The Art of the Dramatic Entrance
Courtesy of Focus Features.
Close your eyes. Remember all those fabulous costumes worn in Downton Abbey, the award - winning TV series? The couture, if you remember, is worn by the aristocratic Crawley family in the post-Edwardian period of 1912 to 1926. This was a time of glamor and decadence. A bygone era of high fashion donned by the lavishly spoiled, living on the cusp of a vanishing way of life.
Indeed, it wasn’t just the show, or the cast but also the glorious period pieces, what we today call “art wear,” that captured our senses, evoked awe and left an indelible impression of glamor and decadence. Cheers to the super-talented costume and wardrobe designer Anna Mary Scott Robbins, who played such a critical role in bringing all the drama home to us. For yes, in so many ways the characters of Downton Abbey were indeed made by what they wore.
Fast forward from the 1920s to the 2020s. One hundred years later, art wear is still very much at the center of the drama of life. And what Ms. Robbins did for Downton Abbey’s costumes, Maria Pucci does for Gramercy Atelier’s couture. “Not just couture” she says “but bespoke couture. Not just bespoke couture but art wear. Not just art wear but fine art wear.” Fine art wear is worn in Downton, as it is worn in New York. Thus, for example, Ms. Robbins’ Fortuny jackets as featured on the show, are exquisitely handmade with the same choice Fortuny fabrics sourced from Europe by Ms. Pucci.
This comparison can, of course, only be taken so far. After all, Gramercy Atelier is not in the business of making costumes! And it creates a much, much wider range of fine art wear, a range as diverse as all the women who wear our jackets, dresses and ensembles. Nevertheless, both are a mixture of art wear and the visual arts. Both are uniquely created for a character, albeit one that is a real walking piece of art, whereas the other just walks on and off the stage. Make no mistake however, each makes a dramatic entrance and leaves an unforgettable impression.
