FIDM Museum Blog

Intern Report: Michel Arnaud

Today's intern report comes from Yvonne Sone, MLIS graduate of the University of Washington. Yvonne worked closely with our Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive, and was vital in our efforts to prepare for the launch of our Google Arts & Culture platform. Yvonne received her BFA in Fashion Design from Woodbury University, and has two decades of experience in the vintage fashion industry. In addition to her passion for historic costume and textiles, she is interested in public librarianship, information access, and community outreach.

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Modern day fashion is a parade of anything goes—from the outrageously oversized to the androgynous, to celebrity red carpet looks pushing the boundaries of what was previously deemed in good taste, to the recent phenomenon of anti-fashion (yet stylistically conscious) movements like Normcore. Fashion is widely recognized as a means of expressing individuality, standing out from the masses, or choosing to quietly fly under the radar.

Over the last five months, I’ve found myself knee deep in exploring all things Spring/Summer 1984, thanks to my work in helping to digitize the Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive for publication. As a recent graduate student in Library and Information Science, one degree requirement hinged on the completion of a capstone project, executing new principles and skills in a professional environment. I reached out to Museum Registrar Meghan Hansen, whom I had volunteered with many years ago. Meghan acquainted me with the Michael Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive, 185,000 35mm slides documenting fashion photography from the 1970s-2000s.

Gianfranco Ferré, Spring/Summer 1984

Happy Birthday Naomi Campbell!

Legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell was born May 22, 1970, and stormed the fashion world at the young age of fifteen. The London born-and-raised original super was famously the first black model to appear on the cover of TIME magazine and both French and Russian Vogue; she has appeared on over 500 magazine covers and walked for almost every major fashion designer imaginable. After thirty plus years in the business, she continues to make waves in the fashion industry. Now, much of Campbell's time is spent on her charity Fashion For Relief.

In honor of the always fierce and indomitable model, we're sharing some of our favorite Campbell runway moments straight from our Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive! Sit back and enjoy a dose of pure glamour.

Azzedine Alaïa, F/W 1991

The Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive

    Today's post comes from Registrar Meghan Hansen, who has been working diligently to organize and catalog the FIDM Museum's Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive. Read her account of digitizing the collection in advance of her Summer 2018 exhibition Capturing the Catwalk: Runway Photography from the Michel Arnaud Archive!

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    The FIDM Museum is home to a little-known treasure-trove of haute couture and prêt-a-porter runway photographs, which until recently was rarely seen and never exhibited. The Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive was established with a single donation by Arnaud Associates, the business founded and still maintained by photographer Michel Arnaud. In 2000, the FIDM Museum received two shipments of 35mm slides, totaling over 180,000 photographs. The Archive spans over twenty years (1974-1997) of international fashion shows from Paris, New York, London and Milan.

Vivienne Westwood, S/S 1991