Spring Looks Bright at the de Young Museum

From spectacular exhibits of Bouquets to Art, to the Oscar de la Renta retrospective, the fabulous de Young Museum in San Francisco is welcoming this spring’s season with vibrant colors, style, beauty, and creativity to be inspired by and enjoyed.

Bouquets to Art 2016 (April 5–10)

Peonies and Picasso, hydrangeas and Hockney are just some of art and nature’s amazing collaborations as demonstrated with beautiful effect in this unique and colorful exhibition at one of San Francisco’s Fine Arts Museums.

More than 125 of the Bay Area’s most innovative floral designers will present their floral art in response to pieces in the museum’s permanent collection and in their salute to the architecture of the copper-clad landmark building, designed by the firm Herzog & de Meuron. This year, floral designers will also draw inspiration from the special exhibition, Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective, the world premiere survey of the late designer’s work.

From strikingly simple to elaborately intricate, the Bouquets to Art 2016 exhibition will launch with the April 4th opening night gala and preview with models strolling through the museum wearing gowns and accessories created entirely from fresh flowers and designed by students from the City College of San Francisco.

Catered luncheons and pop-up discussions by floral designers will be held throughout the week, while an onsite raffle of luxury goods and services will conclude with a drawing on the afternoon of Saturday, April 9th. All proceeds from Bouquets to Art 2016 benefit the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Bouquets to Art 2016 is presented by the San Francisco Auxiliary of the Fine Arts Museums. For detailed information on events, as well as the purchase of the tickets, visit deyoungmuseum.org/bouquets.

Oscar de la Renta: Retrospective (through May 30)

The magical world premiere exhibit of over 130 ensembles produced over five decades by the world-renowned fashion designer Oscar de la Renta is mesmerizing and beautifying the magnificently displayed thematic sections of the exhibit. De la Renta’s early work is presented along with an area for Spanish-influenced work as well as areas for Eastern, Russian, and garden influences, daywear and eveningwear, and glamorous red carpet gowns.

This is the first major exhibition celebrating the life and career of one of the most influential designers in the history of fashion. Tracing his career from Spain at the House of Balenciaga and following the world’s most iconic fashion houses, de la Renta was the preferred designer for movie stars and First Ladies of the White House.

Who could forget Sarah Jessica Parker, the star of Sex and the City, wearing de la Renta’s signature gown at the 2014 Met Museum Gala Ball in New York? Parker, who was one of the designer’s close friends, admitted that stitching the famed designer’s name across the train of her dress was something de la Renta would never in a million years have done; he’s far too modest. ‘’Please let me use scarlet embroidery thread and splash your name across the back,’’ the actress said in her interview in ‘’Vanity Fair.’’

‘’It was a privilege to wear his designs and I will always be grateful that he allowed me to honor him by embroidering his name on his glorious dress.’’ Yes, this dress is featured in the de Young Museum’s exhibit.

Ensembles in the exhibition are drawn from the designer’s personal collection, the archives of the House of Balmain, public and private collections that include former First Lady Laura Bush, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift, Karlie Kloss, Nicki Minaj, Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Rihanna, and Amy Adams.

I was very fortunate to have met Oscar de la Renta on the picturesque shore of Lake Tahoe at the annual Keep Lake Tahoe Blue fashion show which he presented in partnership with Saks 5th Avenue as a benefit to save Lake Tahoe. Overwhelmed by the self-imposed intimidation and by the very un-designer outfit I wore at this meeting, I finally got enough courage to chat with the famed designer and express my admiration for his work. Elegantly attired in a green sports jacket and wearing a Panama-style hat, the debonair gentleman smiled, shook my hand, thanked me, and said that these afternoons at Lake Tahoe are his favorite events each year.

And maybe due to my encounter with this charming and talented man and the fact that he was an avid gardener who annually gave tours of his private garden in New York, I made an impossible choice in selecting the garden segment as my favorite nostalgic centerpiece of this Oscar de la Renta exhibit.

Oscar de la Renta left his native Dominican Republic at the age of eighteen to study painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. While living in Spain, he became interested in the world of design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion couturier Cristobal Balenciaga. Later, he left Spain for a couture assistant job at the house of Lanvin in Paris. In 1963, he came to New York to design the couture collection for Elizabeth Arden. In 1965, Oscar de la Renta founded his signature ready-to-wear label, one of the world’s most prestigious fashion brands.

This exhibition is organized in close collaboration with the House of Oscar de la Renta and the designer’s family, and is curated by Andre Leon Talley, former editor-at-large for Vogue and a lifelong friend of de la Renta. Asked at the press event what was his favorite dress in this collection at de Young, Talley selected the gorgeous pink gown worn by Taylor Swift at the 2014 New York Met Gala.

Thank you Diane B. Wilsey, president of the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, for your ‘’labor of love,’’ as she described it at the press event, in orchestrating this stunning collection for de Young. Wilsey, who was a personal friend of de la Renta since the age of 5, had approached the famed designer at one of the Lake Tahoe fashion show gatherings with the idea of premiering this exhibit at the de Young.

For additional information and the purchase of the tickets visit deyoungmuseum.org/delarenta.

Photos courtesy of the de Young Museum.

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.

By Lina Broydo