Great emphasis was placed on the workmanship in this show, and on the couture ideal of an emotional exchange between craftsman and wearer.
The elevation element is most important when it comes to ideas, rather than price – although those are generally elevated too, given the materials and the workmanship in the really good stuff.
The artifacts "are a snapshot of a unique era," said Dr. Gail Petrosky, a dentist in Manalapan, N.J. "I don't think the workmanship in these pieces will be replicated".
"When you do a mysterious double tourbillon, the most exquisite pieces ever created by Cartier, you need a high level of workmanship in line with these high complications," said Thierry Lamouroux, head of watch marketing at Cartier International.
Balmain always has the same agenda: making basic clothes with basic instincts – but raising that to a higher level with fine workmanship, in the cut, the quality of the material and its embellishment.
Established in 1853, the Maison Goyard was a family-owned luggage-maker that had, since the turn of the last century, catered to the international traveling set, consistently receiving the highest honors of workmanship in World Fairs and International Expositions.
"I'm used to intricate workmanship in clothes, and dresses that take 25 people to make," said Mr. Arora, who was wearing a sparkling V-neck sweater that was sewn with metallic threads and gold-painted sneakers, just in case you missed the clues on the metal invitations.
Inlaid cloisonné jewelry reached an especially high standard of workmanship in Britain, as is shown by a purse lid, a sword, and jewelry from the cenotaph (monument honouring a dead person whose body lies elsewhere) to a 7th-century East Anglian king discovered at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk (British Museum).
"The original workmanship in this building was done with great attention to detail, and a lot of the material used on it couldn't be duplicated today because it would be too costly," said George W. Bradley, an architect who is senior project manager with Jones-GMO, the general contractor.
Such a document "certifies that the building is substantially in compliance with rules governing its construction," he said, "and even if workmanship in a building may not be superb and you get those kinds of issues, the building might still be in compliance".
Zeng Hongling, a retired teacher who wrote three essays that criticized the government's earthquake response and blamed corruption for poor workmanship in school buildings, was detained in June on suspicion of inciting subversion, according to the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, a group based in Hong Kong.
