With outposts in the U.S. and abroad, representatives from the Savannah College of Art and Design touched down in New York Tuesday to offer a preview of what visitors can find in its museums.
In advance of Wednesday’s media event at The Marlton Hotel, Rafael Gomes, creative director of SCAD Fash, detailed what’s on the calendar. On Aug. 10, “The Blonds: Glamour, Fashion, Fantasy” will bow at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta. Running through Jan. 28, the exhibition will highlight the New York-based designers’ raucous glamour and singular decadence.
The company is run by designer Philippe Blond and creative director David Blond. Gomes has been keeping an eye on The Blonds “for a very long time,” and said his first visit to their Midtown studio left him speechless due to the amount of elaborate work, especially the embroidery.
Then and there, Gomes decided that a show of their work was needed, because it would be so inspirational to SCAD students and visitors. “It’s really couture. I was so surprised by the amount of work on those garments and the craftsmanship,” he said. “I knew the pieces from online and from fashion shows. But when I saw them close up and saw the attention to detail, I was speechless about how well-made it was.”
The upcoming exhibition is the first one to be devoted to the New York company. The Blonds’ big-name clientele was another attraction. SCAD Fash will display items that were once worn by Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez and Rihanna, according to Gomes. Although he has worked with many designers, Gomes said The Blonds’ made him realize, “Wow! This is really special.”
Acknowledging that The Blonds are a bit of a throwback and don’t seem to get a lot of attention, Gomes said, “I hope that we can help to change that.” Last fall the designers published a book that shares the same news of the upcoming exhibition.
To draw attention to how well-constructed their designs are, some styles will be on view inside out “to teach students about quality to give them a better idea of what’s prêt-à-porter, couture and semicouture. It will be very interesting for our interns and fashion students to see these pieces up close,” Gomes said.
The Blonds were expected at this morning’s media preview in New York and they will fly to Atlanta next month to help with the installation and to attend the grand opening. Their guidance will be welcome, especially regarding the extravagant Cleopatra-inspired ensemble designed by The Blonds for Billy Porter for the 2019 The Met Gala inspired by “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” which is particularly heavy, according to Gomes.
Traveling to New York allows Gomes, curators and other SCAD staffers to connect with international media and celebrate the Blonds in their base city. Attendees will also learn about the “Ellen von Unwerth: This Side of Paradise” show that is on view until Jan. 7 at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta. The photographer was on hand for the opening in May, as was the model Coco Rocha.
Earlier this month “Christian Lacroix Habille Peer Gynt pour la Comédie-Française” debuted at SCAD Fash in Lacoste, France. Visitors there will feel as though they are meandering through Henrik Ibsen’s acclaimed play by the same name and features an assortment of costumes. That one had been in the works since 2018 or 2019, but plans were shelved temporarily during the pandemic. The designer’s experience in theater, opera and ballet includes work for the Opéra Garnier, the Metropolitan Opera and American Ballet Theatre. “We’ve worked with costumes before, but these costumes were really Lacroix. There was so much put into them like his fashion. They are so rich in details that you could look at them for hours and hours,” Gomes said.
In addition, the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah unveiled “Likewise: Artists Portraying Artists,” which will run through Dec. 18. The featured paintings and photographs show various creative figures individually or with others in scenes that represent how their daily lives and practices overlap. Contemporary artists Tyler Mitchell, Erwin Wurm, Nina Chanel Abney, Yu Hong, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, Nevin Aladag and Xiwen Zhu are among those whose work will be showcased.
In between his SCAD commitments, Gomes hopes to visit the Brooklyn Museum’s “Africa Fashion” exhibition. “Of course, I saw the Karl Lagerfeld show three times,” referring to the recently closed “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The Museum at FIT is also on his check list.