Published: Tue 12 Mar 2013 at 16:10
Updated: Tue 12 Mar 2013 at 16:11
Fashion and the arts are two big reasons for booking cheap flights to Paris, but a new exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum bundles them together under one big roof.
Sadly, Paris Fashion Week is at an end, but there will be lots of new designs arriving at the designer stores of the Triange d'Or and Rue Saint Honoré in the aftermath and, and maybe even a few last season bargains on the “réduit” racks too. For fashion students, however, the ultimate city break will probably be a visit to the ‘Fashioning Fashion’ exhibition at the Musée de la Mode et du Textiles (Museum of Fashion and Textiles), part of the Museum of Decorative Arts at the Louvre, which runs until April 2.
Considering how catwalk themes are often heavily influenced by the retrospective of design, Fashioning Fashion is particularly apt, focusing on key changes in European styles between 1700 and 1915. Displays probe the changing face of fashion history in terms of fabrics, silhouettes, shapes and accessories, demonstrating the influence of the flamboyant 18th Century European courts on modern catwalk designers, and how major events like WWI affected clothing styles.
Another fashion-inspired exhibition ending in April is ‘Arrrgh! Monsters in Fashion’, which looks at the grotesque and monstrous creations that have invaded the catwalks over the years. This is on at the Gaîté Lyrique Theatre until April 7.
Finally, there’s ‘Mannequin - le corps de la mode’, a fascinating exhibition tracing the history of fashion modelling. It is at the City of Fashion and Design until May 19. Students – and others - can book cheap flights to Paris through Jet2.com.
