FIDM Museum Blog

Bakelite cherry brooch, late 1930s

 

 Cherry and log brooch
c. 1935-1940
Gift of Steven Porterfield
2010.897.49

Can you imagine a world without plastic? Overwhelmingly ubiquitous today, plastic has been in existence for less than 200 years. Prior to the last quarter of the 19th century, when plastic products became commercially available, everything was made from organic materials. Developed in the 1860s, early plastics generally replicated organic materials like tortoiseshell, ivory, wood or coral. Used to make children's toys, combs, cutlery, billiard balls, and many other functional and/or decorative objects, plastics were soon absorbed into the fabric of everyday life.

Monies jewelry

 

Bracelets
Mother of pearl
Monies
1990-2000
Gift of The Muriel Pollia Foundation
2006.868.9A-C

Since the early 1970s, Gerda and Nikolai Monies have used fossils, petrified wood, animal bone, seeds, beach stones, jute and other organic materials to create dramatic, sculptural jewelry. Based in Copenhagen, their eponymous jewelry house produces two collections each year: Production and Unique. Based on seasonal themes, Production is a line of handcrafted multiples, while Unique (as the name suggests) is a collection of one-of-a-kind jewelry. The organic materials that give Monies jewelry its character are globally sourced and then crafted into jewelry that enhances the innate characteristics of each material. The mother of pearl bracelets pictured above show evidence of this philosophy. Though mother of pearl can be polished and tinted to a uniform appearance, each bracelet varies slightly in color, texture and shape. The variations suggest the organic processes that created the mother of pearl while also enhancing their visual appeal

Donna Karan and Robert Lee Morris

 

Donna Karan's first solo collection, presented in spring 1985, was an immediate success. According to a fashion editor who attended the presentation, "pandemonium broke loose after the last three models appeared."¹ Consisting of layered, monochromatic ensembles in cashmere, wool jersey and other subtly luxurious fabrics, Karan's collection responded to the needs of working women like herself: busy professionals with a desire to look both feminine and polished. By design, Karan's clothing flattered a curvier body: "Somewhere in the back of my mind is the figure I always start with—wide shoulders and a shaped body, with round hips."²

The foundation of Karan's signature style was a long-sleeved bodysuit, usually worn with opaque tights. Unlike the standard button-up blouse, the knit bodysuit emphasized and flattered a woman's torso. Over this sleek foundation, Karan layered, wrapped or tied skirts, shawls, coats and jackets. Because Karan favored a monochrome (usually black) palette, the basic components of this versatile wardrobe could be combined to create ensembles suitable for any season, any occasion.

This red Donna Karan knit bodysuit pairs with a matching skirt.

Bodysuit
Donna Karan
c. 1990
Gift of Mary Dubrow
S2005.855.2A

Designer costume jewelry: Chanel and Schiaparelli

 

Today's post investigates the costume jewelry associated with two renowned design houses: Schiaparelli and Chanel. As we discussed in our post on Kenneth Jay Lane's starburst brooch, costume jewelry became an important component of fashionable dress during the 1920s. Though it had long been possible to imitate the appearance of gold or precious stones with glass paste or pinchbeck, beginning in the 1920s it was acceptable to flaunt jewelry made from inexpensive materials like glass, plastic and non-precious metals. In 1923, the New York Times noted a recent proliferation of shops devoted to costume jewelry, "all displaying a bewildering layout of necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets, [and] brooches" made from semi-precious stones and other inexpensive materials.¹  Popularized by Parisian couturiers like Patou, Chanel and Schiaparelli, inexpensive costume jewelry soon adorned even those women who could afford the real thing.

Couturiers did more than simply promote costume jewelry. Many couturiers, including both Chanel and Schiaparelli, were closely involved in the design of costume jewelry to complement their haute couture collections. By designing jewelry to complement a particular collection, couturiers ensured that their clients' accessories and dress were aesthetically aligned. Offering branded products like perfume and costume jewelry also promoted the namesake couturier. These less-expensive products also brought the glamour of the haute couture within reach of the less-affluent consumer, who could possibly purchase a necklace or fragrance from Chanel or Schiaparelli, but not an entire ensemble.

Bracelet
c. 1955
Schiaparelli
Gift of Barbara Bundy
2006.37.10

Hairwork jewelry

 

"As the hair is the only part of our beloved friends which can be kept in memoriam, it is natural that we should desire to preserve the treasure in some manner that will testify our appreciation of its value..." -Ladies' Fancy Work, 1876.

 

Locks of hair have long served as sentimental and tangible reminders of deceased or far-away friends and close relations. Among family, friends and romantic partners, exchanging a lock of hair was a sign of mutual esteem and deep affection. Upon the death of a loved one, locks of hair were often cut and kept as a way to both honor and remember the dead. As suggested by the opening quote, hair degrades very slowly if carefully stored. Thus, hair was both an intimately personal souvenir of a specific person and an (almost) everlasting memento. Objects made of human hair also served as memento mori, or reminders of the transiency of human life, for those who wore or owned them.

