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If you read our recent post on Mariano Fortuny, this dress may look somewhat familiar. Slim, columnar and featuring narrow pleats, this Mary McFadden (b. 1938) dress is reminiscent of Fortuny's iconic Delphos dress. Though both share an obvious interest in the dress of ancient Greece, unlike Fortuny's unstructured silk gowns, this McFadden evening dress uses boning to shape the bodice.
Mary McFadden
1984-86
2002.149.36
Gift of Patricia G. Waldron, M.D.
It's the time of year when those of us in the northern hemisphere start dreaming about summer. Winter has gone on long enough and we're ready for warmer weather. Granted, the FIDM Museum is located in Los Angeles, so we can't complain too much. Still, I find myself repeatedly searching the terms "swimwear" and "sundress" in our collections database. A recent search for "bathing cap" revealed this late 1950s rubber bathing cap, textured and printed to resemble a woman's hairstyle and adorned with a flocked flower.
Bathing cap
Rubber with fabric flower and leaf
c. 1956
Museum Purchase
2003.5.36
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
Day ensemble
Silk taffeta
1870-72
Gift of Anne Stampfer
94.661.1A-D
About 1868, the crinoline silhouette went out of style. The smooth, distinctly bell-like shape of the crinoline supported skirt began to change form, with the fullness moving towards the back of the shirt. This new skirt shape required a different kind of understructure: the bustle. Essentially a cage crinoline cut in half, the bustle supported the back of the skirt, while leaving the front unsupported. In the early years of the 1870s, the bustle usually extended from the waist to about the mid-calf. A c. 1871 bustle of cotton with metal boning can be found here. The bustle was fashionable until about 1875, when it went out of style as skirts were fitted closer to both the front and back of the body. Beginning about 1883, the bustle enjoyed another round of popularity until finally going entirely out of fashion about 1890.
Though Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) is remembered primarily for his finely pleated silk gowns, it would be inaccurate to categorize his work as fashion, i.e. undergoing frequent stylistic changes. Unlike a couturier, who regularly introduces new silhouettes, colors and textiles, Fortuny produced essentially the same garment (with slight variations) from 1909-1949. During and before this period, Fortuny was also an active painter and inventor who designed an innovative new system of indirect lighting for theatrical productions. Because of Fortuny's disinterest in the cycle of fashion, and his career as a painter, he is often considered an an artist who made clothing.
Fortuny's trademark dress is the Delphos, a simple column of finely pleated silk. As suggested by its name, which is both a location in Greece and the son of the Greek god Apollo, the Delphos dress is based on ancient Greek dress. Specifically, the Delphos and its variations resemble the pleated garments portrayed in Greek and Roman art. Though Fortuny was personally interested in Classical antiquity, this interest was also shared by many thinkers of his generation. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a widespread interest in the ideals and perceived virtue of ancient Greece and Rome. In terms of fashion, this was expressed as an interest in looser, rational and/or artistic dress styles.
Mariano Fortuny
c. 1925
Silk charmeuse
FIDM Purchase
80.1925.059.4 (waist detail)
Diane von Furstenberg's reputation began with one dress, the wrap. Introduced in 1973, von Furstenberg's signature dress is a one-piece wrap style that crosses in the front and ties at the waist. Figure hugging and made of synthetic or silk jersey knit in bright, colorful prints, the dress was meant to be tightly wrapped. Though von Furstenberg certainly didn't invent the wrap style, her version embodied the zeitgeist of the early 1970s. By 1975, her manufacturer was producing 15,000 dresses each week.
Von Furstenberg's wrap dress stemmed from a belief "that women wanted a fashion option besides hippie clothes, bell-bottoms, and stiff pantsuits that hid their femininity."1 These styles, all popular in the early 1970s, attempted to minimize sartorial distinctions between men and women. In reaction to the prevalence of these unisex looks, von Furstenberg created "simple little sexy dresses that made women feel like women."2 Based on the overwhelming popularity of her wrap dress, von Furstenberg was correct in assuming that women wanted something that emphasized the feminine form.
Diane von Furstenberg
c. 1976
Gift of Vivian Tellefsen
84.1976.008.3
