By Lígia Carvalho Abreu and Pamela Echeverria (2016) Photos: Ugo Camera/Portugal Fashion
The Diary of a Princess on a Discovery, Storytailors’ 2016 Spring/Summer Collection
All over the world we assist in an undeniable growing interest of museums and art galleries that present fashion design exhibitions. In some cases those art places are becoming more interesting than fashion districts and its stores, in particular, their presentation and the spreading of creative fashion.
Akiko Fukai, director and chief curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute, in her book Dress and Fashion Museums claims that in order to:
Understand fashion in museums, it is necessary to consider its connection to a new, broader perception of what constitutes art, as well as a growing academic interest in the young discipline of fashion studies.[i]
What is this new, broader perception of what constitutes art? In other words, can fashion be considered art? Can art be wearable? How can wearable art be defined according to legal and artistic criterions?
Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty, emotional power and cultural and social meaning.
Commonly seen as a style, a popular taste of a particular time and place, fashion has also emotional and cultural power, a little something that pushes it out from its ephemeral condition. Thus, art and fashion seem to be linked by the fact that they are both a product of human creativity, meant to be appreciated for its beauty, and to contribute to our visual culture and cultural identity.
An example of this symbioses between art and fashion is the extraordinary 2016 Spring/Summer collection of Portuguese brand Storytailors named O Diário de Uma Princesa em Descoberta (The Diary of a Princess on a Discovery), created by designers João Branco and Luís Sanchez.
Gowns from The Diary of a Princess on a Discovery, Storytailors’ 2016 Spring/Summer Collection, commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The Diary of a Princess in Discovery is a combined interpretation of Luís de Camões’ Epic Poem ‘Os Lusíadas’, the legend of ‘The Three Enchanted Moorish Women’ and the story of ‘Princess Saint Joana’ the patron saint of Aveiro, a city in the north of Portugal. It is an expression of Portuguese culture, reinforced with the gains received from intercultural dialogues.