For its fall exhibition, Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute is taking us inside the closet of international fashion icon Countess Jacqueline de Ribes. The 60 piece tribute, consisting of both haute couture and ready-to-wear ensembles by designers like Giorgio Armani and Ralph Rucci, will reflect on Jacqueline’s six decade long fashion iconoclasm and lifetime spent as the epitome of Parisian grace and style.
Jacqueline, a muse to Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, spent her lifetime refusing to conform to fashion norms, often tearing apart haute couture gowns to create visionary outfits. Married at 19, the strict traditions of her in laws kept her from becoming a career woman. However, Jacqueline channeled her creative energy and independent nature into fashion ventures and eventually moved from being a mere socialite to a successful fashion designer.
The rightfully earned tribute, opening this November and running through January 2016, is a love letter of sorts. The exhibit will showcase not only her fearless personal style, but also her work as an interior designer, producer, architect, and director and organizer of international charity events. With recognition from the Met, Jacqueline reaches fashion infamy and solidifies her title as the Last Queen of Paris.
Credits
Text Hana Beach
Photos
Jacqueline de Ribes in her own design, 1983
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Victor Skrebneski,
Skrebneski Photograph © 1983
Jacqueline de Ribes in Christian Dior, 1959
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by Roloff Beny,
Roloff Beny Estate