Futuristic clothing designs at Bklyn Museum
By Rose Adams This collection is out of this world!
A new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum celebrates
the life and work of a cosmic revolutionary whose
fashion designs created the pop-culture vision of an
avante-garde space age. “Future Fashion,” which
opened last week, showcases the 70-year career of
French fashion designer Pierre Cardin — a pioneer
of haute couture and ready-wear outfits that stand out
like rockets lifting off against the sky, according to the
exhibit’s curator.
“He’s somebody who doesn’t put a boundary on
himself,” said Matthew Yokobosky. “He worked with
reflective materials: lights, rhinestones. If someone
walks in the room in a Cardin, they light up the room,
like a galaxy.”
The show features 170 pieces from the 96-year-old
designer’s studio and archive, as well as films, photos,
and sketches of his work. Selecting the items from
Cardin’s vast collections proved to be a daunting task,
said Yokobosky.
“Since Mr. Cardin’s work is so finished — all of it
looked perfect when I walked into the room. So it became
about what stories I wanted to tell,” he said.
The exhibit traces Cardin’s development as a designer,
from his early tailoring, to his haute couture gowns, to his
gender-bending space gear. Each room also showcases
his impact on popular culture, screening snippets
of “Star Trek” and the 1960s animated show “The
Jetsons” that have clear parallels to his look.
Most impressive is the outer space room at the back
of the exhibit. Dresses draped with neon lights flash in
the dark, and the walls sparkle with starry gems. The
high ceilings and sweeping gowns lend the space an
ethereal, royal charm — a charm that dominates most
of Cardin’s work.
The exhibit demonstrates how Cardin’s striking style
has evolved to keep up with the changing times.
“I really appreciate his sense of experimentation,” said
Yokobosky.
In order to implement his innovative designs, Cardin
invented his own material called “Cardine,” a synthetic
fabric that can be molded into three-dimensional shapes.
And the 96-year-old is still designing new looks.
“Pierre Cardin is an inspiration in terms of living and
in terms of design,” Yokobosky added.
“Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion” at Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Pkwy. at Washington Avenue in Prospect
heights, (718) 638–5000, www.brooklynmuseum.org. Open
Wed, Fri–Sun, 11 am–6 pm; Thu, 11 am–10 pm. $20 ($12
students and seniors).
By Aidan Graham This science-fiction play will
happen in a dystopian land —
Manhattan!
An upcoming production gives
new life to a Brooklynite’s 30-year-old
script about a dystopian future. “Sci Fi,”
which first debuted in Kings County
in the late 1980s, returns for a limited
run at the Hudson Guild Theater in
Manhattan starting on July 29 — telling
a love story against the backdrop of a
tyrannical government and a stratified
society, said the playwright.
“At the heart of this play is a human
relationship. It’s really a love story of
sorts — even though it’s a very unusual
one,” said Ellen Rittberg. “It’s a story
of these two people in different classes.
There’s a plumber who’s not allowed
to talk to someone who is in a higher
class. But the two of them develop a
relationship.”
The plebian plumber, Rick, defies
the fascist state to fraternize with
Shana, an indoctrinated upper-class
aristocrat, and reveals some hidden
truths about the society’s sinister past,
said the Downtown playwright.
“He comes in, and it’s like nothing
she’s ever experienced,” she said. “He
knows certain things, and she doesn’t.
She’s existing in a miasma of ignorance
about what happened — a mass killing of
workers. And she’s been propagandized
to believe certain things.”
Rittberg believes that her 30-year-old
story has become even more relevant, as
people reject facts they dislike as “fake
news.”
“There’s such extremism and hate
in the world today, and many people
are worried about our country and
our democracy,” she said. “For the
government to subvert the truth, or to
ignore the truth so that it’s basically
not even there — that’s what we’re
seeing now.”
COURIER L 42 IFE, JULY 26-AUG. 1, 2019 24-7
Rittberg made some slight changes to
the script to reflect modern technology,
but most of her script remains intact and
relevant to today’s concerns.
“The changes I had to make were
very minimal,” she said.
The script makes its second
professional debut as part of the New
York Theater Festival’s Summerfest.
“Sci Fi” at Hudson Guild Theater
(41 W. 26th Street between Ninth and
Tenth avenues in Manhattan, www.
newyorktheaterfestival.com). July 29
at 6:15 p.m., Aug. 2 at 9 p.m., Aug. 4 at
4 p.m. $23.
Key performer: Composer Murray Hidary will play peaceful
piano music transmitted directly to listeners’ headsets during the
SilentHike at Brooklyn Botanic Garden on July 30.
By Chandler Kidd The Garden is getting Zen.
Brooklynites looking to leave the frantic
modern world behind can escape to the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden on July 30, when an
immersive musical and meditation experience will
offer a chance for quiet, uninterrupted ref lection.
Participants in the SilentHike will each don a pair of
headphones, which will play a broadcast of guided
meditation and music created by composer Murray
Hidary. The walk is part of a series he has created
called MindTravel, which adds hiking and the beauty
of nature to his original music to create a profound
experience, said the Brooklyn native.
“I created SilentHike to include nature and
movement as well. For me, nature is a tremendous
inspiration,” said Hidary. “As a composer, I created
Mind Travel as an overall experience for people to
ref lect, contemplate, and connect deeply within and
with each other.”
During the SilentHike, participants will travel
from the north end of the Garden’s Cherry Esplanade,
through the Rose Garden to the Japanese Hill-and-
Pond Garden, where Hidary will play an improvised
number on a “silent” piano, with the music transmitted
directly to the headphones of his listeners. The music
helps to keep participants grounded, said Hidary.
“I really aspire to have people connect with the
deepest part of themselves. It is partially a guided
walking meditation with an experience to connect
them with the present moment,” Hidary said.
The night’s two, 45-minute SilentHike experiences
will allow people to take a break from mindlessly
scrolling through Instagram photos and to ref lect on
their day, he said.
“People seldom make time to have an hour to be
and reflect. It is incredible what happens when you
make that space for yourself — people often have
tremendous clarity after the SilentHike experience,”
said Hidary.
“SilentHike” at Brooklyn Botanic Garden 990
Washington Ave. between President and Carroll streets
in Crown Heights, (718) 623–7200, www.bbg.org. July
30 at 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Free with $15 Garden
admission ($8 seniors and students).
Sci-fi showdown: A plumber confronts a
pair of aristocrats in the new production
of “Sci Fi” by Brooklyn playwright Ellen
Rittberg. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Green peace
FASHION FORWARD
Play for time
Music and meditation
at Botanic Garden
Vinyl tap: This 1970 image
of actress Raquel Welch,
wearing a Pierre Cardin
outfit with a mini-skirt
and necklace in blue vinyl,
complete with a stylins
plexiglass visor, is part
of the “Future Fashion”
exhibit at the Brooklyn
Museum. Terry O’Neill
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