MoMu presents Dreamsuits. Designs by Nudie Cohn, the Rodeo Tailor – featuring the collection of Bobbejaan Schoepen’ in the MoMu Gallery, an exhibition of fascinating outfits, accessories and ephemera by the legendary Nudie Cohn.

Drawn from the personal collection of iconic Belgian entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen and his wife Josée, this show (curated by fashion historian Mari MacKenzie and designer R. Cerimagic) will be the first European exhibition to examine the work of the Ukrainian born tailor who revolutionized the clothing of Country & Western music.

Dreamsuits. Designs by Nudie Cohn, the Rodeo Tailor
- feat. the collection of Bobbejaan Schoepen
from October 28, 2011 until February 2nd, 2012
MoMu Gallery, free entrance

© 2011 Bobbejaan Records

W&LT Winter 1997/1998 from Walter Van Beirendonck on Vimeo.

On the occasion of the exhibition Dream the world awake, MoMu Library has digitalized all the available videos from the collection of Walter Van Beirendonck over the past three decades. As the exhibition advances, each week two new videos will be posted on the video page of the exhibition’s website and on the MoMu Blog!

The next two videos that are online:

W.&L.T. A/W1997-98 – Avatar
(See video on top of this post)
January 1997 at the Espace W.&L.T. at St. Denis, Paris, France
Setting: A simultaneous show on 3 parallel catwalks. behind a transparent gaze, the models could be seen moving from catwalk through catwalk. Each entrance had light journals with different slogans flashing by.
Styling: American Avatar: 40 models, strong but boyish, with transparent blindfolds like young superheroes. African Avatar: 40 models looking like W.&L.T. Warriors, with metal headframes and ‘projected’ war make-up. Asian Avatar: 40 girls introducing the first W.&L.T. Women’s collection, inspired by Ladybugs. All eyes were veiled with transparent gaze with applied sparkling sequins. 120 hats by Stephen Jones crowned this collection.

W&LT Winter 1995/1996 from Walter Van Beirendonck on Vimeo.

W.&L.T. S/S1997 – A FETISH FOR BEAUTY
July 1997 at the Espace W.&L.T. at St Denis, Paris, France
Setting: A red square of 17 by 17 metres, surrounded by stands for the audience. Four moods and light shows (straight white, white showers, white diffused and coloured starlite mirrorballs) were created for each part of the show.
Styling: 30 Wizzkids performed a line-dance, showing a brandnew Boyswear collection, the newly developed W.&L.T. monster-sneakers and funny ‘variation-on-cowboy hats’ by Stephen Jones.
30 Black Beauties dressed in black with accents of green, orange and pink, with Marilyn Manson-style make-up and posing with Godzilla grace.
White Trash: 30 models on high stilts (50cm.) walked with alien grace across the red square. Long white silhouettes with red and pink lighting accents.
Make-up: white transparent gaze masks and gloved catsuits with Swarovski rhinestones. The girls wore maxi red hair-hats by Stephen Jones, that made this ‘prototype for the future’ even more perfect.
Birds from Outer Space: 40 ballroom dancers, including 20 girls in dazzling evening dresses and classy hairdos, green-red masks and green rubber reptile gloves. 20 boys in black overalls with shiny numbers on their backs and rubber masks, performed techno-latino dances. They were joined by Walter and the entire backstage crew for a big party on the catwalk.

http://vimeo.com/27011258

On the occasion of the exhibition Dream the world awake, MoMu Library has digitalized all the available videos from the collection of Walter Van Beirendonck over the past three decades. As the exhibition advances, each week two new videos will be posted on the video page of the exhibition’s website and on the MoMu Blog!

To celebrate the exhibition, Antwerp icon and biscuit maker Philip’s Biscuits has created a special Walter’s Biscuit, a cookie in the shape of Walter’s head in two versions: a white beard (with sugar) and a brown beard (with chocolate marzipan). Available at the MoMu entrance desk for €5 (two Walter’s Biscuits).

Celebrating the talent of fashion maverick Walter Van Beirendonck, in May 2011 Nick Knight from SHOWstudio and stylist Simon Foxton immortalised the finest pieces from his archive in photography and fashion film, which is showcased in the Walter Van Beirendonck – Dream The World Awake exhibition in the MoMu and also included as a retrospective editorial in A/W2011 GQ Style.



The result is a monolithic photographic frieze of 64 metres in the exhibition alongside a unique fashion film created during the shoot, showcasing fourty-one outfits plucked by Simon Foxton and Van Beirendonck himself from his thirty-years of work and play.

‘Walter’s Wild Knights’ installation. A video collaboration between Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio, Simon Foxton and Walter Van Beirendonck, using archive shoot images. Photography: Boy Kortekaas.