Designer Todd Oldham burst onto the New York fashion landscape in 1989 and blazed a spirited trail throughout the next decade with his scrupulously constructed garments, featuring extravagant embellishments and raucous color combinations. This weekend I finally got the chance to visit the RISD Museum in Providence, RI where Oldham’s All of Everything exhibit is on display featuring his exuberant style and playful aesthetic of his runway opus of the 1990’s.
“We were always throwing curve balls,” Oldham recalls. “I felt I had something to say and it was meaningful and had duality and juxtaposition.”
BUTTONS!
Drawn from the Todd Oldham Studio archives, All of Everything features more than 65 full ensembles – from Oldham’s Swarovski crystal-encrusted feats of craftsmanship to his Pantone non-repeating print designs. Oldham’s intensive design process is further revealed through his original artwork (shown above) while projections of runway video footage illustrate the full creative endeavor of his fashion shows. These shows were among the first to feature Africa-American and ingenue talents such as Cindy Crawford, Christy Burlington, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Tyra Banks.
Fun Fact: The first dress pictured (below) is from Oldham’s Spring 1998 collection based on a taxi driver’s turban that was coming undone. The patterns are a hybrid of ancient Japanese embroidery patterns and preppy hair ribbons. Many of the pearls and beads nestled in the thread work are hundreds of years old.
My two personal favorites from the exhibit were this colorful beaded set, and the dress below paired with bangles made to look like everyday items, such as combs.
I highly recommend a trip to see Todd Oldham’s exhibit before it’s gone, and seeing how it’s being featured until September 11, 2016 you have NO excuses! Also, head over to my Instagram for a close up video of the featured yellow dress!
XO, Victoria
The Style Guru 