TOPSY TURVY
Exhibition from 1st March to 8 June 2025
With her hair unstyled and wearing no make-up, a large straw hat placed simply on her head, she was dressed in a puffy muslin dress with a breezy transparent fabric. This was the state of (un)dress in which Queen Marie-Antoinette had her portrait painted by Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun in 1783. The scandal was momentous: To silence the rumour mill, the Louvre replaced this unconventional royal portrait. At the time when the dignity of one’s aristocratic lineage was necessarily reflected in a stately demeanour, an “unkept” queen, wearing a nightgown and posing as if in a private moment, was inconceivable. However, at court, many women embraced the look, which was deemed provocative. This was the moment when the undergarment could officially be worn on top. There is a dotted line linking the “chemise à la reine” (queen’s shirt) worn by Marie-Antoinette with the daring peekaboo trend of the 2000s, characterised by its underwear elastics that peeked out above a pair of low-rise trousers and other baggy bottoms. Whether it is the underwear, outerwear or intimate garments for all to see, there has been a lot of confusion throughout the ages. The textiles, cuts, colour palettes and materials associated with underwear glide across the surface of the body challenging the moral conventions of modesty.
As part of the exhibition of intimate and organic forms created by the ceramicist Elsa Sahal, the fashion cabins of La Piscine are filled with objects from the museum’s collection illustrating the words of the 18th century French writer, Louis Antoine Caraccioli: “art is often more prevalent in undress than in finery”.
This exhibition is presented in the spaces dedicated to the permanent collections, with free admission on every first Sunday of the month.
Scientific curator and management: Amélie Boron, head of the fashion collection, La Piscine – André Diligent museum of art and industry
Caption: Lolita Lempicka, cardigan and dress, autumn-winter 1998-1999, viscose, polyamide and elastane lace, polyamide and elastane damask jersey. La Piscine – André Diligent museum of art and industry. Donation from 3Suisses in 2016, Photo: Joëlle Rousseau.
Preview on Friday 28 February 2025 from 6pm.
