FIDM Museum Blog

A-muse-ing Fashions

 

Today's post was written by our Assistant Registrar Dani Killam. In her post, Dani explores the interplay between fashion designers and artists in two vibrantly colorful pieces from our collection: an Adrian blouse and a Halston dress. The Halston dress featured in this post is currently on exhibit in FABULOUS! and both are featured in the exhibition catalogue.

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Though created 27 years apart, our Gilbert Adrian (1903-1959) blouse and Roy Halston (1932-1990) dress share a common theme prevalent within fashion design during the twentieth century. Adrian’s blouse showcases Salvador Dalí’s (1904-1989) shattered rock motif, while Halston’s garment is covered with Andy Warhol’s 1964 Flowers print. These two pieces from the FIDM Museum collection exemplify the symbiotic relationship and transformation of inspirational role from fashion to art, and art to fashion.

In preceding centuries artists were intrigued by the fashions they observed, absorbing details and angles of sartorial wonder that we in the museum field greatly benefit from today. The significance of such relations between artist and fashion may best be represented by French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). The box pleats located at the center back of a dress à la française later became known as “Watteau pleats” due to the artist’s multiple representations of this fashionable construction. In Watteau's painting The Two Cousins, the the artist's namesake pleat is clearly portrayed. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Franz-Xaver Winterhalter, James Tissot, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, and Edouard Manet are only a few of many artists who also produced artwork portraying dress as their main focal point. Clearly, fashion has a long history of inspiring art.

Blouse
Spring/Summer 1947
Gilbert Adrian, Designer
Salvador Dalí, Textile Artist
Enka rayon
Museum Purchase
2008.25.10

Neck ties

 

Neck and bow tie pattern
Simplicity
1945-50
Gift of Helen McKenna
2006.864.3

The elongated, relatively slim silhouette of the modern neck tie emerged in the mid-nineteenth century. Unlike its predecessor, the cravat, the neck tie didn't require careful starching, arranging and continual readjustment. This 1818 image from a satirical essay called Neckclothitania; or Tietania mocks the various and complicated methods of tying the neck cloth or cravat. It was much easier to knot a neck tie in place, securely tucking the ends inside the waistcoat and jacket. The simplicity and speed with which a neck tie could be donned was a boon to men who entered the office-based workforce during the Industrial Revolution. The necktie continued to gain favor as stiff, standing collars were gradually replaced by softer collars with turn-down points. Another form of neck wear, the bow tie, remained popular into the twentieth century as demonstrated by the Simplicity pattern pictured above. Increasingly, however, the bow tie was associated with formal wear and not everyday business dress.

Ecarlate de Suzy, 1940

 

This Baccarat perfume bottle contains Ecarlate de Suzy, a perfume that was described as heady and provocative. In the shape of head and neck topped with a red hat, it has the same whimsical quality shared by many of the mid-twentieth century perfume bottles in our fragrance archive. The Suzy referred to in the name of the fragrance is Madame Suzy, a prominent Parisian milliner. This late 1930s Madame Suzy red and white hat is reminiscent of the hat perched on the Ecarlate de Suzy bottle.

Ecarlate de Suzy
Madame Suzy
c. 1939
Gift of Annette Green
F2005.860.349

Louella Ballerino crop top, 1946

 

In 2003, a black and coral crop top was donated to the FIDM Museum. The top is of coral silk, with black silk appliques in a stylized floral pattern. Accompanying the donation was a snapshot of the donor actually wearing the top. We love this kind of supporting documentation! Here's the photo, taken someplace in southern California and dated 1946.

Photo of donor in the coral and black crop top
1946
Gift of Patricia Marks

McCardell playsuit and a Karan jumpsuit

 

Rompers, jumpsuits and playsuits. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're all over the place. Emerging a few years ago as a runway trend, they've reached critical mass and can be purchased at just about any youth-oriented clothing retailer. As we all know, fashion runs in cycles, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a look at similar garments from our collection. First up, a Claire McCardell linen playsuit.

