers — think Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, Derek Lam and Behnaz Sarafpour — are celebrated for their rapid, style-setting success throughout the exhibit. Photographs and trend-defining garments, such as Sarafpour’s fairytale gowns, exquisite tailoring from Thom Browne, Zac Posen couture and avant-garde costumes from Cristian Joy, known for style-setter client Karen O. And why New York now? “World fashion has a lot to do with celebrity and New York is the souk of the world,” Posen told PEOPLE at the exhibit’s opening. More details on ‘New York Fashion Now’ are at the museum website, or if you won’t get to London before the exhibit’s September 2 close, the V&A also released a hardcover book, New York Fashion, to coincide with the collection.

Photo: Courtesy of the V&A

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What’s the reason Gwyneth Paltrow buys — not borrows — gowns from Vivienne Westwood? Could be that one style icon recognizes another. The English-born designer Westwood claims her place in sartorial history with her retrospective, Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion, that opened at San Francisco’s de Young Museum this week. Wandering through the exhibit is like walking down King’s Road in London and soaking up the very essence of brilliant English style. You can see the God Save the Queen t-shirt that Sid Vicious famously wore, with safety pins piercing the monarch’s image; the red-and-black hunting jacket that Amanda Pays donned in Oxford Blues with a 20-year-old Rob Lowe; the designer’s trendsetting mini-crinis; imaginative gowns that graced supermodels such as Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington; and the pair of 12-inch platforms that toppled Naomi Campbell on the runway in 1993. “Even after her fall, she still walked my next show,” says Westwood. “She was backstage crying and I heard her say, ‘Oh no, I have to wear those shoes again!” Visit the museum’s site for more info on the exhibit.

Photo: Courtesy of the de Young Museum

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Were you a child of the 80’s and remember doing the “Locomotion” with your friends? Then Kylie: The Exhibition at London’s V & A museum, which opens today, is for you. Gold lamé, corsets, beads, sequins and feathers galore (and that’s just one outfit!) the exhibition is a homage to Kylie’s career, featuring costumes from the 80’s through to the present. Amongst the Dolce & Gabbana and John Galliano creations, the standouts are the pale pink Chanel gown with feathered train and diamante encrusted front that the singer wore recently for her Showgirl Homecoming Tour and the iconic screenprinted Museum Dress made in 2004. And after seeing all the miniature sparkly heels that accompany each outfit, I can confirm she is a tiny size 3. If only I could own all of these, um, in three sizes bigger — in the words of the showgirl herself, “I Should Be So Lucky” right? Click here for an interactive online preview or check out the show through June 10. — Monique Jessen

Click here to read more about Kylie Minogue and the opening of her exibit.

Photo: Courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum

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