Egyptomania: Fashion’s Conflicted Obsession
Egyptian art has long served, and continues to serve, as a primary inspiration for fashion designers, solidifying the legacy of Egyptomania—the influence of the art of ancient Egypt. This exhibition, on view in the CMA’s textile and Egyptian galleries, brings together around 50 objects that explore the influence of Egyptomania in fashion by juxtaposing contemporary fashion and jewelry loaned from around the world with fine and decorative artworks from The Cleveland Museum of Art collection. Egyptomania: Fashion’s Conflicted Obsession examines designers’ interpretations of themes, such as Egyptian dress, funerary process, and religion, that shape our contemporary perceptions of ancient Egyptian culture.
Scalia, Fall 2018, 2018. Maison Yeya (Emirati, est. 2006). Yasmine Yeya (Egyptian, b. 1981). Hand-dyed tulle and hand-embroidered faux feathers and crystals. Courtesy of Maison Yeya, Les Marionnettes Couture Collection.
The complex history of European imperialism in Egypt, which dates back to the ages of the Greeks and Romans, has made Egyptomania in European and American art controversial. After a lull in diplomatic European interactions with Egypt from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, the 1798 invasion of the country by the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, reinvigorated European and American interest in ancient Egyptian art and culture.
Scalia, Fall 2018, 2018. Maison Yeya (Emirati, est. 2006). Yasmine Yeya (Egyptian, b. 1981). Hand-dyed tulle and hand-embroidered faux feathers and crystals. Courtesy of Maison Yeya, Les Marionnettes Couture Collection.
The complex history of European imperialism in Egypt, which dates back to the ages of the Greeks and Romans, has made Egyptomania in European and American art controversial. After a lull in diplomatic European interactions with Egypt from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, the 1798 invasion of the country by the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, reinvigorated European and American interest in ancient Egyptian art and culture.
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