French Fashion: Paris Exhibition Features Marie Antoinette, Audrey Hepburn

Anatomy of a Collection: A New Exhibition Features Clothes from Betty Catroux and Marie Antoinette

The French know fashion isn’t just about a label–it’s an attitude. And so, “Anatomy of a Collection,” a new exhibition at Palais Galliera open through October 23, showcases a selection of French-designed garments worn by the most fashionable women from the 18th century to the present day, such as the British actress Audrey Hepburn and Yves Saint Laurent muse Betty Catroux. From a corset belonging to Marie-Antoinette from 1785, which was preserved like a relic between the pages of an accounts book by Madame Eloffe, a fashion supplier to the French queen, to a flower sheath designed by Rei Kawakubo for the Comme des Garçons Spring 2012 “White Drama” collection, the exhibition is a testimonial of the past three centuries of Parisian fashion moments. “We hear so much about brands today. I wanted this show to tell fashion’s story through the women who wear the clothes,” says Olivier Saillard, curator of the exhibition and Palais Galliera’s director. “As Issey Miyake once said: ‘A design is fifty percent done done when it leaves the atelier and one hundred percent complete when it’s on a woman’s back.'”

May 13, 2016 3:39 pm

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Prince Claude-Lamoral II’s vest, 1685-1766. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Louis XVII’s habit, vest, and pants, circa 1792. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Empress Josephine’s embroidered gown, circa 1805. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Convict’s uniform jacket, circa 1820-1850. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Madame Gachet’s wedding gowns, 1868. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Cléo de Mérode’s jacket, circa 1896-1898. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Countess Anna Gould’s cape, circa 1900-1905, and shoes, circa 1925. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Work pants, 19th century. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Denise Poiret’s overcoat by Paul Poiret, 1922. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.

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Gala’s shoe-hat by Elsa Schiaparelli in collaboration with Salvador Dalí, Winter 1937-1938. Collection Palais Galliera, photo © Eric Poitevin/ADAGP, Paris 2016.