‘Heavenly Bodies’ at the Met shows just how much fashion and Catholicism have in common

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canada goose outlet london NEW YORK On the lower level of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the chasuble of Pope Pius IX is spread canada goose uk black friday out in all its regal splendor. It’s stitched from white silk, embroidered with gold and silver thread, and embellished with gold paillettes. canada goose outlet london

canada goose outlet in montreal The canada goose uk shop piece is one of several luxuriously crafted papal vestments on loan canada goose coats from the Vatican for the Costume Institute’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” which runs Canada Goose Parka through Oct. 8. Its extravagance is captivating and even a bit jarring in light of James 4:10: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” canada goose outlet in montreal

canada goose outlet in new york Pius IX’s tiara, a haydar-furniture gift from Queen Isabella II of Spain. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Collection of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, Papal Sacristy) canada goose outlet in new york

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canada goose outlet montreal The exhibition notes explain the papal extravagances thusly: “Splendor is seen as a symbolic assertion of divine transcendence. Their opulent materials and ornate, intricate embroideries.. communicate the detachment of sacred worship from everyday life.” canada goose outlet montreal

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canada goose outlet boston “Heavenly Bodies” explores the relationship between the Catholic Church and the inspiration the fashion industry takes from it. Many of the designers whose work is represented in the exhibition, such as Gianni Versace, Thom Browne, Domenico Canada Goose Online Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, have a personal connection to Catholicism. All of the featured designers found aesthetic fodder in the garb, art or rituals that can be traced to the Catholic Church. They have riffed on nuns’ habits and the cloaks of friars, the red vestments of cardinals and the simple cassocks of priests. They have mimicked the gilding of Vatican treasures, looked to the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel and the altarpieces of cathedrals. They have even dabbled in the chain mail worn during the Crusades. canada goose outlet boston

canada goose outlet official Although the fashion designers drew some disapproving comments from Catholics when these collections initially debuted, in the context of the exhibition, the few complaints Canada Goose Jackets felt more perfunctory than heartfelt. (Mostly they were connected to the opening night gala and too many faux pope hats and crowns on the red carpet.) After all, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, attended the celebrity drenched benefit celebrating the opening. The question running throughout the show is not canada goose factory sale whether canada goose clearance fashion blasphemes religion, but just canada goose uk outlet how much of church orthodoxy is bound up in appearances. If spirituality is defined by our ability to consider our worth beyond the realm of the material, why is there so Canada Goose Coats On Sale much glittering, gilded stuff connected to the Church? How can there be so much fashion fodder here? canada goose outlet official

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canada goose womens outlet Designer versions buy canada goose jacket cheap of the nun’s habit on view at the Met Fifth Avenue. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) canada goose womens outlet

canada goose outlet canada The Church’s aesthetics blend seamlessly into the varied points of view of each design house while always remaining distinctive. Catholicism is universal but also discrete. The list of designers who have considered the nun’s habit is long. For an industry often derided for sexualizing women’s bodies, putting them on display or viewing them only through the male gaze, these austere, buttoned up garments are a striking rebuke to that argument. They’re a study in control and calm. Browne’s vision of a nun’s habit is austere and refined and incorporates black mink. Dolce Gabbana’s more tailored version toys with the notion of forbidden or rejected desire. canada goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet mall Catholicism and religion in general tends to cast women in opposing roles saint or slut, pious or not and those templates form an ongoing tug of war that fashion energetically explores in the context of full seasonal collections or even in a single garment. A billowing crimson Valentino gown on display is an example of that dialogue between sexual frisson and modesty: It is almost monastic in its simplicity but subverts that asceticism with a plunging, U shaped neckline. canada goose outlet mall

canada goose jacket outlet Fashion graces a courtyard in the “Heavenly Bodies” exhibition at the Cloisters. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) canada goose jacket outlet

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canada goose outlet reviews It took tremendous patience and coaxing by Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge, to persuade the Vatican Canada Goose sale bureaucracy to lend pieces from its collection to the Met. Part of its willingness had to do with Bolton’s agreeing to separate the papal attire from the fashion frocks, the sacred from the profane. canada goose outlet reviews

canada goose outlet florida The geographic distance is polite, but ultimately meaningless. Liturgical vestments are still, ultimately, clothes. And the style of those clothes raise certain questions. Is extravagance in the service of religion more palatable than when it’s in service buy canada goose jacket to beauty, art or humankind? Does canada goose clearance sale God look more kindly upon a loyal servant bedazzled in diamonds than one in simple black wool? Is a veiled woman inherently more devout than one whose decolletage sweeps low? canada goose outlet florida

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canada goose outlet store montreal The exhibition is the largest the Costume Institute has ever mounted based on its footprint. It moves upstairs from the Anna Wintour Costume Center to the medieval and byzantine galleries at the Met Fifth Avenue and extends to the Met Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. There is no chronological order and no clearly defined path through the galleries. No dramatic holograms or Hollywood installations pull the viewer along. It’s easy to double back over previously viewed artifacts or fail to meander around cheap canada goose uk a corner and miss an entire section. And if a guest fails to glance skyward, there are a host of gold metal dresses by Gianni Versace that would be missed. canada goose outlet store montreal

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canada goose outlet uk The part of the exhibition housed on Fifth Avenue is a study in hierarchies, paternalism and duty. The garments are beautiful but the experience is cold. For an exhibition essentially rooted in the human ache to lead a more godly existence, there is little sense of spirituality here, no indication of the internal monologue that one presumes is part of the religious experience. Is it only the rituals of the Church that keep designers so engaged? Or is there something more profound that keeps them enthralled? canada goose outlet uk

canada goose outlet online The exhibition comes closer to answering those questions at the Met Cloisters. The garments on display there speak in a more pronounced way to religion’s humanity. There’s less emphasis on the glories of the Church; the monastic orders are in the spotlight instead of the Vatican bureaucracy. canada goose outlet online

canada goose outlet in canada canada goose outlet store Visitors are invited to stroll through a courtyard and into intimate chapels where the quiet work of designers such as Rick Owens, Madame Grs and Geoffrey Beene are on display. Their work is notable for its restraint, the rigor of the silhouettes and their cleansing simplicity. There is elegance in their reserve and confidence uk canada goose in their humility. canada goose outlet in canada

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