PART 2 - David Bowie IS

Picture of advertising poster
taken outside of AGO.
David Bowie, 1973
as Aladdin Sane.





While there were many facets to the Bowie exhibit, I have put most of the emphasis in my blog posts on the costume and textile aspects of the show.  There is a great deal online regarding the exhibit and I will add some links at the end of the last posting so you can follow up on further information if you wish to.

Although there were some integral designers featured in the exhibit, David Bowie himself designed or had a hand in the designing process for several of his stage outfits.  He also was the creative director of both the visual and musical elements of his work.  In an interview with William Burroughs in 1974, Burroughs asked Bowie " Do you do all your designs yourself?"  To which Bowie replied " Yes, I have to take control myself. I can't let anybody else do anything, for I find that I can do things better for me." 

From the Exhibit:
  "His influence on contemporary culture is arguably greater than any member of his generation.  His contribution to music, performance, fashion and design are milestones of our era.
    David Bowie showed us we could be who we wanted to be. In the 70's he promoted individualism and freedom of sexuality. He continues to inspire artists, designers, musicians and many followers with his distinctive persona and style. "





I was surprised to see how many of Bowie's early stage suits were made from quilted material or had quilting elements within the designs. Although unique at the time, they must have been exceedingly hot under the stage lighting.  Two suits in particular stood out in the exhibit.

The first was  the blue, red and gold 2 piece suit created by Freddie Burretti for the Ziggy Stardust Tour and Bowie's  " Starman" performance on Top of the Pops in 1972.





 






You can see in the close up photo that the fabric is obviously commercially quilted as opposed to hand or
machine designed quilting.








The second quilted suit was designed by Bowie himself and was the green and white suit he wore on the cover of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust album.









Freddie Burretti cut the pattern and the clothing was sewn by Burretti and Sue Front, who baby sat for the Bowies.  David found the geometric dark green patterned on white fabric at a street market in London.




                                                           

Again, as you can see in the close up, the fabric appears to be commercially quilted.







Interestingly enough, the suit was later tinted turquoise by the album's graphic designer.

Freddie Burretti, who designed many of Bowie's clothes, both onstage and off met David at the Sombrero, a gay bar in Kensington ( London).  Freddie was a young tailor and fashion student who worked for a Greek tailor on the King's Road.  He was a dapper and strikingly handsome chap himself.

Burretti designed the early Ziggy Stardust costumes as well as signature suits that Bowie wore off stage. Bowie collaborated on several designs with Burretti and admitted that their earlier designs were influenced by the film, A Clockwork Orange.



There is no doubt that David Bowie had a wonderful slim line physique which was a designer's dream.  The beautifully tailored suits fit him like a dream!  On display in the exhibit was an unfinished jacket by Burretti which showed off some of the inner workings of the design.  Along side it was Burretti's measurement book opened to the David Bowie page.  For the real Bowie afficionados  I have copied the details exactly from his book for you:

Chest          34 1/2 "                                    
Waist          26 1/2                                      
Seat            35 1/2                                     
Shoulder     6                                                  
Sleeve 1      24 1/2                                          
Sleeve2       32                                                                                                                                                                                                             
1/2 back      8 1/2
Cross back  14
Inside leg     35
Outside leg  45
Thigh           19
Wrist            8
Biceps          11 1/2                               
Neck             14                                                                      
Nat waist      16
Jkt length      29
D.S.               8

After being spell bound by so many fashion statements, we wandered along to a rather magical room.  There were a couple more fashion mannequins positioned as you walked in but your eyes immediately focussed on a large black and white floor that was divided into 9 carpetted squares and surrounded by a tiled walkway. On the wall directly in front of those squares were 9 large monitors.  When you stood on a particular square on the floor, a monitor that was somehow electronically configured to that floor square, would suddenly flash on and play a video of David Bowie performing one of his hit songs.  When you moved to a different square, your headphones would kick in another song and the monitor associated with that square would come on.  It was rather like a nerdy tic tac toe game and quite enjoyable. We found ourselves compelled to stay there for a while and play like little kids jumping from one square to another. Many other adults joined in the game and the comraderie was exceptional. Great stuff!






To complete Part 2 of the Bowie postings, I will leave you with a very striking crimson suit created by Diana Moseley in 1987  for The Glass Spider Tour.  Diana was the personal costume designer to Freddie Mercury of the rock group Queen as well as a collaborator and friend to Bowie. Unfortunately, there was not much information forthcoming re the design or fabrics at the exhibit or online but the cut and styling was exquisite. The red suede shoes with silver toes and heel caps complimented it perfectly too.  Sadly,no info on them either.

                                                       


 







       Detail, red suit















                                          

 

David Bowie IS - PART 1

January 8, 2014                                            As promised for Carol in Anglesey, Wales


Happy 66th Birthday David Bowie!


What better day than to finally kick off my review and stories about the amazing David Bowie exhibit I experienced in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It's been a while in the works due to other obligations outside of blogging ( as further posts will attest to ) but I've finally had a chance to sit down and go through the 21 pages of hand written notes I took, assorted diagrams, details and photos.  However, photos are limited, borrowed or linked to,  due to the fact that cameras were not allowed inside the exhibit.

