MM Summer 2012 exhibition

This exhibition was inspired by the "under the sea" trend that hit the runways for the spring/summer 2012 fashion collections – specifically, the ethereality and mystery contained within the dark depths of the sea as well as the play of light on the ocean. I loved Armani's concept of moonlight reflecting off the sea's surface, Versace's more literal take on the underwater theme, and McQueen's mind-blowingly gorgeous representation of ruffly anemones and seaweed in dress form, which appear to be swayed by ocean currents, along with a breathtaking dress dripping with coral. Here's the trend as rounded up by Marie Claire:

But I was most taken with Chanel's spring 2012 collection, which Vogue described as "an aquatic wonderland of gleaming white stingrays and sea horses adrift amongst coral branches and shells on a sandy sea bed. [The] models…looked like magical deep-sea sirens, from the pearls scattered in their hair to the sea-urchin shells that propped up the heels of their sandals." Here are some of my favorites from this collection.

First, the catwalk, which was totally amazing – if I had a real space for the Museum I'd do something just as extraordinary.

The accessories:

This dress, whose tendrils remind me of seaweed or even jellyfish tentacles gently flowing underwater:

And finally, the subdued makeup with pearl accents:

(images from tooclothesminded.com, vogue.com and fashionindie.com)

I was also intrigued by Van Cleef and Arpels' Atlantide collection, which featured a host of ocean-inspired pieces such as these beautiful mermaid and jellyfish pins.

But what really blew me away was the mini site the company set up for the collection – it perfectly articulates the feel I was going for. Here are some screenshots of it (but you should really visit the site directly to get the full effect):

(images from vancleefarpels.com)

Of course, while I wanted to bring out an otherworldly, ethereal mood, I couldn't resist throwing in a few "fun" pieces as well – MAC's cheeky Hey Sailor! collection and a couple of Too-Faced's summery Quickie Chronicles capture the more carefree side of summer. I also chose pale blue paper for the labels, which I thought went well with the themes.

So that's what was going on in the Curator's noggin when setting up this exhibition. Enjoy!