Why It’s Been Quiet Here

I live in Queensland, Australia. You’ve probably heard about the massive natural disaster engulfing 75% of the state, an area the size of France and Germany combined. I’ve been flooded in behind a series of rivers since December 3, but thankfully my home is well above flood waters.

Brisbane is the state capital, where I usually reside. It’s been really saddening to see the city I spent the last 10 years of my life in under water.

Whole families have been washed away, thousands have lost everything. The states infrastructure and industry have taken a huge battering. Australia is the world’s biggest coal supplier, 3rd largest sugar supplier and 4th largest wheat supplier. Guess which state producers a lot of that? Now the floods are hitting the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

I did take a break from posting during the holiday season, but I also haven’t felt much like posting. My mind has been elsewhere. However, I can assure you, especially those of you who visit every day looking for your Dita fix, updates will start rolling again soon.

If you’d like to donate to the flood appeal, please visit this site.

Stephen Jones, Millinery & GoMa

In other Dita related news:

The V&A Stephen Jones millinery exhibition opened in Brisbane (Australia) this past Saturday (March 27th) at the Gallery of Modern Art. I posted about this before, after Dita.net posted about the exhibit coming to Brisbane.

If you live in Brisbane or are in the vicinity, the exhibition is open to the public until 27 June. GoMa has a fantastic program celebrating millinery in general, including lectures, workshops, cinémathèque screenings, and high teas! There are guided tours from 11.00am daily (excluding 2 April).

I was browsing the GoMa website this morning to finalize an itinerary for next week (high tea bookings are essential) when I read that Stephen Jones will actually be there tomorrow:

In-conversation
11.30am Thursday 1 April | Cinema A, GoMA
Join Stephen Jones and Oriole Cullen, Curator of Modern Textiles and Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, for insights into the exhibition.

I was so excited to read this! I didn’t expect Oriole Cullen or Stephen Jones to be attending the Brisbane exhibition. This obviously doesn’t apply to the vast majority of you, but I thought I’d post it for any other Australian Dita fans who might be interested!

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones

News from Dita.net:

6/15/09 “Thanks to everyone who visited “THE HATS: AN ANTHOLOGY BY STEPHEN JONES” at the V&A Museum (London, UK). For those of you in Australia or planning to visit, get your tickets now to check the exhibit at the National Art Gallery, Brisbane (March – July, 2010) and please keep an eye out for subsequent venues in the future. A picture of the exhibition as it appeared at the V&A may be viewed here.”

The Exhibition:

“Hats: An Anthology, held at the V&A from 24 February 2009, was inspired by Cecil Beaton‘s landmark exhibition, Fashion: An Anthology, held at the V&A in 1971. Beaton’s exhibition showcased 1900-1971 garments donated by leading fashion designers of the 20th century and their clients, many of which entered the Museum collection afterwards, and firmly placed fashion within the Museum’s remit. Along with Oriole Cullen, V&A Curator of Modern Fashion and Textiles, Jones explored the collections of the V&A and other international collections such as those at the Fashion Museum, Bath and the Hollywood archives of Warner Bros.“

The Milliner:

“Stephen Jones is a leading British Milliner. He was born in 1957 and graduated from Saint Martins School of Art in 1979. Jones started his millinery career by making hats for friends at a time when London was the centre for creativity and iconoclastic fashion ideas. Pop music and clubbing were at the heart of youth culture and they had an enormous influence on Jones.” [more]

Dita with Stephen Jones (from Harper’s Bazaar), Albert Sanchez shoot featuring some of Jones’ hats and “Le Bain Noir” featuring a hat by Jones.

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I am delighted at the prospect of this exhibition coming to Brisbane! Finally, a Dita related event I can attend! I would, of course, be attending either way. The National Gallery of Art in Brisbane is actually called the Gallery of Modern Art.

I love that GoMa has jumped on this, we do tend to have an appreciation for fashion as art. Example: The National Gallery of Art actually owns a collection of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes costumes and will be exhibiting them again soon. (the last time was in ’99, I believe they’ve spent the last decade in restoration and in international exhibits)

Warning: there is an online shop for the exhibition. A shop which I should not have visited, as I now want one of everything listed. Oxidised Twisted Cage Earrings? Hat box? Hat pin? Something in me would also like a Bowler hat. There are some truly gorgeous head bands. There’s even perfume! (+)

Also, if you have a spare £200 (approx. AU$400, US$330, €235), pick up a copy of Hats: An Anthology (Special edition):

“This special edition is limited to 300 copies. Cased in a clamshell silk box, lined in red silk, the double-spined special edition is bound in grey silk,with silver foiled edges and grosgrain silk ribbons. Each numbered special edition contains a print of an original fashion illustration by Stephen Jones (‘Pitty-Pat’), signed and numbered by Jones and printed by the Curwen Press.”

Quite frankly, I would want one even if I didn’t know what was inside. But, like me, if that’s a little too pricey for you, the regular edition is available for £19.99.

I will post regarding subsequent venues as information comes to hand.