FIDM Museum Blog

Mae West objects on display

 

Originally posted in 2009, this post explores Mae West's larger-than-life persona. Visit the 20th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition to see one of Mae West's corsets and a pair of her platform shoes on exhibit. The exhibition closes on April 28, 2012.

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Mae West's (1893-1980) most famous attribute was her figure. Buxom, rounded and held in place by rigid corsets, West's silhouette provoked a degree of outrage, while also serving as her best publicity. Her hourglass shape was immortalized in 1937 when the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli used West's silhouette as the basis for her Shocking perfume bottle. Hired to design costumes for West's 1937 film Every Day's a Holiday, the Paris based couturier would not travel to Hollywood and West could not travel to Paris. A solution was reached whereby a torso based on West's measurements was sent to Schiaparelli's Paris workshop. The resulting perfume bottle serves as an iconic representation of both Mae West and Elsa Schiaparelli.

Shocking by Schiaparelli
c.1937
Gift of Annette Green
F2005.860.820A

Sandy Powell on her costume designs for Hugo

 

Tremendous thanks to costume designer Sandy Powell for answering a few questions about her costume designs for Hugo. Powell also shared some of her costume sketches, which you'll see throughout this post. See a selection of Hugo costumes at the FIDM Museum through April 28, 2012.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Hugo takes place inside a 1930s Paris train station. The film tells the tale of Hugo, a young orphan who lives a hidden life inside the nooks and crannies of the bustling station. Though only a child, Hugo gradually unravels a mystery involving his father, a magnificent automation and a cinematic pioneer. Hugo is nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including a nomination for Best Costume Design.

An accomplished costume designer, Powell has costumed over 30 films and been awarded 3 Oscars. The FIDM Museum has exhibited many of Powell's costumes, including her costume designs for The Tempest (2010) and The Aviator (2004).  In 2009, we exhibited costumes from The Young Victoria (2009), the film that earned Powell her most recent Academy Award for costume design.

Hugo is based on the illustrated novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Did you consult the book or its illustrations when designing costumes for the film?

The book was constantly referred to by everyone in every department on the film. Although I didn't ever copy anything exactly from the illustrations, they served as inspiration for the feeling and tone of the whole look and helped differentiate the characters.

Blanche and Simone velvet hat, c. 1930-33

 

The 1931 Paris Exposition Coloniale Internationale was designed to showcase the artistic and cultural achievements of France's colonial possessions, while also demonstrating the mutual benefits of the colonial relationship. At the time of the Exposition, France's expansive colonial empire was second in size only to Britain's; by the 1930s, France and its colonies occupied "9.3 percent of the inhabited landmasses of the world."¹ With colonies in Africa, south Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean, French political rule and cultural influence affected nearly every corner of the globe. Opening in May 1931, the Colonial Exposition brought the arts, architecture and people of France's colonies to Paris for a six-month stay. A correspondent for American Vogue visited the Exposition and described it as being akin to a trip around the world: "you are suddenly transplanted to far colonial lands--to jungles of Africa, to palaces of Angkor, into whole villages of Congo huts, to Chinese temples."²  The Exposition was widely covered in the international press and very popular; over 33 million visitors, from France and beyond, attended the Exposition. 

Headwrap style hat
1930-33
Blanche and Simone
Silk velvet
FIDM Museum Purchase
2009.5.21

Movie Modes hat

 

During the 1930s, Hollywood films were a major influence on fashion. Movie screens were "huge, luminous shop windows," offering viewers an opportunity to browse the latest creations from talented costume designers.¹ Despite the Depression, films were an affordable form of entertainment; during the 1930s, many movie theatres showed a double-feature, cartoon and newsreel for only 10 cents.² Recognizing that the public wanted to escape their problems, movie studios usually sidestepped the economic and social troubles of the decade, instead producing comedies, westerns and grandiose musicals. Designed by the likes of Adrian, Howard Greer and Edith Head, onscreen fashions inspired the fashion choices of both sophisticated urban women and midwestern farm girls. Believing that women filled the majority of theatre seats, Hollywood studios seized on fashion tie-ins as a means to promote their films.

