China Through the Looking Glass

Earlier this spring, the Metropolitan Museum of Art raised the curtain on its dazzling exhibition, “China Through the Looking Glass.” The expansive showing, housed on three floors of the venerable museum, from its Chinese Galleries to the Anna Wintour Costume Center on the lower level, references the tumbling excursion of Lewis Carroll's Alice into another world. This journey through the Met's hallowed halls, however, isn't a view into an alternative universe, but rather it bears witness to the melding of one culture and another.

Very often, tributes such as this go awry due to a lack of true cultural understanding. Clearly not a historical reflection of a distant culture, the exhibition is more of a tribute to its influence on Western aesthetic sensibilities. While some may think it an appropriation, the glass I looked through was more of a celebration. And much like Lewis Carroll's Looking-Glass, isn't fashion just a reflection of who we are? And isn't a cultural excursion through the Far East merely a journey through a broader worldly culture?

A celebration and fascination with chinoiserie is nothing new. From the time Chinese silks first found their way to Ancient Rome to a ’60s evening gown by Cristobal Balenciaga, Western culture has been mesmerized, if not mystified, by Eastern culture.

Visions of Chinese imagery have been emblazoned across the Western psyche for centuries: From the flowing lines of Chinese calligraphy and the delicacy of blue and white porcelain pottery to the richness of highly polished red and black lacquer, we have embraced the mysteries and sensualities of the East. From Paul Poiret and Alexander McQueen, to Yves Saint Laurent and John Galliano, Orientalism – a word often criticized, although still used by historians (but actively avoided as a symbol of Western imperialism by the politically correct) – has been a wellspring of inspiration in the couturier ateliers across the fashion world.

While the exhibition focuses on the influence of China's imagery and art on Western fashion and film, it also, much like our industry, allows people to dream. Not a documentation of the past, it offers the flavors of a faraway place, interpreted through the eyes of the world's most influential fashion couturiers and provocative film makers. Fashion drives our industry and there is fashion in everything, from the latest runway shows to the sleekest Michelin tires.

Fashion is a reflection of who we are and who we would like to be. Coco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Toward the Met's multicultural collaboration of fashion, film and art, acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar Wai adds, “When we look into a mirror, we only see ourselves, but when this mirror turns into a window, we see the world around us.”

This brilliantly curated show opened a window and transported me to a different time and place. It escorted me on a fantasy ride through exotic, and at times, erotic imagery, that included the mysteries of a black shimmering moonlit lake, long reaching dark shadows and seemingly iridescent sequined ball gowns.

This show is a must see for all visual merchandisers. Not solely for its cultural references as we practice our art (some may say “ply our trade”) in a global industry, but also for a cornucopia of inspiration not simply found in a magical looking-glass, but all around us. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a New York treasure, and “China Through the Looking Glass” is a worldly delight.

Eric Feigenbaum is a recognized leader in the visual merchandising and store design industries with both domestic and international design experience.  He served as corporate director of visual merchandising for Stern’s Department Store, a division of Federated Department Stores, from 1986 to 1995. After Stern’s, he assumed the position of director of visual merchandising for WalkerGroup/CNI, an architectural design firm in New York City. Currently, he serves as the chair of the Visual Merchandising Department at LIM College (New York), and was also an adjunct professor of Store Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In addition to being the New York Editor of VMSD magazine, Eric is also a founding member of PAVE (A Partnership for Planning and Visual Education). Currently, he is also president and director of creative services for his own retail design company, Embrace Design.