Both silent and secretive, determined to the point of spending her entire life in the solitude of the atelier, Madame Grès aspired to be a sculptor and did undoubtedly become the greatest sculptor of all the fashion designers of her era. Across five decades, from the 1930s to the 1970s, she persisted, with monastic dedication, in building a body of work that transcended the fleeting fashions she viewed with contempt.
Through June 30, 2023, SCAD in Atlanta has this show on One of the great masters of draped design (alongside Madeleine Vionnet). Such draping yielded a more sophisticated garment design, often reminiscent, in some ways of classical Mediterranean styles. This show includes over 60 garments collected by the designer Azzedine Alaïa who found them inspiring. As do I.