Hat
Movie Modes
1935-1941
Museum Purchase
2009.5.48AB

 

Duck dress, c. 1930

 

Day dress
c. 1930
Gift of Steven Porterfield
S2007.897.39

The charming idiosyncrasy of this dress always gets a smile. From a distance, it is simply a black day dress with a 1920s silhouette and bright red applied decoration. But take a closer look and you'll see that the red decorations are actually a series of plastic badges. Each badge features a hand-painted duck! In the close-up (below) of the sleeve cuff, the painted ducks (ostriches?) are clearly visible. Looking at the close-up also makes it clear that the painted badges are an integral part of the overall dress design. They weren't slapped on as an afterthought; the dress was thoughtfully designed to prominently showcase the hand-painted ducks. Other details, including the contrast piping at the cuffs and neckline and the metallic embroidery seen below, indicate that the dress was more than a throwaway novelty.

Madeleine Vionnet evening gown

 

Evening gown
Madeleine Vionnet
c. 1936-1938
Museum Purchase, Funds provided by Mrs. Tonian Hohberg
2008.5.50AB

The first time I saw this Madeleine Vionnet halter evening gown, I had a hard time reconciling it with my knowledge of Vionnet's work. When I think of Vionnet, ingenious construction techniques are first in my mind, not applied decoration. Tucks, pleats, twists, innovative seaming and bias cut fabrics, often applied to gossamer weight chiffon, are both the technical foundations of her work and frequently the sole decorative elements. Don't get me wrong--I like a shiny sequin or glittery rhinestone as much as the next person. But I've always appreciated the deceptive simplicity of Vionnet's work and the way in which her unornamented designs force you to focus on the basic elements of her work: textile and construction.

Monkey fur coat, c. 1938

 

Monkey fur inspires strong reactions. On my first encounter with a monkey fur coat, I was shocked by its smooth black locks, which were alarmingly similar to human hair. Among the FIDM Museum staff, we have differing reactions not only to monkey fur, but to fur in general. These differences in opinion arise during our frequent discussions about various aspects of fashion history, or when a new acquisition features fur elements. Despite any personal preferences, we all understand that fur has been an integral element of human dress for thousands of years and it is therefore important to both document and study examples of fur in fashion. Previously, we've written about our Ted Lapidus wolf and coyote fur coat and on issues arising from the use of feathers in fashion.

Monkey fur bolero
c. 1938
Gift of Steven Porterfield
S2008.897.1

Straight to the heart

 

Forget roses, forget chocolate! We've got a better gift for you this Valentine's Day--a selection of objects that address the theme of the day, love.

Paul Poiret evening gown from La Gazette du Bon Ton
1922, No. 22
FIDM Museum Special Collections

Published between 1912-1925, every issue of the French fashion periodical La Gazette du Bon Ton featured witty illustrations of the latest fashions. Penned by Georges Barbier, Erté, Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape and others, the illustrations placed the garments within an intriguing narrative. Was it a romantic mishap, or fashion rivalry that put the arrow through her heart? Additional illustrations from La Gazette du Bon Ton can be seen here.

 

Newsprint fashion

 

A Paul Poiret c. 1911 tunic and the daily newspaper--what do they have in common? At first, the relationship between a haute couture creation and the local newspaper might seem almost non-existent, however, both are communicative devices that convey information to an observant reader. The text of the newspaper (either online or printed) is read to obtain the latest political news, sports scores, weather and cultural commentary. An outfit, whether haute couture or ready-to-wear, can be read for specific information about the wearer along with more general information regarding the place and time in which it is worn.

Clothing constructed from actual paper, sometimes even newsprint, is most often associated with the late 1960s paper dress trend and late 19th/early 20th century fancy dress costumes. This 1966-69 Wastebasket Boutique paper dress is printed with a collage of advertisements and phone book listings. To learn more about the history and context of late 60s paper dresses, read our Would you believe it's paper? blog post.

Paper dress
Wastebasket Boutique
1966-1969
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Himelson
97.350.1

Holiday greetings from Lucien Lelong

 

Greeting card sent by Lucien Lelong
1935-1940
Gift of Monique Fink
F2006.877.155