DESIGNERS AND THEIR HOMES
3 April 2024 | Words by India Curtain
Our homes are our prisons; one finds liberty in their decoration. - Coco Chanel
On Friday 8 March, attendees gathered in the intimate setting of the Johnston Collection house in East Melbourne to hear Dr Peter McNeil delivered an informed, animated and enlightening talk about the intersection of fashion designers and interior design through the ages.
Dr Peter McNiel is an award-winning historian, known for his work surrounding the culture and history of fashion. He was a Professor of Fashion Studies at the Stockholm University, and is currently a Professor of Design History at the University of Technology in Sydney. His research for PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival is a result of his travels throughout Europe and America, discovering museums and installations that told the story of how fashion designers lived.
With humour, flair and contagious excitement about the subject, Dr McNeil explored the concept of the “house of” iconic designers throughout the ages. Peter took the audience through the homes of iconic names such as Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga and Schiaparelli, exploring the strong relationship between fashion designers, artists and interior designers.
Dr McNiel explained that fashion is a form of mobile performance art, that activates space and interacts with furniture and people. In a similar way, interior decorating is a form of expression in a space where one lives and hosts. Ways of living throughout the ages influenced fashion trends, such as the war-time and hostess eras and the luxe glamour of the early 1900s. He explored the origins of interior decorating as a profession in the 1930’s, which began as a female-dominated field occupied by well-off women.
He showcased the work of Lucile, one of the first designers to showcase clothing in a runway-style setting, as well as the Callot sisters, who are one of the first examples of combining interiors and fashion with draping techniques and languid living styles.
“We could spend a couple of days on Chanel,” said Dr McNiel, noting that he’d love to spend a (possibly painful) dinner with the designer. Chanel’s eye for luxury in material and form is evident in her designs as well as her way of living, alongside noting her lucky number 5 being reflected in the interiors. The historian displayed to the the audience a heavy catholic and French influences in her personal and salon spaces, and a platformed bed and Spanish Baroc style in her Monaco holiday home.
Peter explored the ways in which fashion icons and creatives decorate their home with luxurious, antique details. He drew connections between them, noting the charming nature of deers as a recurring theme, alongside oriental influences and earthen tones.
Dr Peter McNiel hosts an array of talks surrounding the history of fashion, including the evolving nature of male fashion, the queer influence of interior design and decoration, Jewish fashion stories and more.
The Johnston Collection is a museum, gifted by art dealer and property developer Sir William Robert Johnston to the people of Victoria. In his lifetime, he curated a collection of English Georgian, Regency, and Louis XV fine and decorative arts, and objet d’art, which can be experienced in a domestic setting as part of a guided tour.