Glamour Girl
This is the Lophophore, a bird native to south-central Asia. The male (of course—we’re talking birds here) sports brilliantly colored feathers, ranging from emerald green to coppery gold to purply crimson to all sorts of hues in between.
Desire for the shimmering plumage of this bird has rendered it near-extinct.
It was ever thus, as even this 1898 article from the New York Times makes clear (although I would’ve written “ruthless net of fashion” rather than “net of ruthless fashion”—interesting linguistic changes over time).
Being a feather-lover, I understand this desire. I can also see how years of thoughtless pillaging of this natural resource has created ugliness instead of beauty. But one thing that has remained beautiful and, economy willing, always will, is the talent of those people who work with feathers—and with sequins, beads, thread, tissue, pearls, and all the other elements that go into the making of fashion.
These people are masters at what they do. Laboring unseen in workshops, ateliers (and, yes, sometimes sweatshops) around the world, they are artists of the first order. If you have any respect for the work people do with their hands, you have to be bowled over by their skill. I’ll never forget being introduced to the work of the French embroidery firm Lesage, in a documentary on Yves Saint Laurent years ago. I had never seen such delicate, intricate, breathtaking work. All done by hand. This is why haute couture costs so much, not because of some pretentious logo or label emblazoned on it.
So I was gladdened to read this article in the Daily Telegraph that gives these tremendous artists their due. But like the fabled Lophophore, the number of such skilled workers is dwindling.
Those of us who will never be able to afford couture might, just maybe, someday be able to splurge on something from the Métiers d’Art collection by Chanel. It’s a kind of middle-ground between the stratospheric prices of haute couture and the reasonable prices of ready-to-wear. If we bought such a garment, we would not only be getting something of unparalleled beauty, but also supporting these artisans and the work they do.
I don’t know what the prices are yet—the collection won’t be available until mid-June—so maybe I’m dreaming. But if so, oh, what a beautiful dream!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/04/09 at 06:07 AM
