Marc Bohan for Christian Dior evening
dress, 1974. Worn by New York
socialite Brooke Astor. On loan from
the Historic Costume & Textiles
Collection at The Ohio State University.
Fourth of July fireworks needn’t be your only source for sparkle and shimmer this holiday weekend.
Kleibacker’s Class Act: Storied Designers/Women of Note, on view through July 5 at the Columbus Museum of Art, celebrates women of influence and the elegant, painstakingly-detailed clothing they’ve worn on the world’s stage.
Charles Kleibacker, renowned fashion designer and CMA’s adjunct curator of design, said he hopes visitors realize that “clothing of a special quality – a superb fabric, a superb construction, a garment that is going to last” is art in and of itself.
Among the exhibit’s 43 garments are a two-piece Chanel suit worn by famed editrix and author Helen Gurley Brown; a short, silk chiffon evening dress worn by Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller; a Versace dress with metallic thread worn by Farrah Fawcett; and the sample for a pant-and-tunic ensemble by Isabel Toledo that First Lady Michelle Obama wore last year. (Toledo also designed the lemongrass coat and dress Obama wore on Inauguration Day.)
Yves Saint Laurent evening dress, 1990s.
Worn by New York socialite Nan Kempner.
Kleibacker Historic Collection.
Other featured garments − ranging from capes and caftans to ball gowns and bolero jackets− are the work of celebrated designers, including Giorgio Armani, Carolina Herrera, Marc Bohan for Christian Dior and Halston, and have exceptional details, like hand-knitted fringe, hand-sewn sequins and embroidered French lace.
Kleibacker, who opened his own studio in 1960, also has a garment in the exhibit − a seemingly simple, but beautiful black evening dress made of wool crepe and silk chiffon that dates back to the mid-1970s. It was worn by, and a gift of, Mrs. Christopher L. Moseley.
As Kleibacker explained, many of his garments are cut on the bias, meaning fabric is cut across the grain, which causes the material to fall into a smooth, vertical drape. Though the bias cut affords a better fit and greater ease of movement, it also requires outstanding engineering skills − skills that eventually earned Kleibacker the moniker “Master of the Bias.” (More on him later.)
Madame Gres caftan, 1982. On loan from the Historic
Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University.
Hundreds of people have viewed Class Act, housed in the museum’s European wing, since its debut April 23. And to Kleibacker’s surprise, some of the most intrigued visitors have been children.
Kleibacker assumed women with the means to buy high-end clothing would appreciate the exhibit most. “But the docents have told me a lot of young girls, as young as five and six, have responded very positively to it,” he says.
With the exception of six garments, the clothing featured in Class Act is on loan from the Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State University.
The HCTC is home to nearly 12,000 holdings, including clothing designed by Madeleine Vionnet − a Kleibacker favorite and proof, he says, that OSU’s collection is superior to those at most other institutions of higher learning.
Other Kleibacker favorites, words of advice, etc. are listed below.
- Favorite color? Black.
- Favorite artist? Picasso.
- Favorite place to have a drink? The bar at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and Rigsby’s in Columbus.
- Dream vacation spot? Paris.
- What are you most vain about? My hands. I always thought they were the best part of my anatomy. And they’ve served me well.
- Favorite fashion trend of all time? The bias cut from Madeleine Vionnet.
- If you could come back as any designer –dead or alive− who would it be? Isabel Toledo and Ralph Rucci.
- Name one thing every woman should have in her closet? A little black dress.
A piece of fashion advice for the locals? Be more experimental. Consider dressing to fit the occasion more.
For museum hours and additional information on Class Act, visit ColumbusMuseum.org.