FIDM Museum Blog

Merlot-Larchevêque day ensemble, c. 1867

Day Ensemble
c. 1867
Madame Merlot-Larchevêque
Museum Purchase
2008.5.45A-C

The rise of France's haute couture industry in the mid-nineteenth century coincided with the astounding growth of industrial family fortunes in the United States. Couturiers astutely recognized the profits to be gained from catering to "new money." Privileged American women had the time and means to travel to Paris to acquire seasonal wardrobes. In 1867, Madame Merlot-Larchevêque (active c. 1855-1880s) advertised her dressmaking establishment in the most popular American women's magazine of the time, Godey's Lady's Book. Her showroom was located on the Boulevard des Capucines across from the luxurious Grand Hotel and, conveniently, English was spoken there. Godey's described the luxurious textiles from which a lady could commission a gown: "We enter the inner sanctum of Mme. Merlot Larchevêque, and see tissues of the most exquisite hues, of the richest textures, and in an unprecedented variety, thrown round in the greatest profusion."¹ The brilliant aniline-dyed color of this silk faille and taffeta gown was fashionably termed "sulphur yellow."²

1 Godey's Lady's Book (February 1867), 204.
2 Godey's Lady's Book (November 1867), 460.

Fashion birthday: Vivienne Westwood

Happy birthday to Vivienne Westwood, born on this day in 1941! We wish her the best and look forward to many more of her inventive designs. Though Westwood's early career, which began in the early 1970s, was closely associated with punk, by the 1980s she had turned to the past for her primary inspiration. Never one for straight-forward interpretation of historic fashion, Westwood's work reinterprets aspects of history, making them relevant to the contemporary moment.

Corset & Shorts Ensemble
Spring/Summer 1994
Vivienne Westwood
Museum Purchase
2003.5.12 & 2004.5.1

 

Jeanne Lanvin fashion figure

Fashion Figure
Winter 1921
Jeanne Lanvin
Museum Purchase
2008.25.1

The original purpose of this extremely rare Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) fashion figure is a mystery. It may have been associated with an extensive display of figures at the International Silk Exhibition held in New York City's Grand Central Palace in 1921.¹ Its construction is unusual: a flat, wooden body with lightly padded contours covered with flesh-colored silk crêpe and articulated copper arms with flipper-like hands in the angular Art Deco style. The haughty, painted face with its target-like rouge mimics the highly stylized makeup of the maison's super-attenuated fashion plate figures.

A corresponding croquis from the Lanvin Archive reveals this modѐle's title: "Rose Poupon," which translates to "Plump Rose." It is also a play on words referencing the fashion figures of the eighteenth-century called "poupées," or "dolls," that were sent worldwide to showcase the latest Paris fashions. Lanvin's romantic robe de style—a full-skirted dress with concentrations of gathers at the hips—was the antithesis of the sleek, tubular silhouette that dominated the 1920s. Gathered ribbon roses with hand-tinted pink centers trim the neckline and form a trellis on the skirt. They were called "roses de Polignac," after Gabrielle, comtesse de Polignac (1749-1793), confidant of Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). Lanvin's daughter and muse, Marie-Blanche (1897-1958), was a twentieth-century comtesse de Polignac.

1 Vogue (April 1, 1921), 42-43.

 

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.

Bat hat, c. 1916-18

What's Halloween without a bat? These small, flying mammals are a favorite Halloween motif, appearing as costumes, decorations, even candy. Though they're generally harmless to humans, western cultures usually consider bats the eeriest of creatures. Blame this bad reputation on their nocturnal lifestyle, and the blood-sucking habits of vampire bats. Though most bats eat insects or fruit, vampire bats eat blood, sucking it from cows, chickens or other livestock in the dark of night. Though humans aren't the vampire bat's preferred meal, they occasionally bite people, sometimes transmitting rabies. Though a vampire bat's bite doesn't turn an animal or human into a blood-sucking monster, western culture typically associates bats with death, danger and disease.

During the latter half of the 1910s, the bat was a surprisingly popular motif. In 1916, Vogue featured a cut-steel bead bag with a red-eyed bat as the central motif. A year later, a Vogue article on women's millinery fashions highlighted a hat with two fully extended bat wings cupping the crown of a beige hat trimmed with sable fur. Bats were not the only animal-based millinery embellishment; feathers and fur were also widely used to create the statement hats popular during the second decade of the twentieth century. Our bat hat is composed of silk velvet, faux astrakhan fur and bat heads.

Hat
c. 1916-18
Museum Purchase in honor of Julia Long
2009.5.69AB

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

Girl's embroidered ensemble, c. 1865

Girl's ensemble
c. 1865
Silk faille, cotton embroidery floss & mother-of-pearl
Museum Purchase
2010.5.4A-C

Pink for girls and blue for boys is a twentieth-century adage; these colors were not always gendered this way. During the nineteenth century, pink was seen as a shade of red: a forceful color aligned with traditional masculinity and thus appropriate for growing boys. Blue was symbolic of the Virgin Mary and conventional femininity, making the dainty shade suitable for little girls. Colors aside, young girls and boys alike were clad in skirts as a testament to their residency in the nursery, a feminine realm of mothers and nursemaids. Clothing construction was gender specific: girls' dresses buttoned up the back, training them to require help dressing, while boys' had center front closures, preparing them to be self sufficient. Both the hand-embroidered blue butterflies fluttering around this ensemble and its back-fastening bodice confirms that it was made for a little girl. The butterfly motif has long signified the transience of childhood: youngsters grow quickly into adults, just as butterflies metamorphose from caterpillars. Significant, too, is the suggestion of chasing butterflies, a spring pastime traditionally depicted as part of childhood play. The link between butterflies and childhood was carried into the twentieth century; this 1920s hand-painted "Dainty Blossom" ensemble also features fanciful  butterflies.

Ferragamo Tavarnelle lace high heels, mid-1930s

Salvatore Ferragamo
c.1935-36
Permanent Loan, FIDM
2009.25.2AB

Fantasy footwear flourished during the 1930s, and Salvatore Ferragamo (1898-1960) was the leader in crafting shoes from unusual materials. At this time, his luxury output was completely handmade and custom fitted to individual clients--a perfect balance of style and comfort. The uppers on this pair are Tavarnelle needlepoint lace, a Tuscan specialty produced just outside Florence, Italy.¹ Often used in white for decorating undergarments, Ferragamo commissioned a colored version with pink and blue blossoms on a field of brown twigs and green foliage. The pliability of the lace must have delighted the wearer, as it easily allowed her feet to contract and expand in motion, and did not bind her toes tightly like fully-enclosed models.

1 Piacenti, Kirsten Aschengreen, et al. Salvatore Ferragamo: The Art of the Shoe, 1898-1960 (New York: Rizzoli, 1992) 47 & 79.

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.

Fashion Birthday: Charles James

 

Charles James was born on this day in 1906. Celebrated for his rigorous, structural approach to fashion design, James dressed some of the mid-twentieth century's most stylish women. Key clients, who purchased his designs, and supported him during times of financial distress, included Gypsy Rose Lee, Babe Paley, Dominique de Menil and Millicent Rogers. James's designs for these and other clients usually treated the body as a reference, not a foundation. Though his daywear exuded subdued elegance, his most breathtaking designs incorporate layers of fabric, padding and boning to create gowns that resemble colorful exoskeletons for the female body. James's spent his career refining and revisiting specific silhouettes; he considered the 1953 Four Leaf Clover gown his thesis piece, the gown that responded to all of his design inquiries.

Dress form
Charles James
1950s
Gift of the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum
2010.1010.1