I must apologise for the terrible quality of these photographs but it was a combination of an extremely dark exhibition and my camera battery running out ............... but I just had to share this joy with you! Being a MASSIVE Jean Paul Goude fan I was ecstatic to find out Les Arts Décoratifs is currently holding the first exhibition of his work in Paris. I have only seen items broken up in group shows and visited a Q&A at the V&A museum, so this was a real privilege to see a whole institution hand over its space to his legacy. Kim Howells and I turned up as Viktor & Rolf where leaving - a day before their show - so I think that's a sign of what a mecca this destination is! Not surprising to spot their attendance as they are probably the closest thing to his vision operating in the new generation ........... especially looking at this giant gauze crinoline which greats you at the beginning. This costume is from the parade he art directed to commemorate the bicentennial of the French Revolution when these magnificent spinning characters danced down the Champs Elysées. The original steam train carriage from the event is in the exhibition which seems like an impossible feat to fit it in The Louvre.......... but like all of his work, a consistent theme is disbelief at the trickery and enormity of the spectacle.
The retrospective consists of corridors of his sketches which is a delight to get up close to but unfortunately there are only a few physical items. His early stacked sole sneakers and platform shoes are housed in a display cabinet which is brilliant but selfishly I would like to have seen even more outfits, props and memorabilia. However, I'm not complaining at all, I'm just so chuffed that his iconic back catalog of 40 years genius image making has been pooled in one place .......... Paris ............. for now........... lets cross our fingers it takes flight further afield.
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