[BCMA] "Plastic Fantastic" exhibit opening in Langley! - for listserv

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

The Langley Centennial Museum is pleased to again welcome Ivan Sayers and his fabulous collection of clothing to our exhibit space for “Plastic Fantastic: Men’s and Women’s Clothing of the 1960’s”, on display from January 16th – March 21st 2010.

For this exhibit, Ivan is teaming up with fellow collector Claus Jahnke to bring a show to Langley that will be an appropriate return following his 2008 exhibit, “Dior to Ducktails: Men’s and Women’s Clothing of the 1950’s.”

“The 1960’s was a decade of extremes,” Ivan said.  The exhibit will divide the decade into three sections.  The early period, which Ivan refers to as the “Bouffant” period, covers approximately 1960-1964, and moves from the modesty of the 1950’s to the mods of the mid-1960’s.

In the mid-1960’s – the second section of the exhibit referred to as “the Carnaby period, 1965-1968” - fashions changed dramatically and an exaggerated youthfulness became the norm.  Men’s clothing became slimmer and slimmer, portraying an adolescent rather than the adult physique that had previously been sought after. Women’s clothing became looser and dresses became shorter and shorter and shorter . . .  Compared to the more mature look of the 1950’s and early 1960’s, women’s fashions became increasingly girlish.

This evolution of contrived fashion suddenly changed in the late 1960’s when the counter culture - the hippies - created a new set of rules about fashion, costume, and dress.  The last section of the exhibit deals with this drastic period from 1968-1970.  The hippies saw themselves as the “fantastic” people – real people dressing to depict the concerns of their generation and showing the beauty of the natural rather than the wonders of technology and science, and loathed what they referred to as “plastic” people – those tied to their traditional economic and social spheres.

Ivan will again be bringing both his high-end and quirky fashions to the museum, including names like Christian Dior, Biba, and Mary Quant.

All are invited to the exhibit’s Opening Reception on Saturday January 16th, 2009 from 1-3pm, where light refreshments will be served.  Please contact the Museum at 604.888.3922 or info at langleymuseum.org<mailto:info at langleymuseum.org> for more details.

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Miss Kobi Howard
Arts & Heritage Curator
Langley Centennial Museum
604.888.3922

Langley was named after Thomas Langley, a prominent stockholder in the management of the Hudson’s Bay Company who never actually came to the area.

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