Prêt-à-Papier or Paper Couture

Prêt-à-Papier or Couture Paper: The Exquisite Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave
Posted by What’s Up!  July 19 2012
For over 15 years, inspired by the rich history of fashion represented in European paintings, famous costumes in museum collections, and haute couture designs, the Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave has turned her passion for painting toward the recreation of elaborate costumes – crumpling, pleating, painting, and sculpting the surface of ordinary paper – to achieve the effect of textiles and create the illusion of haute couture.

A selection of iconic dresses, reinterpreted in trompe l’oeil paper masterpieces is presented in the exhibition Prêt-à-Papier: The Exquisite Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave, currently on view for the first time at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, DC. More than 25 of de Borchgrave’s quintessential interpretations of historical costumes and haute couture dresses, with six new pieces made for this exhibition, including one commissioned solely for Hillwood will be on display.

From the lavish apparel of the Russian imperial family and 18th century French aristocracy to turn-of-the-century fashion designers Mariano Fortuny and Charles Frederick Worth, discover the extraordinary paper sculptures of Isabelle de Borchgrave.

Photos © Pauline de Borchgrave
Courtesy Hillwood Estate, Museums and Gardens
© Créations Isabelle de Borchgrave