FASHION HIGHLIGHTS
PORTRAIT// Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess 25/01/2012
This weekend was the very last to attend the Grace Kelly exhibit at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. We spent an evening at the exhibit swooning over all the gorgeous clothes and jewels on display that once belonged to the most fashionable princess before Kate Middleton was even a thing - and we can still make a case for Grace today.
To celebrate her legendary style in addition to the exhibit, TIFF ran screenings of her Hitchcock films, invited fans to participate in a Grace Kelly Style Challenge and a round table talk with notable fashion icon, Jeanne Beker.
Grace Kelly is so relevant amidst the current atmosphere of vintage revival. Her style, at the time, was unattainable. She was a patron of couture houses and kept her look either extravagant or simply elegant. Her Christian Dior pieces were quite avant-garde with sequins, jewel encrusted sleeves, psychedelic colours and one number in particular, with the most breathtaking headpiece (she wore this number to a costume ball). Other pieces by Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Helen Rose carry with them the roots of the couture tradition.Perhaps our favourite piece was the Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian inspired dress from 1965.
The exhibit also displays a replica of her wedding dress and the crown jewel tiara she wore on that most memorable day - heavenly. All her jewels are from Van Cleef and Arpels and they are absolutely stunning. The tiara has enough diamonds to keep any woman from dreaming. Her broaches, earrings and rings are colourful pieces with emeralds and sapphires set as cute do-do birds and poodles. The jewel case had it’s own security guard on watch at all times. We tried to crack a joke with him - unsuccessful.
The most coveted piece in the entire exhibit, however, had to be the original Kelly bag on display with the prim little Dior number with matching shoes and gloves. Robert Dumas designed the first Kelly bag (not under that name) in the 1930s. Grace Kelly owned a few of these bags and propelled the style into instantaneous fame after being photographed with it stepping out of a car. The picture appeared in Life magazine and became the most famous bag in history. Princess Grace is said to have used the bag to conceal her pregnancy. It’s trapezoid shape fits just-so over the belly. Little did she know that by hiding her bump and showcasing the bag she would make fashion history as the whole world began to call that trapezoid bag the “Kelly” bag after her.
Our one qualm with the exhibit are the missing Hitchcock dresses. Grace Kelly wore the most beautiful pieces in her movies with Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. A particular favourite being the dress she carefully unfolds out of a small portable trunk-like bag when she arrives at Jimmy Stewart’s house for a sleep-over in Rear Window (1954). A gorgeous ballgown in a trunk is a foreign decadence to us women today and it would have been sweetly satisfying to see the dress in person. Alas, it remains a silver screen enigma.
-- Justine Iaboni
To celebrate her legendary style in addition to the exhibit, TIFF ran screenings of her Hitchcock films, invited fans to participate in a Grace Kelly Style Challenge and a round table talk with notable fashion icon, Jeanne Beker.
Dior dress worn by the Princess (1969). image source torontolife.com
Grace Kelly is so relevant amidst the current atmosphere of vintage revival. Her style, at the time, was unattainable. She was a patron of couture houses and kept her look either extravagant or simply elegant. Her Christian Dior pieces were quite avant-garde with sequins, jewel encrusted sleeves, psychedelic colours and one number in particular, with the most breathtaking headpiece (she wore this number to a costume ball). Other pieces by Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Helen Rose carry with them the roots of the couture tradition.Perhaps our favourite piece was the Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian inspired dress from 1965.
Grace Kelly wearing the original YSL mondrian dress with poodle broach.
The exhibit also displays a replica of her wedding dress and the crown jewel tiara she wore on that most memorable day - heavenly. All her jewels are from Van Cleef and Arpels and they are absolutely stunning. The tiara has enough diamonds to keep any woman from dreaming. Her broaches, earrings and rings are colourful pieces with emeralds and sapphires set as cute do-do birds and poodles. The jewel case had it’s own security guard on watch at all times. We tried to crack a joke with him - unsuccessful.
Jewels on display at TIFF Bell Lightbox
The famous photograph from LIFE Magazine of Princess Grace with her Kelly bag. image source (tweedandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com)
The most coveted piece in the entire exhibit, however, had to be the original Kelly bag on display with the prim little Dior number with matching shoes and gloves. Robert Dumas designed the first Kelly bag (not under that name) in the 1930s. Grace Kelly owned a few of these bags and propelled the style into instantaneous fame after being photographed with it stepping out of a car. The picture appeared in Life magazine and became the most famous bag in history. Princess Grace is said to have used the bag to conceal her pregnancy. It’s trapezoid shape fits just-so over the belly. Little did she know that by hiding her bump and showcasing the bag she would make fashion history as the whole world began to call that trapezoid bag the “Kelly” bag after her.
The famous dress from Rear Window. image source thefabcorner.com
Our one qualm with the exhibit are the missing Hitchcock dresses. Grace Kelly wore the most beautiful pieces in her movies with Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. A particular favourite being the dress she carefully unfolds out of a small portable trunk-like bag when she arrives at Jimmy Stewart’s house for a sleep-over in Rear Window (1954). A gorgeous ballgown in a trunk is a foreign decadence to us women today and it would have been sweetly satisfying to see the dress in person. Alas, it remains a silver screen enigma.
-- Justine Iaboni
