I had the pleasure of attending the press walkthrough of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion. The Costume Institute states that the exhibition “explores the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, focusing on iconic fashion models in the latter half of the the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring the fashion of their respective eras.”

Using photographs and displays featuring the works of  the masters of fashion and fashion photography, the exhibit progresses through and “examines a timeline of fashion from 1947 to 1997 through the idealized aesthetic of the fashion world” as explained by Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute. “With a mere gesture, a truly stellar model can sum up the attitude of her time - becoming not only a muse to designers or photographers, but a muse to a generation”

This beautiful exhibit opens to the public on May 6th in the Tisch Gallery on the 2nd floor of  the Metropolitan Museum of Art and will remain open until August 9th 2009.  It’s worth seeing with your own eyes, but after the jump, you can catch a sneak preview of the exhibition.

Event sponsor Marc Jacobs.

Event Co-chair Anna Wintour.

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From the fine folks at Mass Appeal: An opportunity to get down. Show ‘em what your workin with.
Open Casting Call
Who: Girls 18+ who want to model in Mass Appeal
When: Saturday, April 12 @ 10am
Where: K&M Studios, 385 Broadway Suite 3F, NYC
Why: ‘Cause you love Mass Appeal

Hey ladies!! Amanda Lopez , MISS member and former Mama intern, is a photographer extraordinaire that is down in LA working with THE Estevan Oriol and she let me in on a new project . . . .

Upper Playground is putting together a show with Estevan Oriol and Yasumasa Yonehara. Yonehara is well known for his seductive images of Japanese models and Oriol is known for his shots of lovely Latinas. The concept behind the project is that the photographers will switch their subject matter. So, Estevan is searching for Japanese girls in SF to photograph the first week of April and Yone is looking for Latinas…

This is your chance to be a supa-model and be shot by some of the most talented photographers out there right now! If you fit the bill and are interested please send a picture and your contact info to yone_estevan@yahoo.com. Models must be 18+ and able to shoot the first week of April. The show is on the 5th of April. Best of Luck!!

Iconic image by Estevan Oriol:

Work by Yasumasa Yonehara:

The issue of model’s weight and body image have long plagued the fashion industry, though nothing has really been done about it. A few months back during the Spring ‘07 Shows, Spain’s top fashion show led the way in saying "enough is enough" by rejecting certain models as being "too skinny." It seems this was a spark for a new trend. Now, "Italy is looking for international consensus on its plan to issue licenses to fashion models who meet an age and health standard." I think it’s great that the fashion industry is recognizing the impact that it can have on womens’ body images and I look forward to the day when models look more like women and less like skeletons.
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Image: MSN

Info: WWD & MSN

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