Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN LECCA, COURTESY OF THE TODD OLDHAM STUDIO (RUNWAY); COURTESY OF RISD MUSEUM (DRESS) BEAUTIFUL DREAMER DESIGNER TODD OLDHAM THRILLS THE SENSES WITH HIS FIRST-EVER EXHIBIT. BY JARED BOWEN Entering the main gallery of Todd Oldham's first-ever retrospective, at the RISD Museum, in Providence, is like waltzing into a dream. At All of Everything: Todd Oldham Fashion, row after row of the designer's stunning couture drape the simple silhouettes of white mannequins atop light green platforms. It's as if you have stumbled upon the most glam garden party ever conjured. Oldham entered the fashion industry in 1989 and rocketed to the top, his designs raucous explosions of color, spirit, and breathtaking artisanship. The self-taught designer always found inspiration in the most unlikely places. As a child he read not Vogue but the JC Penney and Montgomery Ward catalogs, cover to cover. He credits an episode of The Three Stooges, in which the trio was mistaken for fashion designers, for launching his own ambition. Oldham's gowns were inspired by seemingly everything: his boyhood Lite-Brite machine, the bazaars of Tehran, the trash he found and collected on the streets of New York. However, a mere 10 years into his career, Oldham abruptly closed shop, declaring he'd said all he had to say. He's prolific still— designing hotels, producing artist monographs, and creating house- ware collections—but it all makes his now-historic time in fashion seem a glorious dream indeed— one temporarily revived. April 8 through September 11, 224 Benefit St., Providence, RI, 401-454-6500; risdmuseum.org . BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 39 Like riding a bike: Oldham returned to designing to create this dress specifically for All of Everything. Todd Oldham (here at his Fall 1996 runway show) reigned atop '90s fashion with his diverse and eclectic designs, such as the patchwork pieces worn by Helena Christensen (another '90s mega-star, LEFT) at this Fall '94 show. SCENE EVERYBODY 'S TALKIN G ABOU T...