San Francisco’s de Young Museum Fêtes Hollywood Glam with Bulgari

Tubogas choker

Tubogas choker

San Francisco’s de Young Museum has a major in with the fashion crowd. Not only did they nab Balenciaga and Spain in 2011 and The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk in 2012, they’re the only West Coast stop for  The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950–1990. The new exhibit, which runs through February 2014 (that gives you plenty of time to make a trip up to the Bay Area), focuses on the brand in the decades leading up to the era of red carpet moments and showcases over 150 pieces from the brand’s archives and several pieces from the Elizabeth Taylor collection.

“The hard-edged designs of the 1970s included a whole range based on the Stars-and-Stripes motif, while in the 1980s the Parentesi collection had a smoother, modular, almost architectural presence,” said Martin Chapman, curator in charge of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Both show how the jeweler could lead in new directions with a strong sense of design.”

Tremblant brooch

Tremblant brooch

Founded in 1884, Bulgari has become a brand that’s synonymous with red carpet glam (past faces for the brand include Hollywood heavy-hitters such as Julieanne Moore and Rachel Weitz as well as younger faces like Kirsten Dunst). But the history behind the label includes innovations in craftsmanship as well as avant-garde uses of traditional materials. Bulgari became known for mixing semiprecious stones with diamonds and mounting ancient coins into their jewelry, mixing traditional motifs with more modern styles, such as their famed serpenti collection.

Necklace with emeralds and diamonds

Necklace with emeralds and diamonds

The de Young’s exhibition focuses on the ’50s through the ’80s and includes jewelry pieces as well as sketches from the Bulgari archives, allowing viewers to see a piece from conception to execution. The process will also be further illustrated by other pieces form Bulgari, which show how gems are set and cut and other processes involved in the production of the pieces. The exhibit will take a decade-by-decade look at the growth of the brand and include an area dedicated to the period after World War II, when Bulgari began to create a unique style by blending Greco-Roman classicism with Renaissance motifs and 19th-century technique. The result of that playfulness and forward thinking? Stars such as Elizabeth Taylor began to take notice and collect the brand’s amazing pieces.

In addition to Taylor’s pieces, items from  Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Ellen Barkin, Lyn Revson and more are on display alongside non-jewlery exhibits which include watches, clocks and more. The exhibit’s photographs and other special material will give visitors a look at the intersection of celebrity, design and jewelry that’s often overlooked.

The Art of Bulgari: La Dolce Vita & Beyond, 1950–1990 runs through February 17, 2014. For more information, visit the de Young Museum’s official Web site.

Images courtesy the de Young Museum

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Author:Christopher Luu for Fashion Trends Daily

Christopher Luu is a Fashion Trends Daily Senior Writer and Menswear Editor.