OCMA Unveils First Fashion Exhibit – Orange County Business Journal

Shopping, fashion and art collided this month at the Orange County Museum of Art.

The newest exhibition at the two-year-old Costa Mesa museum, ‘Yves Saint Laurent: Line and Expression,’ marks the first fashion exhibit for OCMA.

The show, which highlights the work of the renowned designer, runs through October.

Curators Olivier Saillard and Gaël Mamine worked with the museum director to fit the exhibit into OCMA’s architecture on the first floor, after a year of planning.

The pieces are from two Saint Laurent museums, in Paris and Marrakech, Morrocco, along with a loan from the collection of the Fondation Pierre Bergé –Yves Saint Laurent.

OCMA Executive Director Heidi Zuckerman discovered the show on a trip overseas, prior to the Costa Mesa museum opening when it was originally on view at the Marrakech museum.

She said she was drawn to the drawings of Saint Laurent, which showed “translations’’ of the hand drawn designs to the dresses on display, as well as the exhibition design of using purposefully-posed manakins and different textures.

“It is unprecedented for an exhibit at this level to have free admission for all eyes to see,” Zuckerman said at a pre-opening event.

Support was also provided by Elias Sabo, partner and chief executive of Compass Diversified (NYSE: CODI), parent of Costa Mesa retailer 5.11 Tactical and Newport Beach jewelry firm Lugano Diamonds.

OCMA’s free admission is a result of a prior donation from Lugano.

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The new show displays a variety of Saint Laurent’s sketches, including a selection of designs drawn with pencil dating from the ‘70s to the designer’s last collection in 2002. The museum also showcases multiple outfits and dresses from the designer that illustrate his choices in silhouettes, colors and materials.

The exhibition designer Claudia Huidobro said that the original idea of the exhibition was to not only focus on the drawings of Saint Laurent but also “the process of the drawing to the garment.”

The exhibit has more ties to Orange County than it appears – Saint Laurent was one of the first luxury brands to open a store at South Coast Plaza across the street, which helped the shopping center gain more high-end tenants in the beginning of its growth.

The upscale mall currently brings in 12-month revenue of $2 billion, making it the largest mall in OC.

Zuckerman aims to follow up the show with more fashion-focused exhibits in the coming years. Yves Saint Laurent also has a moment at the 2024 production of Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, which carries the theme “À La Mode: The Art of Fashion.”