Ready to Watch
Ten years ago, few museumgoers paid attention to fashion exhibits. But thanks to a growing obsession with style — fueled by red carpet coverage and other media attention — fashion as art is drawing record crowds, as well as the paparazzi, who swarm to exhibit openings to get a glimpse of attendees like Cameron Diaz and the Olsen twins. The Philadelphia Museum of Art joined the red carpet set this past fall with the addition of the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, which houses the museum’s costume and textile collection — one of the largest in the world.
Renovated and redesigned by Gluckman Mayner Architects — the masterminds behind Spain’s Picasso Museum — the Perelman Building is a lavishly embellished art deco structure that once housed an insurance company. Inside, three floors and 125,000 square feet of light-filled galleries will bring a large percentage of the museum’s fashion collections out of storage and into public view. One of the opening exhibits, A Passion for Perfection, showcases 50 designs from three Philadelphia talents — James Galanos, Gustave Tassell, and Ralph Rucci — as well as assorted memorabilia. A new library, conservation lab, study center, and archive in the Perelman Building will educate fashion scholars on the subject’s every wrinkle, from Armani to Zac Posen.
Other galleries in the new wing highlight prints, drawings, and photographs. Current exhibits feature the work of photographer Alfred Stieglitz; pieces from the museum’s sculpture collection, including works by Pablo Picasso and Richard Long; modern decorative art like Ettore Sottsass’ “Casablanca” sideboard; and rare books and manuscripts.
The fashion exhibit, A Passion for Perfection, runs through March 9, 2008. The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, 2525 Pennsylvania Ave., Philadelphia, 215.763.8100; philamuseum.org
Photo caption: Fashions on display include (from left) an evening dress by Ralph Rucci, dresses and a coat by James Galanos, and a hooded wedding dress by Gustave Tassell.
— Kathleen Beckett
