Collection FW2010: Soirée de Gala

This week I continued my exploration of the City of London, and while the museums were great and the food tasty, the epitome of the culture I found at the Royal Opera House, at Covent Garden.  It was by chance that I had such an incredible experience.  Not only have I been lucky to come across the tickets, but also, for the big opera aficionado that I am, I got to see Rigoletto, one of my all-time favourite operas.  Needless to say, the experience was truly unforgettable, and not as much for the venue where the artists performed, as for the staging.  The sheer number of singers provided both an insight into what the court of an Italian Duke would have likely looked like, and a depth to the performance (voice-wise) unmatched in many a performance.

"Soirée de Gala" ("Gala Party") is a rendition of the scene (read: commotion) in front of the (old) Opera House in Paris (Opera Garnier) with an arriving patron descending from a coach, other greeting and exchanging pleasantries on the steps of the imposing building, richly ornate to match the grandeur of the upcoming spectacle.

Issued originally in 1950, this design was recently relaunched in 2006 and, more recently, as part of the Fall/Winter 2010 collection.  Jean-Louis Clerc, the artist behind this rendition, created other designs for the Maison, such as Armenonville (of 1961) where his "signature" style is obvious.  

The scene leaves you anticipating excitedly the lifting of the curtain, just as the scarf, wonderfully wrapped around someone's neck and revealing - intriguingly- only brief snippets of the performance leaves you ever so mesmerized...

For added excitement, I'm attaching below a picture featured by Hermes in its fashion magazine.  The scarf depicted in the picture is of cashmere, with fringes - a beautiful scarf that can be decidedly unisex with the right accessories (such as a pair of masculine boots, or possibly a "rough"-looking beard).