FIDM Museum Blog

Prada orchid shoes, Spring/Summer 2008

Shoes
Spring/Summer 2008
Miuccia Prada
Silk velvet, suede, leather & plastic
Museum Purchase
2009.5.11AB

Miuccia Prada (b. 1949) received a PhD in political science from the University of Milan, but altered the course of her life by entering the world of fashion. She is a major collector of modern art—a passion reflected in collaborations with emerging talents, such as artist James Jean (b. 1979), who drew enchanted forests filled with fairies, insects, and orchids for Prada's Spring/Summer 2008 line. Jean's sinuous illustrations were enlarged as a backdrop for the fashion show and advertising campaign, in addition to being printed on clothing, purses, and shoeboxes. His fantasy world came to life in Trembled Blossoms, a short animated film produced to correspond with the Prada collection. Transformation and fragility pervade the movie: a naked, nymph-like woman emerges from an orchid to be dressed in a complete Prada wardrobe by magical forest creatures that morph into clothing. Orchids blossom on the heels of this pair of pumps; their glossy sheen suggests hand-painted porcelain. The rich floral palette and girlish bows continue the theme of enchanting female charm.

Political T-shirts

With the 2012 presidential election less than 2 weeks away, political discourse is inescapable. The candidates, their positions, and rabid speculation on the outcome of the upcoming election dominate the news. For some people, political beliefs are a private topic, something to be kept under wraps. Others choose to express their beliefs, political or otherwise, via sartorial billboard, also known as the T-shirt. Inexpensive to produce and easy to wear, T-shirts are the perfect medium to broadcast opinions, ideas and beliefs to friends and strangers. Whatever your party affiliations, there's surely a T-shirt, hat, coffee mug, or bumper sticker promoting your candidate.

Jeremy Scott
2004
Museum Purchase
2004.5.46

In 2004, designer Jeremy Scott created this T-shirt with a slogan encouraging voter participation. Based on the iconic 1970s "God Save the Queen" T-shirt design by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, Scott's T-shirt incorporates an American political figure, then President George W. Bush. During the 2004 election, incumbent President George Bush and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry vied for the highest political office in the United States. After a close race, President Bush was reelected for a second term.

FABULOUS! video

FABULOUS! opened one year ago this week! To celebrate, we're taking a look back at the exhibition via a brief video. Short and sweet, it takes you inside the exhibition for a chance to revist your favorite pieces. You'll even see some pieces that have yet to be published on our blog. Can you spot Elsa Schiaparelli's shocking pink evening jacket, Alexander McQueen's peacock dress, Gianni Versace's safety-pinned leather ensembles and Adrian's brown taffeta evening gown?

For those of you who want a tangible reminder of FABULOUS!, we still have a few copies of the exhibition catalogue available at the FIDM Museum Shop. Enjoy the video and have a wonderful weekend!

FABULOUS! Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions, 2000–2010 from FIDM Museum on Vimeo.

6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition is open!

 

 

6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design 
July 31-October 20, 2012
Tuesday–Saturday 
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
FREE and open to the public.

 

Join us in celebrating the work of television costume designers at the 6th Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition. Featuring costumes from a variety of television genres, the exhibition spotlights the role of costume design in creating believable onscreen characters. See costumes from your favorite television shows, including Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, Hemingway & Gelhorn, Game of Thrones, Great Expectations, Downton Abbey,The Fresh Beat Band, Pan Am, Boardwalk Empire, and more! The exhibition is organized by costume designer Mary Rose, current president of the Costume Designers Guild. Curator and Docent tours are available; email docent@fidmmuseum.org for more information.

Here's a look at some of the costumes featured in the exhibition AND highlights from the opening night party. Enjoy!

Rainbow Fairy from Once Upon a Time: Nominated for 2012 Emmy® for Outstanding Costume Design: Costume Designer, Eduardo Castro and Assistant Costume Designer, Monique McRae.

 

Out and about with the FIDM Museum

 

FIDM Museum staff are headed to Atlanta, GA this week for the Costume Society of America National Symposium. Next week, curators Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson will present research at "The Making of a Monarchy for the Modern World" conference in London. In this post, FIDM Museum Registrar Meghan Hansen shares her reflections on a recent symposium sponsored by the Western Region of the Costume Society of America.

FIDM Museum is proud of its association with the Costume Society of America. Our staff has served on the Western Region and National Boards over the years, as well as organized events on-site for the organization. Over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Museum Registrar Meghan G. Hansen attended the CSA-Western Region Symposium at William S. Hart Ranch and Museum in Santa Clarita, California. 

Western-style shirt worn by William S. Hart in his last movie Tumbleweeds (1925).

