Day dress Claire McCardell c. 1950 FIDM Museum Purchase 2003.5.28AB
Claire McCardell had a way with stripes. She played with them, spinning and twisting their orientation to create dazzling visual effects. Here, lavender, aqua, purple, and blue stripes are exploited for their graphic potential. Horizontal stripes decorate the full skirt, while the mitered bodice draws the eye upward. This style of bodice, cut all-in-one on the bias, was one of the designer's favorite "McCardellisms," one of several recurrent design solutions that defined her aesthetic. Instead of darts, pintucks give the bodice its shape. In general, McCardell avoided darts, preferring to create silhouette via tucking, tying, wrapping or gathering.
The FIDM Museum compact storage facility is filled with wonders. Charles Worth's c. 1878 reception gown, a beaded evening sheath by Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Fortuny textiles and Herve Leger's mini-jumpsuit share racks and boxes with thousands of additional garments and accessories. As the caretakers of the FIDM Museum collection, we treat each object with equal attention to its longevity and well-being. That said, it's almost impossible for those of us who work with the collection to avoid having a few favorites each. One of mine is this graphic Claire McCardell cotton dress.
Claire McCardell 1952 Gift of Norma Carnahm 77.1948.008.16
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
If you happened to see this cinch belt out and about, what would be your guess as to its age? Given that it is part of the FIDM Museum collection, we probably didn't pick it up at H&M over the weekend.
Cinch belt 1952 Schaffer Anonymous donation 89.10.1
Do you live in the Chicago area? Will you be traveling to Chicago before January 9, 2010? If so, you're in luck!
The FIDM Museum Claire McCardell dresses seen in today's post are on exhibit in Chicago as part of the Learning Modern exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Sullivan Galleries. Learning Modern is part of a larger, Chicago-wide initiative called Living Modern Chicago. According to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's website, "the exhibition Learning Modern is the centerpiece of the two-year long
citywide program Living Modern Chicago, a series of courses, lectures,
tours, and installations exploring the legacy of the Bauhaus, organized by The
School of the Art Institute of Chicago in collaboration with the Mies van der
Rohe Society at IIT."
The Learning Modern exhibition runs from September 26, 2009 until January 9, 2010. The exhibition is free and open to the public, so if you're able to go, drop us a line!
