It took eight years to bring to fruition the Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s The Costume Institute. It opened on Nov. 19 amid much commotion as Countess de Ribes herself was due to attend.
However, Harold Koda, curator in charge of The Costume Institute announced with regret that she would not be coming due to the recent tragic events in Paris.
“Her feeling was that it was unseemly to be celebrated that way, and that she would rather be associated with the families of those that are mourning in Paris,” said Koda.
However in her message, she expressed her hopes that the exhibition will represent the joy associated with the freedom of creation.
Destined for Style
Born in 1929 and married to Count Edouard de Ribes (1923–2013) in 1948, Jacqueline de Ribes has been emulated since the early 1950s when she became a public figure. She was admired not only by her peers, and the public, but fashion designers as well.
“The couturiers admired her so much, that in some instances they would hand over their ateliers to do her designs,” said Koda.
An example of such a unique collaboration is the (Spring/Summer 1969 haute couture) evening ensemble, in ivory silk crepe fringed with ivory silk conceived by Jacqueline de Ribes for the White Ball given in London, and realized by House of Dior, which was headed by Mark Bohan at the time.
The exhibition is a collection of photos of de Ribes through the years, clothing from her personal collection, and clothing of her own design.
But the reason it took eight years to organize was partly due to de Ribes’s reservations about the idea that her clothing would represent her.
Koda recounted that he was able to convince her by explaining that the position the MET would take is the “narrative arc of her creative side”—first as a creative young girl, later as a wearer of haute couture, and finally, as a fashion designer in her own right.
