Museo de la Moda
Manolo says, today in the New York Times there is the annotated list of the 41 Places to Go in 2011, which was, as such things usually are, mostly the exercise in status-conscious, Bobo one-upmanship.
Naturally, because the Manolo is both the bohemian and bourgeois, the Manolo was pleased to see that he had recently been to several of the places on the list, including the number one choice, Santiago, Chile.
And, he was extremely happy to see that there was the entire paragraph in the NY Times Santiago entry devoted to the Museo de la Moda…
Perhaps the most remarkable cultural space to open in the last few years is the Museo de la Moda, a privately financed fashion museum inside a revamped 1960s Modernist mansion. It has a permanent collection of nearly 10,000 pieces of couture and memorabilia (of which 800 are typically on display), including a light-blue jacket worn in 1966 by John Lennon and a black strapless gown worn in 1981 by Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Manolo felt that the museum was strongest in the clothing of the mid-20th century, undoubtedly the result of the founder Jorge Yarur’s unusual filial devotion, which has preserved not only the family’s modernist mansion, but his mother’s clothing collection. Indeed, it is the clothing of the mother which forms the heart of this collection, lovingly displayed in cases in the darkened, converted bedrooms and family rooms of the mansion, as if they were the religious objects in glass reliquaries. (As one internet wag said, Jorge Yarur, The Most Fashionable Mama’s Boy Ever.)
Beyond the mother’s clothing, which is good but not great, however, there is the extensive collection of important and historical pieces, including several major Paul Poiret gowns, along with the Diors, the Chanels, and many older items of interest.
The shoe collection was likewise well done, although the Manolo did have the very sniffy pleasure of pointing out that two pairs of the boots had been misidentified, their cards transposed (undoubtedly the error of the inattentive curator).
Of the course, there many more reasons to go to Santiago, but for the Manolo, it was the Museo de la Moda that made the trip.
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Comments
Astra 14 years ago
I enjoyed my 3 days in Santiago but did not consider it as a prime vacation destination. More like a good place to live but not a classic city for tourists. Now, if you use it as a jumping-off point for other spots in Chile, I”m on board.
Manolo the Shoeblogger 14 years ago
The Manolo’s Argentine travel agent, Carlos, referred to the Santiago as “una ciudad triste,” which the Manolo took to mean that it the night life was lacking and the people were somewhat sour.
And indeed, while the nightlife was bad, and the peoples were serious, although friendly, the Manolo still felt that there was enough entertainment to spend the whole week in Santiago. There are three or four very good museums , including the Pre-Columbian and the Franciscan Convent, that are very much worth the time.
Although ultimately, the Manolo’s friend Astra is correct. It is not the best tourist city, and there is much, much more to see in Chile.