 

Monies jewelry

 

Bracelets
Mother of pearl
Monies
1990-2000
Gift of The Muriel Pollia Foundation
2006.868.9A-C

Since the early 1970s, Gerda and Nikolai Monies have used fossils, petrified wood, animal bone, seeds, beach stones, jute and other organic materials to create dramatic, sculptural jewelry. Based in Copenhagen, their eponymous jewelry house produces two collections each year: Production and Unique. Based on seasonal themes, Production is a line of handcrafted multiples, while Unique (as the name suggests) is a collection of one-of-a-kind jewelry. The organic materials that give Monies jewelry its character are globally sourced and then crafted into jewelry that enhances the innate characteristics of each material. The mother of pearl bracelets pictured above show evidence of this philosophy. Though mother of pearl can be polished and tinted to a uniform appearance, each bracelet varies slightly in color, texture and shape. The variations suggest the organic processes that created the mother of pearl while also enhancing their visual appeal

Bubble silhouette, 1958-59

 

Cocktail dress
1958-59
Gift of Steven Porterfield
S2007.897.8

In March 1958, Vogue lauded the new variety in fashionable silhouettes: "a whole lovely flight of new forms--winged, floating, or held slightly away from the body in some mysterious way. It is the variety of shapes that marks these Paris collections."¹ In the accompanying 20-page editorial, readers were introduced to St. Laurent's A-line trapeze dress for Dior, Cardin's bubble hem skirt suit, Madame Grès empire-waist chiffon day dress, and Chanel's slim, two-piece wool suit. The hodge-podge of silhouettes presented in the article suggests that Christian Dior's 1947 New Look silhouette was finally being surpassed by new approaches to the body. The 1958 Vogue article credited the availability of varied silhouettes to the body-skimming chemise dress, which had become popular the previous year.

One last look at 2011--Alexander McQueen peacock dress

 

Before we get too far into 2012, we wanted to mention one final blog post from 2011. When we compiled our Top Five Posts of 2011, our post on Alexander McQueen's peacock dress was an extremely close runner-up. This post trailed very slightly (one page view!) behind our fifth most popular post on Lucile. McQueen's creation was a favorite during our recent FABULOUS! exhibition and we wanted to give you one more chance to revisit it before we begin posting new content for 2012.

All of us at the FIDM Museum thank you for your continued support of our many endeavors! We wish you the very best in 2012. Our next project is the twentieth anniversary Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition, opening February 14, 2012. More on this exhibition soon!

************

Alexander McQueen's famed peacock evening dress, currently on display in FABULOUS!, is a crowd favorite. Visitors routinely beeline straight for the frothy dress, which resides on a rotating platform in the third and final gallery of the exhibition. We commissioned it from the Alexander McQueen atelier in 2010 and it took about 7 months to create. It is one of only three extant versions of the dress. And do you see those shoes? These replica shoes, based on those worn with the peacock dress during its runway presentation, were created by our mountmaker extraordinaire.

Evening dress
Fall/Winter 2008-9
Commissioned 2010
Alexander McQueen
Museum Commission
Funds provided by Karen Coombs-Jordan
2010.5.73

Herve Leger

 

Herve Leger's signature bandage dresses consist of elastic bands wrapped round and round the body, sometimes with a curved band strategically placed at bust or hips for emphasis. Sewn horizontally like the funeral wrappings of a mummy, the elastic bands sculpt the body as would a girdle or corset. The resulting "tight and steamy" fit of a Leger bandage dress was not for the faint of heart.¹ Leger's glamorization of the female body signalled the emergence of the strong, sexy and slightly transgressive aesthetic that would influence fashion throughout the 1990s.

Leger first introduced the bandage dress about 1992, a few years after he took note of discarded stretchy elastic bands in a garbage can at a clothing factory. Leger was probably working for Charles Jourdan at the time, having previously worked at Chanel, Fendi, Chloe, Diane Von Furstenberg and Lanvin. Leger's solo collections were invariably riffs on the bandage theme, with color, length, band orientation, and neckline providing variety. This black mini jumpsuit showcases Leger's iconic second-skin fit.

Mini Jumpsuit
Herve Leger
1991-92
Gift of Nancy Riegelman
2006.602.2

Alexander McQueen Peacock Dress

 

Alexander McQueen's famed peacock evening dress, currently on display in FABULOUS!, is a crowd favorite. Visitors routinely beeline straight for the frothy dress, which resides on a rotating platform in the third and final gallery of the exhibition. We commissioned it from the Alexander McQueen atelier in 2010 and it took about 7 months to create. It is one of only three extant versions of the dress. And do you see those shoes? These replica shoes, based on those worn with the peacock dress during its runway presentation, were created by our mountmaker extraordinaire.

Evening dress
Fall/Winter 2008-9
Commissioned 2010
Alexander McQueen
Museum Commission
Funds provided by Karen Coombs-Jordan
2010.5.73