FIDM Museum Blog

Evening dress, 1925-27

 

Vibrant patterns and bold colors are common characteristics of textiles dating from the 1920s. Rejecting the Belle Epoque palette of off-white and cream accented with pale pink or soft blue, textile designers drew from a variety of eclectic sources to create patterns showcasing a rainbow of saturated colors. Design inspiration came from near and far, with elements of European folk art, modern art movements, non-western cultures and classical civilizations all influencing 1920s textile designs. Though noteworthy in their own right, these textiles were also part of a larger design movement called Art Deco. Originating in France around 1910, Art Deco was based on a luxurious interpretation of modern life. The movement influenced all areas of design, including architecture, fashion, graphic design and decorative arts. Disseminated via the well-attended Paris Exposition of 1925, Art Deco became a universal style that influenced both mass-produced and elite design throughout the world.

Evening dress
1925-27
Gift of Mrs. Geroge Holden
83.360.1

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, c. 1966

 

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior
c. 1966
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Sidney
S2001.27.1

When Marc Bohan presented his first haute couture collection for Christian Dior in 1961, the New York Times reported pandemonium: "the shouting, clapping, surging mob at the press showing caused chaos in the elegant salon. M. Bohan was...kissed, mauled, and congratulated. Chairs were toppled."¹ Bohan's collection was inspired by the 1920s, and featured short chiffon dresses with dropped waists and double-breasted jackets with a straight line. The enthusiastic reception to Bohan's collection signaled not only approval of his designs, but also relief that the most influential house in the haute couture was making a comeback after the rocky years of Yves Saint Laurent's tenure. Appointed head designer for Dior after the founding designer's death in 1957, the young and mercurial Saint Laurent's first collection for Dior was warmly received. But Saint Laurent's 1960 "Beatnik" collection, which featured leather skirts and black turtlenecks, was too much for the women who patronized the haute couture. In contrast, Bohan was an experienced designer, who had worked in the haute couture since 1945. His first position was at Robert Piguet, though he soon moved to Molyneux, later becoming head designer at Maison Patou.

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

Top five posts of 2011--“The Art of Dressing Has Never Been Manifested with So Much Brilliancy”: Fashion and the Paris Exposition of 1900

 

 

The most popular post of 2011 is truly deserving of this honor! Associate Curator Christina Johnson's investigation into a a 1900 gown in our collection and its relationship to the Paris Exposition of 1900 is a joy to read.

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Did you know that working at a museum requires ace detective skills? In this blog post, Associate Curator Christina Johnson describes her research on a evening gown in our collection. This research, aka sleuthing, led to a wealth of knowledge about the gown itself, its wearer and the context in which it was created.

Evening gown
1900
2005.842.22
Gift of Madge Baker
FIDM Museum Collection

My research began with the evening gown you see above, donated to the FIDM Museum in 2005. The gown is part of a collection of about 25 garments and accessories dating from the 1890s to the 1940s worn by Ida Irwin Jones and her daughter Katharine. The items were donated by Katharine’s daughter, Madge Baker. The original wearer of this evening gown must have been Ida who would have been about 28 years old at the time.

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

Holly's Harp hand-painted evening gown

 

Evening gown
Holly's Harp
1974
Gift of Gloria Strasburger
99c.059.09

The sinuous lines of Holly Harp's evening wear hearken back to the form-fitting, bias cut gowns of the 1930s. Her career began in the hippie milieu of late 1960s Los Angeles. Working from her eponymous shop, Harp created custom clothing from a hodge-podge of new and old materials. Harp's aesthetic soon shifted, moving towards what she called "grown-up glamour clothes."¹ Discarding the feathers and fringe she favored in the late '60s, Harp began working with more refined materials, including silk chiffon, panne velvet and silk jersey. Using these textiles enabled Harp to produce a range of romantic, body-conscious evening wear, including the hand-painted dress pictured above. This bias-cut, blue evening dress provides another example of Holly Harp's interest in glamour and romanticism.

Madeline Vionnet evening gown

 

Evening gown
Madeleine Vionnet
c. 1936-1938
Museum Purchase, Funds provided by Mrs. Tonian Hohberg
2008.5.50AB

The first time I saw this Madeline Vionnet halter evening gown, I had a hard time reconciling it with my knowledge of Vionnet's work. When I think of Vionnet, ingenious construction techniques are first in my mind, not applied decoration. Tucks, pleats, twists, innovative seaming and bias cut fabrics, often applied to gossamer weight chiffon, are both the technical foundations of her work and frequently the sole decorative elements. Don't get me wrong--I like a shiny sequin or glittery rhinestone as much as the next person. But I've always appreciated the deceptive simplicity of Vionnet's work and the way in which her unornamented designs force you to focus on the basic elements of her work: textile and construction.

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

Pedro Rodriguez sheath dress, c. 1965

 

A recent debate in the New York Times asked, Has Globalization Ruined Street Style? The question itself is premised on the belief that the combination of extensive social media networks and global clothing retailers have eliminated regional variations in dress. Though the debate participants had differing opinions about whether globalization has been good or bad for street style, it is undeniable that globalization has softened obvious differences in global dress. Subtle differences exist, but they are usually found in small details or overall styling.

The article made me think about designers with a a primarily regional following. Holly Harp, who worked in Los Angeles and drew inspiration from the glamour of Old Hollywood, is one such designer. Another is Pedro Rodriguez, a Spanish designer largely unknown outside of his native country. Rodriguez had a long career, opening his first salon in 1918, and didn't retire until the early 1980s. If by some lucky chance you'll be in Barcelona in the next few days, an exhibition titled "What to Wear?" focuses on his work. Our Pedro Rodriguez pink silk faille evening sheath dates from c. 1965.

Embellished sheath dress
Pedro Rodriguez
c. 1965
Gift of Stephen Porterfield
S2009.897.159

Liberty & Co. evening gown, c. 1910

 

Evening gown
Liberty & Co.
c. 1910
Silk satin, silk gauze & pearl beads
Museum Purchase
2006.5.7

Liberty & Co. opened in London's West End during 1875. Founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty stocked his small shop with goods imported from the Middle East and Japan, including curios, porcelain, fans and lengths of fabric. Liberty's shop had a bazaar-like atmosphere and attracted a clientele sympathetic to the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement. From the beginning, textiles were an important part of Lasenby's retail plan. In addition to stocking imported textiles, Liberty & Co. soon began commissioning furnishing and dress textiles from known and emerging artisans. These textiles were all marketed under the name "Liberty Art Fabrics." The most distinct of these textiles were densely patterned and often borrowed imagery from the natural world. One pattern frequently associated with Liberty & Co. features overlapping sprays of peacock feathers. This pattern was designed in the late 1880s, and is still used by Liberty & Co. today. Other textiles were soft, solid color silks in a variety of weights. Whether patterned or plain, Liberty textiles were prized for their softness and graceful drape.