A creation by Madame Grès
Many Shades of Grès is the title of the monographic exhibition dedicated to the French designer Madame Grès, which the Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin presents until October 2026.
Two marvelous creations by Madame Grès
The exhibition, in collaboration with the School of Culture and Design at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences, highlights the creative genius of one of the greatest designers of all time.
Considered a visionary for her use of fabric, pleats, and draping in 20th-century fashion, Madame Grès created clothes that shaped a revolutionary aesthetic.
Two sketches by Madame Grès
In the exhibition, we can admire an infinite number of objects, dresses, drawings, sketches, photographs, accessories… from one of the most elegant periods in fashion, from one of the most interesting figures: Madame Grès.
Germaine Émilie Krebs began her career as a designer in the 1930s by founding her own fashion house, “Alix Barton,” together with Julie Barton. Only after 1937 did she call herself Alix Grès, going down in fashion history as Madame Grès.
Glimpses of the Many Shades of Grès exhibition
Madame Grès’s dresses are sculptural masterpieces, in which meters and meters of fabric are gathered, folded, and draped, creating significant volume while remaining fluid and ethereal, as if worn by Olympian goddesses.
Madame Grès once stated that she drew on a model, not a table, and that scissors were her most important tool. Her creations are dresses characterized by a timeless elegance, harking back to classical antiquity. According to some accounts, she was likely not only inspired by ancient sculptures, but would have loved to become a sculptor herself. Dresses that are true works of art.
Madame Grès’s Creations
Grès’s dresses have adorned fascinating women, figures who, alas—and this is not rhetoric or nostalgia—no longer exist, such as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Grace Kelly. And I’m not just talking about beauty, I’m talking about unrivaled class.
The exhibition is structured along two lines: the first focuses on garments as objects, where fabric craftsmanship and the discipline of couture are the absolute protagonists. The second is a more contemporary dialogue with contemporary expressions and thoughts, a direct conversation with Grès who aims to rediscover, if there were any need, the genius of this incredible fashion artist.
The exhibition highlights Madame Grès’s perfectionism and meticulousness, allowing us to closely observe these marvelous creations, which demonstrate an impeccable ability to construct. Because yes, even clothes need to be “constructed,” and the more skilled the artisan’s hand, the more masterpieces they will become.
Enjoy your life!
Beatrice