By Rose Eden

On a beautiful afternoon in February, I ventured to the upper west side of town to
view the traveling Banksy exhibit featured at the Palace of Fine Arts in the Presidio. I
was equally as enthusiastic to be on the lookout for some epic displays of San
Francisco street style at the famed museum housing the exhibit, which was originally
built-in 1915.

The Banksy Exhibit at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts upon entrance.

If you’ve lived in the city for a while, you’d know it’s that optimal time of year between
seasons here that (if all goes well) signals winter ending just as quickly as the
swimsuits begin popping up for sale at the Target on Masonic. I was eager to view the
art created by the famed anonymous graffiti artist in person, and equally as curious to
see what the other gallery goers were wearing.

The Banksy Exhibit at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts upon entrance.
Conceptually, the idea of a Banksy gallery show is a bit of a misnomer: many of the
pieces are either prints or photographs of his art, and the show itself was compiled by
a group of art dealers who have amassed a collection of his works on loan from
various art collectors – some who chose to be named, but many did not. Considering
that this particular show features a straight up vandal artist, however, (who uses
speed and the mask of anonymity to stealthily “bomb” whatever site chosen) the only
way most people could even sort of see any of his work up close, in detail, and all
together would be by means of an exhibit such as this one. The irony of knowing that
Banksy actually would be wholly against a conventional gallery show is definitely not
lost on me, and makes it that much more alluring to check out.

Banksy himself has produced his own interactive “art shows” in the past by means of
building actual sites one could visit as an attraction, consisting of subversive themes
and theatrical stagings in remote locations. One such project, entitled: “Dismaland”
was pictured at the exhibit: in August 2015 a post apocalyptic Coney Island meets
Disneyland type theme park was actually constructed in a remote seaside town called
Weston Super-Mare in the UK where ticket holders could visit the abysmal attraction
which stayed open for a full week. Banksy has also previously produced a similar
immersive concept when he helped to design a hotel right next to the dividing wall in
Bethlehem, Palestine. “The Walled Off Hotel” is still open and run by private
ownership.

San Francisco in general is a very casual town, but the city’s dwellers certainly have no
lack of taste. After lunch and lattes on Union street, I ventured a short distance over
to the exhibition grounds where many city folk and out of towners alike were taking
advantage of the unusually sunny and warm weather by visiting the palatial landmark
building located on the exquisitely manicured grounds which also houses a small man
made lake and was designed by the same man who helped create both Golden Gate
and Central Parks in NYC.

Speaking of New York, I had already pre-planned my outfit a few days earlier with the
help of my friend Lily in Queens who boasts an ultra discerning eye for fashion via
direct messages on Instagram. With names akin to each other like Lily and Rose, we
share many of the same tastes and naturally get along well together. A (New York) city
girl in her own right, I’m quite confident that she would never allow me to step foot
into any sort of art show (or anywhere for that matter) wearing a bad outfit – or even
worse, a boring outfit. As a style vlogger, I’ve found it awfully helpful to pre-plan a
complete look ahead of time to keep me on schedule the day of; call it a dress
rehearsal of sorts, if you will. Ever theatrical and known for my themed/aesthetic head
to toe looks, I decided to take advantage of the creative environment I was stepping
into that day by wearing something a little more out of the box.

The author, wearing vintage L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani and a Brandon Blackwood crossbody bag.

Most of my outfit was vintage L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani I procured while in college at
FiDM around 2004-05: a chocolate brown stretch convertible crop top I criss crossed
over my back shoulder blades then tied around my waist in front, a camel colored midi
length Highland style plaid kilt woven with light blue and yellow cross hatching, high
zippered slit, plus front bondage zippers. Possibly my best eBay find ever, it was sent
to me from Japan as a rare sample piece that was never actually manufactured or
released for sale here in the states. I chose a Savage x Fenty bra and elastic harness
set for the very cool strappy effect they created criss crossing over my chest, the
addition of a gold safety pin with ruby colored rhinestones affixed to one side like a
brooch was both “jewelry” for my decolletage, and just enough punk rock glam for my
aesthetic that day.

Over it all I layered on a light blue Sugarthrillz cropped fuzzy wrap-around ballerina
sweater, then threw on a pair of matte black platform Adidas Sambarose trainers with
similar light blue accents. The pop of color picked up on the blue in the sweater and
kilt perfectly plus – I’ve learned my lesson about wearing the wrong shoes to the
museum the hard way… a mistake I’m not so willing to make again. I grabbed my
dalmatian print, pony hair boxy Brandon Blackwood bag-of-the-moment, attached it’s
matching cross body strap, and headed out into the Marina district in search of art,
food, and fashion.

The entrance to the exhibit itself almost looked like the front face of some sort of
dark and subversive carnival Fun House: mostly painted in black, white, and red, it was
equally as inviting aesthetically as it was daunting to enter plus a fair prelude to what
was to come shortly in the exhibit. The immersive experience began as soon as you
stepped foot in the door and continued into the dark maze installation of pitch black
walls which provided a stark contrast to the rest of the ornate building interior which I
had become accustomed to seeing over the years. Consisting of narrow hallways that
opened up into large and more typical grand display rooms, the matte black painted
walls were peppered with the various faceless street artist’s pieces from mainly the
early to mid 00’s. Their individual spotlights were the only real lighting in the exhibit,
creating a very dramatic look and feel – almost as if you were in a tunnel or
underground.

