LONDON (AP) — A brand new exhibition in Paris celebrates the historical past of vogue — as worn by Snoopy and the Peanuts gang.
“Snoopy In Style,” which opens Saturday, pays tribute to Charles M. Schulz and his beloved creations by looking at the evolution of the characters’ outfits and their context in — and influence on — popular culture ahead of the 75th anniversary of the “Peanuts” cartoon on Oct. 2.
The primary time Schulz drew Charlie Brown, he didn’t have his iconic zig-zag shirt. Peppermint Patty’s stance on what to put on to highschool pre-dates a authorized change for women’ uniform. And Snoopy has been dressed by among the world’s prime designers, from Chanel to Fendi to Vivienne Westwood.
Seventy-five outfits created for the comfortable toy variations of Snoopy and his sister Belle are on show, together with these designed by Dolce & Gabbana, Betsey Johnson, Zac Posen and Christian Siriano.
“We have dolls from every single designer around the world. Chanel is here. Karl Lagerfeld is here. Dolce Gabbana, Balmain,” Peanuts Worldwide executive Melissa Menta said. “We also have 18 sets of dolls that include Lacoste, and also Valentino by Alessandro Michele.”
Schulz’s widow Jeannie Schulz, who’s the founding father of The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Analysis Middle, mentioned the cartoonist “understood that comic strip characters had to have a style.”
“He realized after some time that you want to know instantly who the character is and what that character represents. In order that’s when Charlie Brown received the stripe and Lucy received the painted gown and Sally received a bow,” she mentioned.
The present highlights a cultural distinction in how Peanuts has been embraced in america and Europe, Menta mentioned.
“In the United States, we know them from these classic specials: ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ is something that most Americans really embrace Peanuts for. But here in Europe, it’s most often known as a fashion brand,” she mentioned.
Classic vogue impressed by Snoopy and pals can be on show, from the likes of Marc Jacobs and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac –- whose affection for Snoopy led to a memorable catwalk second in 1989, when Vanessa Paradis modelled a jacket completely coated with Snoopy plush toys for his fall-winter assortment.
His “King Snoopy” statue additionally holds courtroom, whereas elsewhere within the exhibition the classic Peanuts merchandise on present dates again to the Nineteen Sixties.
Requested why Peanuts continues to enchantment 75 years on, Jeannie Schulz mentioned she could not inform “how much is just because that dog is very cute and very lovable and very sweet … (and) how much also the comic strip represents humanity.”
“The characters in the comic strip, even Snoopy, worry about whether people like him,” she said. “Charlie Brown doesn’t know who likes him and how he fits in the world.”
The free exhibition runs March 22 by April 5 at Hôtel du Grand Veneur within the Marais district of Paris.
___ Related Press journalist Deborah Gouffran contributed to this report.
