Sonia Delaunay, Her Art and Fashion

Possibly responsible for originating the concept of ""wearable art,'' Sonia Delaunay radicalized the fabrics women wore during the Jazz Age of the '20s. Emerging from the painterly influence of her famous spouse Robert, she chose to express her art with multitextured textiles in geometric patterns. Her ``simultaneous'' dresses were art in motion: when worn, the perception of color and form transmuted to visually interact with the surrounding environment. Diaghilev's commission of her costumes for his Ballets Russes allowed Delaunay to realize her theories. Fifty black-and-white and 40 color plates are displayed here. Delaunay's shimmering hues were drawn from her native Russian traditions, then elegantly crafted for the sophisticated admiration of Parisian society. Feted in Apollinaire's poetry, by Chanel's commissions and the devotion of celebrity clients, her ``visual exuberance . . . is still at work . . . '' in thefashion statements of today, notes Vreeland in her foreword. (January)