Banksy’s “Pulp Fiction” hangs at the Palace of Fine Arts.

The dark atmosphere made it a bit more challenging to scope out everyone’s outfits,
and the no flash photography rule made it just as impossible to take any clear gallery
goer pics, but I did observe that as usual, 90% of the patrons were donning
a predictable mixture of both SF “uniform” styles: mainly consisting of the puffy vests
and practical fleeces that have ruled the city since the takeover of big tech some 15
years ago. There were, however, a few folks I noticed rocking some impressive pieces
in a very low key way

One man was spotted wearing a pair of Alexander McQueen sneakers with distinctive
orange trim, and a Loewe purse was casually slung over the shoulder of a stylishly
bespeckled and very distracted Chinese mom who was busy herding her small brood
through the exhibit. Later outside, I spotted a freshly bialaged 20-something gal in a
chic outfit consisting of a brown faux leather button down shirt, tailored dark green
high waist trousers, and a medium sized brown and green leather boxy bag with
demure brushed gold hardware to tie it all together. Beyond chic. Tres’ chic, even.
She scuttled away before I could ask to take a picture and by the looks of her I
assumed she was a south city girl, but she did us (415 area code) city girls justice with
her ensemble regardless because her keen eye for detail and well put together head
to toe look made my entire day of style hunting worth the effort. In true Broke Ass
Stuart fashion, the best outfit at the event by far was one that was most likely
inexpensive but put together in the coolest of ways. It’s all about how you pull it off,
really.

Speaking of area codes, an extra treat was the very random quinceanera dress photo
shoot happening on site for a gown designer who most likely had a 408 or 925 area
code, but I digress because underneath the towering pillar columns of the grounds in
the sunshine, the models looked like an absolute Ultimate Grand Supreme Queen
dream. My friend and had I joked at lunch that we would see at least one wedding
upon arrival and were sure enough quickly one-upped by seeing the four gigantic, “My
Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” style cupcake ball gowns being photographed on site: two in
lilac and lavender, and another matching pair in red and blue satin, respectively, with
glittering gold Indian Sari-like embellished trimmings that I found to be both unique
and incredibly stylish.

I’m also not sure if I’ve ever said that about a quinceanera dress
before, but I digress because I still enthusiastically stand behind my statement.
Back to the exhibit though because despite the pitch black of most of the decorum,
upon exit you’re immediately spat out into a larger, railroad shaped corridor into a
man made “backyard” housing various mixed media works for sale by local street and
graffiti artists, a gigantic technicolor psychedelic forest mural which, at the time was
at about 90% completion, several lacquered and brightly colored aesthetic picnic
benches, (one held an oversized, wooden game of Connect Four) even a Cornhole
area. If you happen to be curious, my friend wiped the floor with me at both games,
respectfully.

There was even a “VIP Area”, a roped off side room where one could trade in their
ticket stub for a poster that housed velveteen couches and a couple of other floor to
ceiling Banksy works not otherwise in the exhibit. After I joked that all the ‘VIP
experience” was missing was a bar and a DJ, the person working the poster table
informed me that there was indeed a live DJ for the exhibit and very conveniently, on
the days the Palace of Fine Arts Bar is open. C’est’ Magnifique’.

Banksy himself has been rumored to be everyone from a member of British
electronica group Massive Attack to mid- 00’s dance music demagogues Gorillaz – but
not just one member, the entire band as a collective. Even though I currently don’t and
possibly will never know the identity of the exhibit’s namesake, quick-witted, even
quicker painting, and highly quotable acclaimed artist, I will always be enthusiastic
about viewing his art in any venue I can.

*If* I can that is – as he most famously is known for sending his work, “Love Is In The
Bin” through a paper shredder embedded into its frame just seconds after it was sold
at Sotheby’s for a whopping 25.4 million – to the utter shock and horror of onlooking
auction attendees.

Sotheby’s employees view Love is in the Bin by British artist Banksy during a media preview at Sotheby’s auction house on October 12, 2018 in London, United Kingdom.(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

While Banksy’s politically driven and provocative general ethos tends to be a message
something along the lines of: “the joke’s on us”- his exhibition left me as amused as I
was inspired to continue to consistently explore city galleries and museums on a
regular basis as I have for many years now. All in all, the entire event and day I had
planned around it ended up being irresistibly stylish… I just had to know where to
look. And with the addition of cornhole, quinceanera dresses, and an idyllic lunch on
Union street, this city girl couldn’t ask for much more because the city chic was
everywhere I looked that day.

Mission accomplished.

Rose Eden is a punk rock grown up fashion vlogger, style writer, content creator, and PR firm
Creative Director residing in San Francisco. You can send her style and fashion questions and also
follow her at @LionheartedPR and her style vlog at @RoseEdenintheCity.