All facets of the Bouroullec brothers, Ronan and Erwan is on view

in their self designed retrospective at the Arts Decoratifs Nave.

Their interest in how to make sectionals in space

from the beginning through today’s designs.

Fifteen years of their work. Beautiful impressive

modular walls create a path through the exhibition.

Another Hadid structural beauty. Designed for United Nude,

this limited edition appears completely unsupported.

Hadid has used rotation molding, injection moulding

and vacuum casting making a truly revolutionary shoe like no one else.

But in the best tradition of shoemaking, the interior is lined

with leather inside a metallic chromed vinyl rubber so it is as soft as ever to wear.  Surprising comfort.

At the end of mechanical garments exhibition

“La mecanique des dessous, une histoire indiscrète de la silhouette”

with a great book by Agnes Dahan, is the magnificent

white dress by Comme des Garçons.

Francis Bacon’s famous quote  “Fashion is only the attempt to realize art

in living forms” will forever be recalled when looking at Rei Kawakubo’s great piece.

Since it opened at the beginning of July, I have wanted to go and see the “underworld”

of female and male undergarments at the Museum of Arts Decoratifs.

Moulding the body by wearing mechanical garments,

creating artificially beauty, has been a constant since the 14th century.

It is the first time I have seen such a complete

“behind the scenes” history of clothing exhibition.

The shape of the body has always been a woman’s obsession/priority;

to achieve by any means and at any cost.

At the beginning of the century the shapes changed drastically

from super curvy to super straight, only to arrive today

with a much softer approach through diet and exercise.

Hmmm…… diet and exercise. Perhaps easier with a corset!

Whatever fashion says,  the body comes first… with health.

To see Alaia work in his atelier making the shape of a woman,

moulding the body like a sculpture, without any mechanical tools at all.

Nothing but his skill, scissors and needles is genius in action.

Here, a picture by J. B. Mondino.