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

1890s shirtwaist

The shirtwaist first emerged in the 1860s as a casual, daytime alternative to the matched bodice and skirt ensembles worn by nearly all well-dress women. Most frequently worn by young women, the shirtwaist was usually paired with a dark colored skirt and accessorized with a belt or sash. The Garibaldi, a high-necked, long sleeved shirtwaist styled to resemble the uniforms worn by the troops of celebrated Italian hero Guiseppe Garibaldi, was the first style of feminine shirtwaist to become widely popular. Though the Garibaldi was occasionally made from red or black wool, it was more commonly fabricated in white cotton. In 1862, Godey's Lady's Book suggested that the new fashion for the Garibaldi shirt worn with a skirt was "destined to produce a change amounting to revolution in ladies' costume."¹ Given the rapidly growing popularity of the shirtwaist among women, this would prove to be an accurate prediction.

Shirtwaist
Silk
1890-99
Gift of Ann Jensvold
2003.793.7AB

Texture in fashion

Color and pattern are usually the first aspects of a garment to catch the eye, closely followed by silhouette. But what about texture? Though texture might not be the first thing we notice, it plays an important role in establishing the mood of a garment. Would a roughly woven cotton textile be appropriate for a glamorous evening gown? Maybe, but it would take a talented designer to offset the rustic, outdoorsy mood of the textile and craft it into a glamorous evening ensemble. A smooth and glossy silk textile would seem equally out of place on a weekend camping trip.

Like colors and silhouettes, textures go in and out of fashion. Slippery, synthetic textures dominated the late 1970s, while starched cottons and stiff silks were popular in 1950s fashions. Do popular textile textures affect the spirit and culture of the era in which they are popular? Though it's impossible to directly pinpoint this relationship, it's certainly an intriguing train of thought. With that in mind, take a look at this selection of different textile textures from the FIDM Museum!

Evening or wedding gown (bodice detail)
1852-54
Gift of the Helen Larson Estate
2001.31.6

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