A blog by staff and others about the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
What influences your fashion style?
August 22, 2017
Do you think you have what it takes to be a fashion designer? If so, what would inspire you and your designs? As part of the Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style exhibition on view through August 27, 2017, VMFA has developed a sketchbook that guides visitors to focus on six ensembles on display,…
When Art Influences Design
August 15, 2017
In 1965, Yves Saint Laurent’s mother gave him a book where the young designer discovered the modern painter Piet Mondrian. In Mondrian’s paintings, Saint Laurent saw how the rhythm of color could be combined with a bold and forceful line. He would translate this building process into a thick jersey dress, unveiled that same year.…
Every Detail Matters
August 8, 2017
Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style contains the collection boards for every runway show offered by the designer over 40 years. These collection boards—dating from 1962 to 2002—retrace decades of the maison de couture’s fascinating history and offer a behind-the-scenes look into the creative workings of the fashion house and the private life of…
VMFA Conservation & Outreach
August 7, 2017
Haute Couture Starts with a Single Sketch
August 2, 2017
Producing the intricate, detailed, and carefully tailored fashions that debuted on runways in Paris and beyond was a meticulous process that Yves Saint Laurent followed faithfully. In Yves Saint Laurent: The Perfection of Style, on view at VMFA through August 27, 2017, the exhibition provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the fashion genius and his…
Women Can Wear Pants Too
July 25, 2017
Yves Saint Laurent questioned the traditional representation of the genders—establishing him as a revolutionary even as that debate continues today. As sexual roles began to blur in the 1960s, he saw the possibility of a disruptive new form of seduction, and he created a new identity more complex than the usual opposition between masculine and…
Perfecting his practice at a young age
July 17, 2017
As a teenager living in Algeria in the 1940s, Yves Saint Laurent took his first steps toward the fashion runway—not with fabric, but with paper. He created intricately designed and accessorized garments for paper dolls, a couture collection being shown publicly for the first time in the United States as part of Yves Saint Laurent:…
Look inside an art museum for a career in technology
July 12, 2017
As a high school student, Sheila Payaqui went to her first art museum—and it changed her future. “It opened up a whole new world to me, and it showed me that there are so many career options out there,” said Payaqui, who found her fit working in conservation, a behind-the-scenes function that blends art and…
Ancient Coins and the Search for the Rightful Owner
July 11, 2017
Pull a coin from your pocket. How many times did that coin change hands until it found its way on to your open palm? How many goods has it purchased, and whose hands has it touched? I often ponder these questions, so when we received a message from the Virginia Treasury Department’s Division of Unclaimed…
Saturday Salutations
July 7, 2017
Recognize the power of your practice as we celebrate our community impact during Project Yoga Richmond’s 7th annual Saturday Salutations. Join PYR on select Saturdays from May to October on the VMFA’s Belvedere Deck to increase access to yoga. Each class our ambassadors will highlight aspects of our yoga and mindfulness outreach programs across the…