On March 10th, the Museum & Special Events group visited the Phoenix Art Museum where we enjoyed a personal docent guided tour of the Jeffrey Beene fashion collection. Because Beene hated the way fashion shows were organized, he made a dramatic change in his by highlighting his fashions using models who were ballet dancers. He used music and lighting to enhance their dance movements, and show that his fashions were designed to allow the body to move unencumbered.
Beene, we were told, didn’t follow the current fashion trends, but created his own. Boleros were prominent in this collection as Beene had spent time in Spain and liked them.
Patsy Tarr gifted her extensive collection of Beene designs to our Phoenix Art Museum, and many of her pieces were on display.
This tour was enjoyed by all of us and we were fortunate to have a very well-informed docent who provided us with great information.
Following the tour, we enjoyed conversation & lunch at Alexi’s Grille.
