They argue about who started it. Darnell-Jamal Lisby, assistant curator of fashion at the Cleveland Museum of Art , initially claims he was paid a visit in 2022 by CMA Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art Sooa Im McCormick , which led to the recently opened exhibition “Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution.” “No, you approached me!” insists McCormick.
“He came to MY office.” “Yes,” he then allows. This is the friendliest of brief disagreements, the colleagues appearing very happy to talk about the show they created together, which runs through Oct.
13 in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Gallery. Beautifully lit and boasting roughly 25 loaned works, ranging, according to press materials, from 17th-century excavated aristocratic garments to “contemporary Korean couture from leading and emerging Korean fashion designers,” the eclectic show is the first Korean fashion exhibition at the museum and the first at “a leading comprehensive US art museum.” “The exhibition itself is just so exciting,” McCormick says.
“But what makes this exhibition even more exciting is the presentation of the historical garments of the late 16th and 17th centuries. Those garments are all excavated from tombs in Korea, and it’s the first exhibition outside of Korea to present the historical garments, the authentic garments, and to talk about what (were fashion trends) in the 17th century. We can contextualize how they served as inspiration for modern and conte.
