Plein Les Yeux: Le spectacle de la mode (Eyeful: The Spectacle Of Fashion)

Extravagant collars, sparkling fabrics and constraining or voluminous inserts illustrate how the figures of the elites were offered up to view, from the sixteenth century to the present day. In fact, these dress codes have passed down the centuries and even today are regularly reinterpreted. Loans from the National Museum of the Renaissance, the National Stage Costume Centre, the Comédie-Française and the Cinémathèque Française film archive reveal the art of being seen and its extravagances. Historical costumes and accessories stand side-by-side with those of the stage and Haute Couture: the legendary dresses worn by Isabelle Adjani in the film Reine Margot and by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, outfits designed by Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and others. Painted portraits, film posters and film extracts recontextualise these extraordinary costumes.