It’s no wonder they call her the “Indiana Jones of fashion” for her hunting skills, an archaeological flair that allows her to unearth forgotten rarities from the past. For Cheri Balch- founder of the prestigious online vintage store Shrimpton Couture – Fashion is a serious matter, far from being reduced to a bunch of soulless rags. This is a living history, history on the fabric of the eras that have been and, with a little foresight, will be. Flipping through her Instagram profile is like diving into a universe of old editorials, iconic runway footage and pills. costume history.
Rising from the ashes of oblivion like the Phoenician Arabs, Arabian Nights dresses are often worn by the most famous celebrities – from Rihanna to Adut Akech – who made Shrimpton Couture popular on the red carpet and beyond. Yes, because a careful study of Balch often reveals rarities of museum value. For example? Dating back to the sixties, Karl Lagerfeld’s dress is an example of the (fashionable) militancy of a less documented and therefore more intriguing couturier than ever.
A Tiziani by Karl Lagerfeld dress that should have been in the Met…
…but he wasn’t there. This is a more or less recent clip posted by Cheri Balch on her Instagram profile. This is part of the current Shrimpton Couture archive, in fact, an orange dress, one of those that today (cautiously!) we would call sunset dressto renew the warm shades of the sky at sunset. Long dress with V-neck embellished with sequins, in suspension with a hood with feathers, opening in the center. A vintage gem created in the 1960s by Karl Lagerfeld when he ran the Tiziani-Rome brand.a Roman atelier founded by Texan Evan Richards and run by a Hamburg designer from 1963 to 1969. Vale and, above all, should have been part of the exhibition beauty linefor three reasons. First, this the dress belongs to the very first creations of Lagerfeldand the second one is it is one of the very few examples in the world that has been confirmed as a sketch by a couturier when he worked for Tiziani. Another interesting aspect, according to the founder of Shrimpton Couture, is the similarity of the coat, all the same. plumage, with white hood ensembles are instead on display at the Met.
It turns out that the inspiration for the latest creation came from there, from a dress sewn in youth for a Roman home? Balch’s question remains open, but it certainly should come up. the incredible work of scouting as well as care, repair and conservation that this specialist does with often unique vintage garments. Archival delicacies that in this case allow us to tell the story of a man beyond Chanel, the undisputed kaiser of fashion, “a mercenary who paid a fixed fee” – as he defined himself in an interview with Natalia Aspesi for Republic – who with volcanic talent managed to give prestige to more than one label. And let us today trace the short history of the brand, which, when Lagerfeld was at the helm, dressed a large number of ladies of cinema and high society: from Elizabeth Taylor to the daughter of the tobacco magnate Doris Duke, from Gina Lollobrigida to Princess Marcella Borghese. One of them, who knows, could be a carrierTiziani by Karl Lagerfeld orange dress. A treasure of used fashion that lives on today through the passion and work of those who believe that fashion has value, not just clean and simple clothes. Just like “trendy Indiana Jones” Cherie Balch.
Source: Elle