COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE | COUTURE EDITION 2008

Franz Anton Bustelli, 1759/60 · Designs by 16 international fashion designers

In 1759/60, Franz Anton Bustelli created 16 Commedia dell’Arte figures for Nymphenburg. With their coquettish glances, sweeping gestures and garments that appear almost like fabric rendered in porcelain, they rank among the masterpieces of the Rococo and the most important figure ensembles in European porcelain art.

Almost 250 years later, 16 international fashion designers and couturiers were given these figures as a kind of carte blanche: Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood, Viktor & Rolf, Elie Saab, Gareth Pugh and their fellow designers each chose a figure and created a new “outfit” for it. In doing so, they transferred elements of their own work to Bustelli’s forms: fabric patterns and embroidery, seams and lace, sequins, streetwear, and references to art and theatre.

In Nymphenburg’s master workshops, the designs were then translated into porcelain. Where fashion works with fabric, thread or sequins, the effects here are created with colour, gold and platinum, contrasting surfaces and elaborate painting techniques. Two forms of couture come together, sharing more than might at first appear: work by hand, precision in every detail and a willingness to push the boundaries of what is technically possible in pursuit of an idea.

The Commedia dell’Arte Couture Edition is limited to 25 examples of each figure.