FIDM Museum Blog

Chanel day dress, c. 1937

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's (1883-1971) reputation is staked primarily on her exploration of menswear-inspired suits and her promotion of the understated little black dress. Though these creations are an important part of her aesthetic, her designs didn't always exude a strict less-is-more philosophy. Many of Chanel's evening wear designs, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s, glittered with embellishment. She also designed feminine, romantic day wear like the c. 1937 afternoon dress pictured here.

Afternoon dress
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
c. 1937
Gift of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
79.25.5

From the Archives: Tina Leser skirt

Today's post highlights the value of primary source research. Because of its label, we knew that this was a Tina Leser skirt. Using one of the FIDM Library databases, we found a brief mention of this exact skirt in a New York Times article. Finding this kind of documentation makes always makes us so happy!

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Tina Leser (1910-1986) is among the generation of American designers credited with creating and popularizing the "American Look" during and immediately after World War II. Along with designers such as Carolyn Schnurer, Louella Ballerino and Claire McCardell, Leser designed casual ready-to-wear clothing inspired by non-Western garments and textiles. Based in New York, Leser's extensive world travels informed her designs and she often spoke on the subject of interpreting non-Western artistic traditions into contemporary fashions. Though she is less well-known today, when Leser was actively designing she was "noted for her casual clothes defined with an air of elegance"¹ and for the overall wearability of her creations.

Skirt
Tina Leser Original
c. 1955
Gift of Mrs. Carita Kadison
2003.792.5

The Tina Leser skirt seen in these photos is labeled a "Tina Leser Original." During the 1950s, if a designer's name was paired with "original" on the garment label, it designated a ready-to-wear garment produced in extremely limited quantities and available only at select stores. Bridging the gap between custom made haute couture and widely available ready-to-wear, the buyer of an "original" garment was unlikely to encounter another women wearing the same model. This labeling technique was used by numerous American designers, including Adrian.

A brief 1955 New York Times article on this exact skirt stated that the tape lace embellishment at the hips was hand-made by nuns in a Flanders convent. Leser designed a pattern for the lace, which then took 10 days for 3 nuns to complete. The article comments on the exclusivity of the skirt, noting that it had limited availability and would be a suitable "gift to be handed down from mother to daughter."² The retail price was $195, a definite bargain for the amount of handwork involved!

Detail of 2003.792.5

1 "Designer's Pattern" Los Angeles Times 8 Oct. 1950.: C9.
2 "From a Belgian Convent" New York Times 17 Dec. 1955.: 20.

 

The start of summer

 

The unofficial start of summer is just a few days away. In the United States, the Memorial Day holiday (always the last Monday in May) marks the beginning of the summer season. Depending on where you live, the climate may or may not cooperate. No matter what the weather, you're probably plotting a weekend getaway and plans for summer fun. This blog post, first published in 2009, examines a crucial component of the summer wardrobe: swimwear. Dating from the late 19th century, this "bathing suit" is unlike any swimwear you'd see on the beach today. Made from a wool textile, it looks more like a full-length coat! Read on to find out why 19th century women wore such modest swimwear.

Woman's bathing ensemble
c. 1875
Museum Purchase
2006.25.3AB

Chains of Chanel

 

Gilt chains are a recurring visual theme in the Chanel lexicon. Beginning in the 1920s, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel promoted costume jewelry as an alternative to jewelry made of gold and studded with pearls and precious stones. Chanel didn't just promote costume jewelry, she also wore it herself, pairing bold necklaces of faux pearls, gilt and glass stones with her straightforward daywear. In a famous 1937 photo by Horst P. Horst, Chanel casually reclines and her necklaces fall to the side. Who cares if they are real or faux? In 1938, it was said that her " "gold" necklaces were the biggest and most flamboyant in Paris."¹

After 1953, when Chanel emerged from retirement, she applied gilt chains to her garments and accessories for both decorative and functional purposes. The now iconic quilted leather Chanel bag with a chain strap was first introduced in 1955, and is often called 2.55 because it was released in February 1955. Based on a bag Chanel used in the 1920s, this modest rectangular bag has a chain handle that can be slung over the shoulder, or carried at the elbow. A Chanel suit also features a gilt chain, though it is frequently hidden from sight. The jacket always features a lightly quilted lining with a gilt chain hand-stitched to the interior hem of the jacket. The appearance of chain is echoed in braided trim that is often used to reinforce and decorate cuffs, collar and pockets of the suit jacket.

Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld
1985
Gift of Barbara Bundy
2006.37.4

In his designs for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld has often reworked the iconic signatures of Coco Chanel. In this black wool dress, Lagerfeld pays homage to Chanel by layering trompe l'oeil chains at the waist of a sleeveless black wool dress. A mix of leather, gold embroidery and bugle beads, the chains reference Chanel’s love of costume jewelry and the casual, carefree way that Chanel wore her own jewelry. The simple silhouette and black ground serve as the perfect foil for the richness of the appliqued belts.

 

1 "New Costume Jewelry" New York Times 30 Jan. 1938: 80.

 

Lanz Original, late 1940s

 

Jacket
c. 1946
Wool, cotton, brass buttons
Lanz Original
Gift of Patricia Marks
2003.45.3

Lanz originated in Salzburg, Austria during the early 1920s. Founded by Josef Lanz and Fritz Mahler in 1922, Lanz of Salzburg specialized in ski wear and traditional Austrian dress. Salzburg was also home to the newly established (and increasingly popular) Salzburg Festival. Founded in 1920, the Salzburg Festival's summer program of music and theatre quickly attracted international attention. By the early 1930s, the Salzburg Festival was a fixture on the international event calendar and attracted visitors from around the world. Lanz benefited from the popularity of the Salzburg Festival, and quickly gained an international clientele for its regional styles. In 1933, Vogue mentioned Lanz in an article describing the jet set's transformation on arrival in Salzburg: "The women take off their Mainbochers and Augustabernards and put on a cotton dirndl dress and rakish Tyrolian [sic] felt hat with a feather (bought at Lanz in Salzburg, probably)."¹

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!

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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

1890s cabinet card and cape

 

Cabinet card
1896-1898
Give of Steven Porterfield
2009.897.27

Whoa! What happened to this cabinet card?!? Browsing through our collections management database, I was struck by the unusual orientation of this image, not to mention the sitter's striking hat and cape. I checked with our resident photography expert and she informed me that novelty photo presentations were quite common by the late 1890s. Then, as now, savvy businesspeople used novelty to beguile their customers. A photo with this orientation would have been displayed in a photo album or in a diamond shaped frame. The relatively large size of a cabinet card, usually 4 ½” by 7”, meant that facial features and other details were easily distinguishable from a distance. This made them popular for table-top or wall display, though they were also stored in family albums.

Koos van den Akker

In a Koos van den Akker garment, fabric is always the focal point. Not just a single luxury fabric, but a riotous mix of fabric patches and panels combined into a surprisingly unified whole. According to the designer, his garments always "start with the fabric. Silhouettes come later."¹ Though van den Akker apprenticed at Christian Dior from 1963-1965, his work demonstrates little interest in a precise fit, one of the traditional concerns of the haute couture. Nor is van den Akker interested in the interaction between garments and the human body, declaring that "shapes are not really what I'm interested in."² Instead, van den Akker prefers to use his garments as an arena in which to explore the visual and tactile qualities of different textiles.

Blouse
c. 1976
Koos van den Akker
85.423.1
Gift of Devra Korwin

Military influence

Military inspired fashion has been getting a lot of attention lately. March 2010 issues of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue (both American and British) feature fashion editorials focusing on garments in khaki and shades of olive, while a recent New York Times article also describes the trend. When examining the accompanying images, its clear that designers are primarily referencing 20th century military uniforms, which were designed in a variety of drab colors to make pinpointing a particular soldier difficult. Though solid color uniforms have been largely replaced by sophisticated camouflage patterns, the iconic military uniform is still a solid khaki or green.

Military uniforms haven't always been so sedate. Prior to about 1850, military uniforms were often elaborate affairs, featuring extensive embellishments and accessories. Ironically, the most elaborate uniforms were typically seen in times of peace, as functionality was less of a concern. Some of the more visually distinct elements found their way into feminine fashions. The FIDM Museum wool jacket below features gold braid and a high collar, elements commonly seen in these more fantastic uniforms.

Wool jacket
1891-92
Gift of Steven Porterfield
S2008.897.2

Tailored suit

In the 20th century, the tailored suit became a standard uniform for professional working women. Consisting of a jacket and skirt in matched or closely coordinated fabric, it developed in the late 19th century as an evolution of specialized garments worn for outdoor activities such as horseback riding, croquet and bicycling. Like its sporting predecessors, the tailored suit had a function: it served as a professional uniform for the newly emerging class of women who worked outside the home as educators, social workers and clerical employees. Tailored suits were also worn for leisure activities like travel or an afternoon promenade. With styling borrowed from menswear, most tailored suits featured solid colors and a minimum of decorative trim.

Two-piece suit
1913-1914
Gift of the Manlove Family
2006.870.33AB