In its most basic form, a hairwork memento consisted of a snippet of hair enclosed inside a locket or ring. In these instances, the hair was simply stored inside an item of jewelry. There are also examples of hair used as a medium for creating two-dimensional pictorial and abstract images, such as this late 19th century panel featuring both hairwork patterns and an image of the deceased. The most fascinating examples of hairwork consist of elaborate jewelry made almost entirely out of human hair. This type of hairwork jewelry enjoyed peak popularity from the 1850s through the 1880s, dying out almost entirely by the early years of the twentieth-century.

Hairwork necklace
1850-1890
Gift of Andrea Tice
2008.46.101

 

Versace skull jewelry

 

For the past few years, skulls have been everywhere, appearing as a motif on hand-knit sweaters, contemporary art, runway fashion, fast fashion and housewares. Despite their current incarnation as overused icon, the skull motif has weighty symbolic meaning. Skulls, skulls and crossbones and skeletons have been used for centuries, probably millennia, as a memento mori, a reminder of the fragility of human life. These same symbols have also functioned as a sign of danger, rebellion or threat, as in the Jolly Roger, the classic skull and crossbones pirate flag. No sober memento mori here, this Versus by Gianni Versace skull bracelet embodies the rebellious, counter-cultural side of the skull motif. Notice that each skull has a rose in its mouth and a raised lion medallion on the forehead.

Skull bracelet
1994
Versus/Gianni Versace
Gift of Dorothy W. Sorensen
V2010.1110.59

Kenneth Jay Lane starburst brooch, c. 1968

 

The term costume jewelry came into use in the early 20th century, probably in the mid-1920s. Prior to the 1920s, jewelry had a dual purpose: adornment and as a vehicle for displaying personal or familial wealth. Though glass paste gemstones and pinchbeck could very nearly imitate the appearance of costly fine jewelry, objects made using these techniques filled the same roles as did jewelry made from gold and diamonds. In the 1920s, semi-precious and non-precious jewelery challenged this notion, suggesting that jewelry was simply another way to enhance personal appearance. The most iconic example of this mindset are the oversized, patently fake pearls worn and popularized by Gabrielle Chanel.

As the twentieth century progressed, costume jewelry continued to gain in popularity, becoming an acceptable, popular alternative to precious jewelry. One of the most celebrated costume jewelry designers of the twentieth century is Kenneth Jay Lane. Lane's fashion training began at Vogue, where he worked in the art department. He quickly switched to shoe design, working for Delman and Christian Dior Shoes. In 1961/2 Lane was working on a collection of jeweled shoes for Arnold Scassi when he "suggested making jeweled buttons to match the shoes, and even matching earrings and bangle bracelets."¹ This first hand-made collection consisted of plastic bracelets and drop earrings covered with rhinestones. These first designs ultimately weren't mass-manufactured, but they began Lane's forays into jewelry design. In 1963, Lane quit designing shoes and turned full-time to jewelry.

Brooch
Kenneth Jay Lane
Rhinestone/metal
1968
Gift of Anonymous Donor
2009.40.3

Silver paper headdress, c. 1860

Anyone interested in the history of fashion quickly realizes that fashion is a series of cyclical repetitions. Contemporary silhouettes, colors and design details reference recent and historic styles, often with only slight modifications to bring a garment into the present moment. This cycle isn't new or unique to contemporary culture; documented revivals of historic fashions exist in the nineteenth century and earlier. Fashion historian Barbara Baines has suggested that revivals of historic dress styles are due to a number of factors, including nostalgia and an interest in associating oneself with specific, perceived characteristics of the past. In addition to these psychological factors, concrete events like an archaeological discovery, museum exhibition or period film can inspire a revival of historic styles.¹

Bohemian dress for children

Bohemians were figures of both fascination and fun in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A typical Bohemian was often artistically or politically inclined and was willing to step outside the bounds of conventional society. The highest Bohemian ideal was to be true to one's own inner passions, regardless of societal or economic pressures. This interest in nonconformity led Bohemian dressers to a variety of innovative dress styles: non-Western garments, comfortable work or sport clothes, and costumes born of their own imaginations.

Long associated with working artists, the "art smock" attained special prominence in notoriously Bohemian Greenwich Village during the late teens. The loose, unstructured fit marked its wearer as a woman willing to reject the boundaries of fashion and propriety in the pursuit of an "artistic" life. A woman who was willing to wear such a free and easy garment was assumed to adhere to ideals of personal, social and sexual liberation. Smocks could be purchased in several Greenwich Village boutiques, including the Village Store and from the studio of batik artist Alice Muth. The 1922 Greenwich Village guidebook by Anna Alice Chapin noted that it was common to see "girls in smocks of 'artistic' shades-bilious yellow-green, or magenta-tending violet" when visiting the area.

Transforming the Rudi Gernreich Archive

If you read this post, you'll know that the FIDM Museum houses an extensive Rudi Gernreich Archive. The Archive numbers nearly 1,000 items and includes not only garments and accessories, but patterns, furniture, scrapbooks and other miscellaneous items. We received the objects that now comprise the Rudi Gernreich Archive soon after Gernreich's death in 1985. At that time, the objects were placed in a separate storage area, away from the bulk of the FIDM Museum collection. Though intentions were good, objects were not always stored with an eye to long-term preservation.

Pages from one of the Gernreich swatch books.