True hymm to oriental women, the exhibition reveals another aspect of femininity, from the North of Syria to the Sinaï peninsula, introducing an exceptional collection of 150 traditional costumes and accessories from the Near East, selected by designer Christian Lacroix, in close co-operation with Hana Chidiac, Head of the North African and Near East collections at the musée du quai Branly.
From this common work has emerged a poetic journey punctuated by sumptuous garments, the majority of which are exhibited in France for the first time: festive dresses, coats, veils and head-dresses which comprised the bride's trousseau illustrate, in a unique way, the continuity of the traditions and knowledge developed and transmitted from mother to daughter.
Homage to the millennary art of embroidery, the exhibition shows the work of these women who have sought, over the centuries, to create ways to enhance
their beauty and to exist within societies which have so long marginalised them, displaying at the same time their own personalities, aesthetic sensibilities and
emotions.
The creations presented reveal to the visitor a glimpse of the history of these women whose hands, gestures, tastes and talent have endowed the fabric and the silk or cotton threads with part of themselves, composing each garment like a work of art.
Beyond its historical and ethnological scope WOMEN IN ORIENT also aspires to be an invitation to explore the aesthetics of women’s clothing as art.
Guided by coloured threads on black cotton, by silver lamé and striped silk linings, by the cut of winged dresses and the tie-dye fabrics, Christian Lacroix has been inspired to select a remarkable group of garments.
