From the 1980s to the present day, Comme des Garcon’s Rei Kawakubo has defied conventional dualities; in this dress – affixed with a giant teddy bear, she merges childhood and adulthood in a riot of frills, flowers and fun. (At the Metropolitan Museum of Art through Sept 4th).
You don’t have to be into fashion to appreciate the spectacle that is ‘The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier’ at Brooklyn Museum. A moving catwalk, mannequins with animated faces, and more turn the normally sleepy Brooklyn Museum into a carnival celebrating Gaultier’s extravagant, gender-bending vision, which germinated in childhood when he fashioned a conical bra for his teddy, some 30 years prior to his designs for Madonna’s ‘Blond Ambition’ tour. (At Brooklyn Museum through Feb 23rd).
Jean Paul Gautier, ‘Nana’ from 1957; ‘chest of drawers with integrated vanity,’ prototype, 1992; and “Black Swan Collection,” modele Saut de l’Ange, Haute couture fall/winter 2011-12.
British artist Brian Griffith’s teddy bear tent is hands down one of the most fun sculptures on view in Chelsea right now. You can’t go inside the tent and weenie roasts aren’t allowed, but the piece does suggest a very imaginative band of travelers. (At David Zwirner Gallery‘s 525 W. 19th Street location through Aug 9th).
Brian Griffiths, The Body and Ground (Or Your Brittle Smile), canvas, scenic acrylic paint, rope, webbing, fiberglass pole, metal poles, vintage travel souvenir patches, net fabric, tarpaulin, duct tape, tread, string, sand, and fixings, 2010.
