You need not be a fashion aficionado to recognize names such as Versace, Valentino and Armani.
They are but a few of the famous fashion names, along with Ferragamo, Capucci, Buccellati, Bvlgari, Ferré, Ferretti and others, you’ll encounter — along with myriad examples of their exquisite, often colorful work — in “Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses,” the recently opened ticketed exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Impressive in scale, the show presents about 80 ensembles and garments and 40 pieces of jewelry in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall.
“This is the most ambitious fashion exhibition the CMA has ever staged — a first of its kind,” said Todd Mesek, the museum’s chief marketing officer, at a preview event for media, influencers and other invited guests.
In a video preceding Mesek’s remarks, Tay Smith, mannequin dresser for the exhibition, spoke of her work, starting with putting the garment on a mannequin and then adjusting the latter.
“At its basic level,” she said, “you are making the mannequin fit the garment, not making the garment fit the mannequin. You’re creating this form or body, adjusting the size and the shape for a specific garment.”
After all, these are incredibly detailed, carefully designed examples of couture.
“You cannot fully appreciate the craftsmanship of these garments unless you see it in person,” she added.
The video also featured the exhibition’s creator, Darnell-Jamal Lisby, CMA’s associate curator of fashion, who spoke of how Italians have created fashion to preserve their heritage and “have used it as a vehicle for innovation.” The exhibition showcases “what we all generally love about Italian fashion, the dramatic flair of it and the pizzazz — and also the theater of Italian fashion,” he added.
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Soon, appearing on stage, Lisby discussed his inspiration for “Renaissance to Runway.”
“We all have taken art history classes, and certainly, many of us have started with Western art, particularly Italian Renaissance, and that’s something I wanted to circle back to,” he said. “Over the course of my career, I often saw a lot of examples of Italian creators over the course of the last century and how they remarkably complicate the imagination of Italian modern art history, but also social histories and political histories, and … I see a lot of similarities between the past and the present that help me understand not only fashion design process but also our human history. I wanted a way to merge all of those inclinations together.”
He wanted the wider CMA audience to have the chance “to rethink and relook and reanalyze a lot of Italian history in the way that connects with us,” he added. “Many of us participate in fashion. We wear it. We consume it. We love it. And so why not see that pass through the portals that fashion can create?”
Some of the objects in the show are complemented by artworks of the Italian Renaissance, Mannerist and early Baroque periods from CMA’s collection. Lisby said he was especially excited to be able to make use of certain textiles that call the museum home.
“This is a great opportunity to bring out some beautiful tapestries, some gorgeous velvet stoles and textile fragments and have them in conservation (with the designers’ creations),” he said.
Those pairings are highlighted in the experience that begins a visitor’s experience, “Renaissance Remixed,” a large digital installation created for the show, with video by Francesco Carrozzini and Henry Hargreaves and sound by Josh Burgess. An accompanying placard invites guests to “Step into a world where history and innovation meet.”
As does the accompanying information, Bisby noted some images were created with AI.
“We do not want people wearing archival materials,” he said. “That’s very bad for conservation. (There would be) pitchforks, so we don’t want that.”
Visitors will notice several pieces reflecting Christian — often specifically Catholic — imagery and themes, which is not surprising given that Lisby was an intern at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2018 when it exhibited “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
“I used some of the research that I stored and teased it out for this moment for ‘Renaissance to Runway,’” said Lisby, who joined CMA in 2021. “‘Heavenly Bodies’ (was) much more broad, much more global, beyond Italy, but I wanted to kind of highlight, ‘How did Italians feel about this history?’
“Some Italian designers and creatives are a little more religious and spiritual, while others just love the opulence of the grandeur of Italian, early modern Catholic and Christian imagery, so I wanted to put them all together in this exhibition.”
Among the pieces highlighted in a CMA news release is a Donatella Versace-designed evening dress that “intertwines metal threads in floral patterns that cascade down its burgundy velvet skirt, reminiscent of the opulent weave structure and decorative techniques of Italian historical textile production.” A version of this gown, the release states, was created for actress Blake Lively’s appearance on the red carpet for the Met Gala in 2018 in conjunction with “Heavenly Bodies.”
Ultimately, though, Lisby’s work reflects him looking through a wider lens.
“People ask me often, ‘Where does (your) inspiration come from?’ And it’s, like, well, I look at the world, just like you do. I watch (‘Real) Housewives,’ just like you do. I love my oatmeal cream pies, just like you do. And I take inspiration from any and everywhere and bring (ideas) together.
“And from there, that’s where the academic rigor really kind of transcends throughout my process as a curator.”
‘Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses’
Where: Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd.
When: Through Feb. 1.
Tickets: Adults, $17; ages 65 and older, $15; college student with ID and ages 6 to 17, $8; children 5 and younger, free.
Info: ClevelandArt.org, info@clevelandart.org, help.tickets@clevelandart.org, 216-421-7350 or 888-CMA-0033.
