reviews_and_ramblings | Ian & Marcel

Ian & Marcel was founded in 1979 by two Canadians – Ian H. Cooper (1946-1992) and Marcel B. Aucoin (1951-1991). Both trained in Canada, they met in 1976 in Toronto, where Ian was studying Fashion Desing at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute and Marcel Home and Textile Design at Sheridan School of Design. They moved to London in the late 1970s, where Cooper completed a masters degree in fashion at the St Martins School of Art. In the UK, the duo quickly established a reputation for their exquisitely hand-painted garments, and pleated silks. The latter were inspired by the work of Mariano Fortuny (1871 – 1949).

Cooper and Aucoin saw an exhibition of Fortuny’s work in 1980 at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. Obviously entranced, they skilfully updated the Fortuny-look for the 1980s silhouette as this wedding dress elegantly demonstrates.

The execution of the veil, which features roses ‘drawn’ in silicone rubber, also brings Ian & Marcel’s historically inspired wedding gown into the contemporary. The duo developed a silicone rubber and silk technique to create stitch-free seams and hems, and decorative elements.

Ian & Marcel bequeathed a significant collection of their work to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1992. Both designers sadly succumbed to AIDS related illnesses in the early 1990s. Reflecting on their approach, Lady Holly Rumbold, who co-wrote Ian and Marcel: Hand Painted and Pleated Silks with Elizabeth Vernon in 1993 (Terrence Higgins Trust), wistfully observed:

‘Ian & Marcel reminded us of medieval knights, whose quest was for beauty’s perfection. They consecrated their lives to their art and the realisation of their ideals, with the same single-mindedness and fervour of Parsifal in pursuit of the Holy Grail’.

White pleated silk column dress and matching coat with white beads separating the fabric joins, the dress and coat contained in a non-accessioned white silk bag with rubberised art Deco style design. The veil, of net, is also decorated with rubberised stylized roses around the outer edge and in the centre, creating a wreath effect on the head.Worn with high heeled strapped shoes covered in pleated silk. Exhibition: Unveiled: 200 years of wedding glamour from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington 17/12/2011-22/04/2012); The White Wedding Dress: 200 Years of Wedding Fashions (Bendigo Art Gallery 01/08/2011-06/11/2011)

Silk poncho and evening dress decorated with rubber. Evening poncho: White silk rectangular poncho with the black Greek key detail along edges. V-necked front and back. Edges encased by grey rubber. Evening dress: Full-length black silk jersey evening dress with a grey rubber design picking out a band of Greek keys down the front and defining the seams. Sleeveless. All edges are bound with rubber which forms part of the decorative design. The front has four vertical lines of rubber and encased in the central panel is the key design. The back has four vertical lines of rubber and two parallel lines of rubber around the arms and neck holes. Four triangle bias cut insets to create a flare on the skirt. Exhibition: Black in Fashion (V&A 01/01/1999-31/12/1999).

Silky cami-knickers were fashionable in the 1920's, and became popular again in the 1980's, when it was the fashion for women to wear silky and feminine underwear under tailored power-suits with exaggerated shoulder pads.This boudoir set is entirely hand-made, including the knotting on the fringe of the shawl. The poppies are hand-painted and signed ‘Marcel’. Large square scarves were popular outerwear accessories in the mid-1980s, worn wrapped around the shoulders as the finishing touch to cocktail dresses, and so add a glamorous edge to this chemise. Exhibition: The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947-1997 (V&A 06/03/1997-27/07/1997).

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

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