Ahead of the Curve: On the Ideal of Female Beauty, From Rubens to Gautier

Could it be that we are at the beginning of a new era in fashion, where age has no meaning and style has no age? Has the fashion world grown up and stopped worshiping the young? The complicated connections between fashion and puberty have received different expressions throughout history. For instance, Marie Antoinette's silver hair trend is currently making a comeback, while paradoxically, the perpetual pursuit of the fountain of youth marches on. However, in the last decade, there has been a perceptual change made possible through online platforms. Blogs and Instagram accounts broke age conventions and opened the stage for women of all ages. One of the most famous of them is Iris Apple, the 101-year-old fashion icon who made it to the cover of "Harper's Bazaar." The lecture is a cross-generational meeting celebrating every age's beauty and style.

The queen may lack a crown, but she dons a cone bra, fishnet stockings, and the iconic name Madonna! The ultimate diva of Western pop, who, with her debut record, sent the world into a frenzy with her groundbreaking style, continues to shape and influence the fashion scene. Madonna is the master of the stage persona, using clothes and accessories as tools for social revolution and a shield against relentless public scrutiny. In her lecture, Yaara Keydar explores the life of this modern icon—a tale of courage and personal sacrifice woven through the musical milestones and stylistic evolutions of a woman who constantly reinvents herself while always staying true to who she is. Madonna, this is a love song.

How can one find beauty in the darkness of war? Can it even hold meaning when humanity is shrouded in shadow? In the lecture “Secrets of Heroines”, exhibition curator Ya’ara Keydar invites the audience on a behind-the-scenes journey into the making of “Heroines: Fashion and Hope in World War II.” In this talk, Ya’ara shares the curatorial process and the personal experience of engaging with such a complex subject in the aftermath of October 7. Curation is a process that involves collaboration with professionals, moments of success and failure, mistakes, and a great deal of magic. Ya’ara will tell how a single tiny thimble led to an entire exhibition. She will reveal the mysteries uncovered during the research, share moving stories from the production process, and speak about sources of inspiration—something we all need now more than ever. This is a heartfelt lecture about a journey between sorrow and beauty, between loss and hope—and above all, a deep belief in women and humanity.