The exhibit entitled " David Bowie Is " was on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, fondly referred to as The V & A,  in London, England.  The exhibit in the UK was a smash hit and sold out - over 500,000 people attended.  It was in fact so popular,  they decided to create a BBC TV documentary covering it,  due to the thousands of people expressing disappointment at not being able to secure tickets.

 I was on a wait list for three months to get first dibs on tickets.The tickets were timed admission and we were to be there for 12:30 pm.

The exhibit housed more than 300 objects ( including 50 stage costumes), photographs, hand written lyrics and set lists, film, music videos, set designs, instruments, album artwork and Bowie's own sketches and diary entries. The Bowie Archives itself houses some 75,000 objects and the V & A were given unprecedented access to it.
The co-curator at the V & A, Victoria Broackes, explained that the idea behind the exhibit was to " result in a multi-sensory collision of art, music and pop culture" and in that regard, they succeeded magnificently!

I'll be honest in that I was never a die hard Bowie music fan, although  I did LIKE his music and I was privy to a concert of his in the UK but I was more intrigued by the man himself, his chameleon-like persona,  his remarkable costumes and trendy off stage clothing.  Moreover, I was taken by what appeared to be his fearless expression of individuality and his flagrant openness in flouting his sexual orientation. He was a breath of fresh air , a trend setter and a fascinating phenomenon - one to be watched!

Arriving at the AGO in a timely manner, we were very impressed with the overall organization of the exhibit and the efficiency and courtesy of the staff.  There were very little wait times and no major line ups due to the advance set times of admission, the screening and processing of tickets was handled quickly and in orderly fashion. Included in the price of the tickets was an audio headset in which to follow the exhibit which proved to be a boon once we got into the thick of things.  I'm still in awe of the wonder of it all and the electronic particulars and top notch up to the minute details.

My first view of what was to be, were the very dark ominous doors leading to the first room of the exhibits.

But outside of those doors stood a mannequin wearing the fabulous " Tokyo Pop" jumpsuit -  the zig zag stitched Ziggy Stardust bodysuit by Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto, which was created for the Aladdin Sane tour, 1973. An early indication indeed of the influence of Japonism on Bowie's stage costuming.

It was so much bulkier and heavier than I had envisioned in photographs. You could almost feel the weight of the heavy black vinyl, just looking at it.  It must have felt like being in a sauna under stage lighting. The design was based on a traditional Japanese workman's costume initially.
Bowie's comments on Yamamoto's masterpiece:
" It was everything I wanted - outrageous, provocative and unbelievably hot to wear under the lights" .
    Yamamoto described his liason with Bowie thus :
" It was David Bowie's Western aesthetic and my Eastern aesthetic crashing headlong."




We entered the first room of the exhibit which was filled with early '60's memorabilia.  Bowie's early forays into bands and most interesting conversations by Bowie himself which suddenly popped into our headsets and frankly freaked us out at first.  You just didn't expect to suddenly hear the man's voice explaining his early days.  Everything was set up electronically and the displays were interactive with your headsets, so whatever position you were in facing a display, suddenly the head set would connect, and music would kick in applicable to the display or  a very sexy Englishman would be talking in your ear!  DAVID BOWIE would be talking in your ear! It took one aback a bit at first as you did not control the headset, so you could be happily lost in thought taking in a display and suddenly a man's earthy voice would start taking over your headspace. Bowie talked about his early days and trying to be " with it". He would ride the trains and put paperback books into his suit and coat pockets to show off his esteemed reading material.  At first, he really did not have a clue about them and just thought it looked trendy and cool, but as time went on he actually came around and started to read the books, which fascinated him. He commented that " I saw myself as trendy but not as a trend. I only wanted to be the instigator of new ideas."
The reading list of Bowie's 100 must read books was on display and you can ready more about that here:

http://www.antiquiet.com/music/2013/10/david-bowie-reveals-100-must-read-books-and-plans-the-next-day-extra/

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the entire exhibition was Bowie's collaboration with other artists and designers in fashion, graphics, theatre, art and film. 
Having spent time in England, I recognized so many names that were in their infancy  and are now major players in their respective fields or who became established and have since passed on. Name in point - Alexander McQueen.  It seems the musicians, artists and designers of that time were all in the beginning stages of their careers and it was fascinating to see the interaction and friendships amongst them as they set out to establish themselves.

The famous Union Jack coat made by McQueen for the Earthling Tour of 1997 was on full display at the AGO. It combined elements of Classic British tailoring with an iconoclastic punk aesthetic. And without a doubt, Alexander McQueen was a master tailor. I could look at his workmanship for hours on end.  It is awesome to see in the flesh.







Front and rear views of the infamous Union Jack coat by Alexander McQueen.

 

 

 

Accompanying the coat on display and most endearing was a hand written note from Alexander McQueen to David Bowie which read:

" David:  Sketches are coming ASAP - sorry for the delay.  I will have you a package Wed.  Love, Lee ( and then McQueen's signature) ."

Lee was the name Alexander McQueen was known by to his friends and family.

( * Note: Alexander McQueen sadly committed suicide on February 11, 2010, a week after his beloved Mother died from cancer.  )


PART TWO - to come

 

NEW YEAR GREETINGS 2014

      Sending all best wishes for good health, happiness
      and a very creative 2014 to you all. 

      Stitching with Attitude will resume posting the
      week of January 6th.

      Lots to look forward to!