Isabelle de Borchgrave
[6] "I Medici" was a trompe-l'œil installation of famous Florentine figures in the ceremonial dresses of the Renaissance, with intricate gold-braiding, pearls, silk and velvet.
"Papier à la Mode", which The New York Times called "pure delight",[8] toured France, the United States and Asia.
As it traveled, de Borchgrave expanded it - with costumes from the wardrobes of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Marie Antoinette and the Empress Eugénie, the consort of Napoleon III, while it was in Japan, and adding Ottoman kaftans in Turkey.
Over the years, de Borchgrave's paper creations have ranged from an elaborate headdress in the shape of a caravel in full sail, worn by Marie Antoinette, to some oversized roses for John Galliano's haute couture show for Christian Dior, to a subtle, white on white wedding dress train worn by Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma at her wedding with Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma.
"It was dusty and fragile, wrapped up in black tissue paper", de Borchgrave recalled, "The silk was dead, you couldn't touch it any more.
"[10] In 2008, an illustrated hardcover monograph "Paper Illusions: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave" was published in the United States by Abrams Books.
[14] In February 2011, a large scale installation, "Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave" opened at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.
[15][16] The retrospective exhibition was presented in six sections: "The Artist's Studio"; "In White" showcased a selection of nine dresses; "Papiers à la Mode" featured iconic looks from key periods in fashion history signature designer pieces; "Fortuny" was an immersive environment created under a paper tent populated by recreations of Fortuny's famed pleated and draped gowns; "The Medici" and "Inspiration" – work inspired by four paintings from the Legion of Honor's collection.
[19][20] In de Borchgrave's art, the starting point is almost always the same: sheets of paper one by one and a half meters (3.3 by 4.9 ft), which she sets to work on with her brushes and paints on an enormous linen-covered table in her studio in Brussels.
