FIDM Museum Blog

Intern Report: Yohji Yamamoto Digital Archive

Today's post comes from our Digital Archive intern Maureen Nyhan, who spent time with the FIDM Museum this summer working on our Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive. Maureen learned digital asset management skills as she scanned and categorized collections from one designer, Yohji Yamamoto, making these images available to researchers for years to come! 

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As a non-traditional student (returning to school after family) I felt so welcomed to the FIDM Museum family, where my amateur skills in both fashion and digital asset management (DAM) were graciously overlooked and I was treated as a valued member of the team from Day One.

In my search for an internship to complete my Digital Archiving Certificate at Pasadena City College, I am so glad I reached out to Meghan at the FIDM Museum. When Meghan called me back, her enthusiasm and welcoming tone caught me as a wonderful surprise. She immediately honed in on an area from my creative and academic past. I started my college career as an Art Major but ended up taking my BA in Japanese Language and Culture at SFSU and living in Japan in the 1980s. At that time, Comme des Garcons and Yohji Yamamoto’s black fashions were all the rage.

Photograph by Michel Arnaud
Yohji Yamamoto
Fall/Winter 1982
Gift of Arnaud Associates, SC2000.1095.1 AS082472

Since my task was going to be organizing and scanning runway photos from the Michel Arnaud Archive, Meghan asked if I might be interested in working with either of those two collections, and perhaps creating content for a Google Arts & Culture page on one of the designers. I was thrilled at the prospect, and honored to come on board to complete my hours. I picked Yamamoto.

Photograph by Michel Arnaud
Yohji Yamamoto
Fall/Winter 1982
Gift of Arnaud Associates, SC2000.1095.1 AS082471

Thierry Mugler

Thierry Mugler has had a busy year at the FIDM Museum; his work was recently on display in Thierry Mugler: Alien to Angel on our Orange County campus, and two of his ravishing runway looks are on view in our newly-opened Los Angeles exhibition Capturing the Catwalk: Runway Photography from the Michel Arnaud Archive, open until July 7. With more of his designs on display in Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a massive retrospective planned at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Mugler is definitely having a moment. 

(Note: all photographs from The Michel Arnaud Archive, Gift of Arnaud Associates)

Fall/Winter 1990

Thierry Mugler spent his childhood in Strausborg, the fairytale French city on the border between France and Germany, where he was born in 1948. In the shadows of the Strasbourg cathedral - which inspired his fascination with heaven, angels, and the Madonna figure - Mugler began to create worlds of his own fantasy. Comic books in particular connected with Mugler’s love of storytelling, and his childhood devotion to the medium is demonstrated clearly in his future runway shows. 

Spring/Summer 1991

Though he never had any formal training as a designer, Mugler was educated for a short time at the decorative arts school of Strausborg. But the passion that truly dominated his youth was dance. He joined as a corps member of the Opera National du Rhin ballet company at just 14 years old, and danced professionally for 6 years. His time in the ballet would influence the anatomical look of his future collections. He explained, “Dance taught me a great deal about physical bearing, the organization of a piece of clothing, the importance of the shoulders, and the rhythm and interplay of legs.” Of course, his time on the stage also inspired his zeal for theatricality, the highlight of every Mugler runway show.

Spring/Summer 1982

Now Open: Capturing the Catwalk

On Wednesday, May 23, the FIDM Museum welcomed photographer Michel Arnaud, along with his family, friends, and colleagues, to celebrate the opening of Capturing the Catwalk: Runway Photography from the Michel Arnaud Archive. The exhibition is the first to showcase his work spanning over two decades in the fashion industry; it highlights his contributions to the field (including advances in camera technology), and explores the ever-changing world of the runway - from fashion capitals and editorial visions to haute couture and supermodels. The photographs are shown alongside dress, accessories, and special collection objects from the FIDM Museum Permanent Collection.

The project began in 2000 when Arnaud generously donated his personal collection of over 180,000 slides - dating from the 1970s to the 1990s - to the FIDM Museum. The task of scanning every slide began; with the help of several dedicated volunteers and interns, our FIDM Museum Registrar and Curator of this exhibition, Meghan Hansen, was able to match the photos with our collection objects. After interviews with Arnaud and extensive research, the exhibition took shape. Capturing the Catwalk uses the rich resource of the photography archive to narrate the history and development of the runway, next to the garments that graced the stage.

The exhibition is free and open to the public from May 24 to July 7 (closed on July 4). In the coming weeks, we'll share more from our conversations with Arnaud and take you further inside the exhibition. But now, it's time for you to join us at the opening party - lights, camera runway!

Entering the exhibition with The Supers

FIDM Museum Director Barbara Bundy, Michel Arnaud, and FIDM Museum Registrar and Curator of Capturing the Catwalk Meghan Hansen 

Michel Arnaud with wife Jane Creech and son Will Arnaud

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