Birds of Paradise – Most inspiring feathers in design world
Birds of Paradise – Most inspiring feathers in design world
During the Gilded Age, the feather-bedecked hat was so ubiquitous a feature of feminine wardrobes that some bird populations were decimated.
“It’s funny to think, but the idea of animal rights in some ways started with these hats because some of these birds ended up as protected species,” says Karen Van Godstenhoven, the curator of “Birds of Paradise,” currently on view at the Mode Museum in Antwerp.
Feathers also have a deep history in the fashion industry.
In the 17th century, plumassiers (feather workers) would craft ostrich, peacock, or heron feathers into objects or accessories; exotic feather fans re-emerged on the French social scene as symbols of status and wealth early in the 19th century; the 20th century saw designers, including Yves Saint Laurent and Cristobal Balenciaga, utilizing feathers as a replacement for fur on the collars of coats or to fill entire dresses.
To pay homage to the material, a new exhibition at Antwerp’s Mode Museum (MoMu) celebrates the “elegance and refinement” of feathers and plumes in the fashion industry, highlighting facets including “refinement, luxury, freedom, modernism, femininity, lightness,” as well as themes such as “lost innocence and dark romance.”
The exhibition examines the use of feathers in fashion, from the coveted ostrich that were among the most expensive status symbols of the 1920’s, to Marlene Dietrich’s iconic swans down coat, to the use of feathers by contemporary designers such as Alexander McQueen and Ann Demeulemeester.
The use of feathers in the fashion world pass from the past century until now, with designers including Christian Dior, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Dries van Noten, and Ann Demeulemeester.
They have utilized feathers to exude modernism, glamour, drama, and seduction.
Birds in flight fascinate me. I admire eagles and falcons. I am inspired by a feather’s shape but also its color, its graphics, its weightlessness, and its engineering. It’s so elaborate. In fact I try and transpose the beauty of a bird to women.
Alexander McQueen
For KOKET this birds of paradise with their feathers are also an inspiration for our creations. We have pieces with a very unique design that can integrates the birds symbolization or even their exotic feathers.
Camilia Cabinet by KOKET
Divine Armoire by KOKET
“Birds of Paradise,” at Mode Museum Antwerp through August 24, 2014.
information via W magazine and The Daily Beast
