Michelle Finamore, former Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, curates her FIRST gallery exhibition at Tiina Smith Jewelry in Boston.

Tiina Smith Jewelry | 121 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116
Jewelry as Fashion as Jewelry | October 1 – November 30, 2020

Resonating with the influence of Christian Dior’s iconic ‘Envol’ collection of 1948, where he took his revolutionary New Look ideas of 1947 and added aerodynamic sweeps of fabric, these 2 pieces reflect the idea of winged flight inherent in that new and highly influential style.

At Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Finamore made a name for herself and elevated the international profile of the museum’s extensive fashion holdings by curating thought-provoking and cutting-edge exhibitions like 2019’s groundbreaking Gender Bending Fashion, which drew record attendance and critical acclaim as it examined how gender roles in fashion + society have been challenged in the past century. Her work at the MFA also includes 2016’s #techstyle, (which attracted 600+ people on opening night!), 2015’s Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen and Think Pink in 2014.

The illusion of being enveloped in a diamond dusted constellation is echoed in the Chanel ring, the VCA diamond earrings and the crystal embroidered Swarovski gloves.

This time, Michelle teamed up with Tiina Smith Jewelry for a gallery exhibition in Boston that offers visitors an up-close look at 20th century fashion + accessories that Finamore paired with Tiina’s collection of rare vintage jewelry.

My jewels represent an idea, first and foremost! I want to cover women with constellations.
— Coco Chanel

Presenting Jewelry As Fashion As Jewelry!

Beginning October 1 through November 30, explore the connections between fashion + jeweled adornment from the Art Deco era to the present day. Using the historic depth of the Tiina Smith Collection as inspiration, Jewelry as Fashion as Jewelry will present, for the first time in a gallery setting, the dynamic interplay between vintage and contemporary fashion and spectacular jewels.

Unlike a museum where items are typically displayed behind glass, this installation will include full length mannequins that can be viewed in the round for a truly up-close and intimate experience at the Tiina Smith Jewelry Gallery in Boston.

The exhibition will also be available to view virtually on TiinaSmithJewelry.com, and Michelle + Tiina will host a curator’s conversation once the exhibit opens. The exhibition catalogue includes Michelle + Tiina’s inspiration behind the exhibit, as well as exclusive imagery of the vintage pieces on models.

Michelle Finamore
@lovefashionhistory

Michelle Finamore, Ph.D. is a Fashion and Design Curator and Historian. She was the Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for 8 years where she curated exhibitions including the groundbreaking Gender Bending Fashion, #techstyle, Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen and Think Pink. Exhibitions at other institutions include Cocktail Culture at the Norton Museum of Art and research for Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She previously held posts at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Sotheby’s where she organized themed sales of vintage fashion.

She writes frequently for both scholarly and popular publications on topics as varied as contemporary fashion, menswear, sustainability, and studio jewelry. She is the author of numerous books, including Hollywood Before Glamour, the first book to explore fashion in American silent film. She is a sought-after lecturer both here and abroad and she has taught courses on fashion, design and film history at the Rhode Island School of Design, Massachusetts College of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Tiina Smith & Tiina Smith Jewelry
TiinaSmithJewelry.com

Tiina Smith Jewelry, located at 121 Newbury Street and TiinaSmithJewelry.com, offers an ever-evolving collection of exceptional 20th and 21st century jewelry from the most important makers selected without compromise for its relevance, artistry and intrinsic value.

Longtime vintage jewelry collector and former Wall Street investor Tiina Smith brings a distinctly feminine flair to her mix of extraordinary jewels. From a rare pair of Cartier ruby and diamond ear clips to a Verdura pink and yellow sapphire ring to an extraordinary Moussaieff gem-set bracelet, her collection vibrates with gorgeous color.

Tiina combines a connoisseur’s expertise with a collector’s enthusiasm. With her background in finance and strategic consulting, she has merged her passion for exquisite jewels with her business acumen to assemble a collection of jewelry from prominent brands for discreet and discerning buyers. In moving from the world of finance to fine jewelry, she brings with her a rigorous transparency with an understanding of value as the bottom line. As a female founder who leads an all-woman team, she also understands implicitly that jewelry, beyond mere adornment, is the most personal form of self-expression.

Tags: Accessories, Chanel, diamonds, emerald green, exhibitions, fashion, fashion and lifestyle, fine jewelry, Hollywood, Hollywood lifestyle, jewellery, jewelry, lapis lazuli, luxury fashion, Michelle Finamore, museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, necklaces, rings, Swarovski, Tiffany & Co., Tiina Smith, Top, Van Cleef & Arpels