Playsuit
Claire McCardell
1948
Gift of Mrs. Jerry Wald
90.1948.027.1

Pinafore dress, early 1940s

 

Under pinafores, almost anything may lurk. They cover up playsuits, tennis dresses and sports frocks.¹

Girl's pinafore
Printed cotton
1940-45
Gift of the Manlove Family
2006.870.5

A contemporary pinafore is a short-sleeved girl's dress, usually worn over a blouse or shirt and fastened up the back. When constructed from whimsical patterned textiles, a pinafore evokes carefree childhood. But the pinafore actually evolved from a functional garment, the apron. The word itself is a contraction of two words, pin and afore (front). The earliest version of the pinafore was a protective, easily removable apron worn by pinning it to the wearer's dress.

Agnés turban, c. 1940-42

 

Before World War II, fashion reportage devoted equal consideration to millinery and clothing. The newest toques and turbans from Paris milliners were described alongside the latest day and evening wear from Gabrielle Chanel, Jean Patou and Jeanne Lanvin. As was true for changes in hemline or silhouette, most millinery trends were born in Paris and then relayed to London, New York and other cities. Preeminent among Parisian milliners during the 1920s and 1930s was Agnés, often referred to as Madame Agnés .

Agnés trained under Caroline Reboux, perhaps the most well-known of the late 19th and early 20th century Parisian milliners. In 1917, Agnés opened her own salon. For her personal wardrobe, she reportedly favored Madeline Vionnet and Louiseboulanger. She was reportedly aware of artistic currents, mining both contemporary and historic art for her designs. In 1925, she designed a close-fitting cloche wrapped with gold and silver leaves, which was described in an advertisement as the "headgear of a goddess." In the 1930s, Madame Agnés began designing softer, draped hats somewhat similar to a turban. In 1936, she created a "Hindu beret turban" for Marlene Dietrich; this hat was a softly puffed beret, tilted to the side. Our Madame Agnés is somewhere between a turban and a hood.

Agnés
1940-43
Museum Purchase
2009.5.23

Holiday greetings from Lucien Lelong

 

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

Valentina hat

 

Valentina never suffered a lack of confidence in her taste or in her design skills. She was notorious for giving clients what she thought the needed, not what they requested. In 1952, Life magazine reported that her maxim to clients was "take it or take it," also noting that "a buyer who arrives to be fitted in a red dress may find that Valentina has decided it should be blue."¹ For the most part, clients accepted Valentina's imperious dictates, allowing themselves to be dressed as the Russian-born, New York-based couturier felt appropriate. Fortunately for her clients, Valentina believed that clothing should be designed and constructed to last for years, to be discarded only when it was entirely worn out. A 1952 anecdote recounts Valentina's dismay at a client who wanted to purchase a new outfit:"A new street outfit? Ridiculous! What's wrong with the navy one I made you four years ago?"²

Sewing patterns from the FIDM Museum

Within the FIDM Museum collection are a number of smaller mini-collections. Some, like the Rudi Gernreich Archive, consist of large groupings of objects that document the work of a specific designer. Others, like our photograph collection, are less focused groupings of objects collected to help us interpret fashion history. One of my favorite mini-collections is our collection of paper sewing patterns. In addition to their entertaining envelope illustrations, sewing patterns are a valuable source of fashion information because they help us understand how high fashion or runway garments are interpreted for the mass market. This is particularly true for patterns associated with known designers. They can also point to the social context of specific garments or styles. Because many patterns are copyrighted, they can be very useful in dating extant garments. Sewing patterns also allow us the opportunity to engage with fashion on a very personal level. With a bit of practice and patience, any sewer can create a custom-designed garment demonstrating either a highly individual sense of style or one perfectly attuned to the latest runway fashions.

  Misses' and Women's Slack Suit and Coverall pattern
Simplicity
1942-45
2003.46.10
Gift of Andrea Tice In Memory of Carmelita Johnson