May 21, 2020
Theatre de la Mode
Paris, 1944. Before the war was even over the French fashion industry organized themselves for a relaunch. Since luxury fabrics and other materials were not yet to be had the designers, jewelers, milliners and hairdressers collaborated with theater designers and avant garde artists to produce an elaborate fashion show in miniature. The Theatre de la Mode was a huge success – touring the world for two years before being abandoned in the basement of a US department store.
I had already been working on the Academy Award Action figures for a decade before I learned this story. It really helped bolster my confidence that my miniatures were not altogether silly. If doll-sized fashion was good enough for Hermes, Balmain and Balenciaga then its OK for me to play too.
The collection now lives at the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, Washington. Someday I will make the pilgrimage to see them. The photos in the slide show below are all from various internet sites, but there is a beautiful catalog published by the museum that has wonderful pictures along with the whole fascinating story.
www.maryhillmuseum.org
