“In fashion, even what seems most fragile must be built on cement.”
These fitting words came from Charles James (1906–78), a designer who was part engineer, part sculptor, and, above all else, an architect of fabric. Like many great buildings, his sartorial creations possess striking outward beauty and a deeply embedded philosophy of craftsmanship: James said he once spent 12 hours on a single seam. When the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York decided to mount a major exhibition of James's work (Charles James: Beyond Fashion, running through August 10), the challenge facing its Costume Institute was clear: how to communicate the singular attributes of his work to the general public.
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