FIDM Museum Blog

21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition is now open!

21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design
February 12-April 27, 2013
Tuesday–Saturday
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
FREE and open to the public.

The FIDM Museum is pleased to announce the opening of the 21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition! Since its inception in 1992, the exhibition has annually honored the incredible creativity of costume designers in the film industry. This year's exhibit showcases costumes from all five Academy Award nominees for Best Costume: Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, and Snow White and the Huntsman. Also featured are costumes from American Reunion, Argo, The Avengers, Django Unchained, End of Watch, Hitchcock, The Hunger Games, John Carter, The Master, ParaNorman, A Royal Affair, Skyfall, and Sparkle. Selected costumes from The Artist, last year's Academy Award winner for Costume Design, are also on exhibit.

We know you'll visit soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this preview of the exhibit. To see additional images, including some pictures of the opening celebration, visit our Facebook page.

Gallery overview

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.

From the Archives: Pucci maxi dress, 1964

Today's post, originally published in 2010, explores a 1964 Pucci print inspired by designer Emilio Pucci's travels in Africa.

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Emilio Pucci's (1914-1992) intensely colored prints are one of the most easily identifiable signatures in fashion. Often described as "kaleidoscopic," a classic Pucci print is a swirling mass of abstract shapes, sinuous lines and wild color. Emilio Pucci designed these prints himself, drawing inspiration from his Italian heritage and his extensive travels around the globe. The dynamic composition of the prints was perhaps inspired by Pucci's experience as a World War II pilot. In later years, he "clearly recalled the constant movement and the kaleidoscope of colors that spread out before him" when flying over Europe.¹

By the early 1960s, Pucci prints, in the form of lightweight, easily packed silk jersey dresses, were tremendously popular with the international jet set. Not only were the prints exciting, the fit was also provocative. Pucci's dresses were designed to highlight the body, lacking the rigid understructure of most 1950s dress designs. Widely copied at all price-points, the exuberant pattern and figure-skimming silhouette of a Pucci dress embodied the youthful, optimistic spirit that dominated the 1960s.

Maxi dress
1964
Emilio Pucci
Gift of Mrs. Robert L. Wood
97.692.1

Claire McCardell day dress, c. 1950

Day dress
Claire McCardell
c. 1950
FIDM Museum Purchase
2003.5.28AB

Claire McCardell had a way with stripes. She played with them, spinning and twisting their orientation to create dazzling visual effects. Here, lavender, aqua, purple, and blue stripes are exploited for their graphic potential. Horizontal stripes decorate the full skirt, while the mitered bodice draws the eye upward. This style of bodice, cut all-in-one on the bias, was one of the designer's favorite "McCardellisms," one of several recurrent design solutions that defined her aesthetic. Instead of darts, pintucks give the bodice its shape. In general, McCardell avoided darts, preferring to create silhouette via tucking, tying, wrapping or gathering.

A Century of Cotton: Selections from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, 1800-1900

A Century of Cotton: Selections from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, 1800-1900
FIDM Museum Larson Gallery
Tuesday through Saturday, 10am–5pm
Opens to the public February 12, 2013

Showcasing the beauty and versatility of cotton fabrics, this exhibition highlights selected cotton garments and accessories from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. Beginning in the late seventeenth-century, lightweight cotton fabrics gradually supplanted the dominance of fragile and expensive silks. As cotton became increasingly popular, fashionable dress incorporated this new medium into its vocabulary. Including woven, printed and embroidered cottons, A Century of Cotton also traces the dramatic changes that occurred in the fashionable female silhouette between 1800 and 1900.

Afternoon Dress
United States, c. 1908
Cotton-embroidered linen & cotton crochet lace
L2011.13.1060

Hat
Europe or United States, c. 1908
Cotton floral trim & straw
L2011.13.538

Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection
Proposed FIDM Museum Acquisitions

 

Red and black ensemble, 1894-96

In the 1890s, most women’s dresses were made-to-measure. Though ready-made clothing was increasingly common, garments that required a precise fit or featured delicate embellishment were typically custom-made, either by the wearer herself, or by a trusted seamstress. Though some women had the financial means to purchase their wardrobes in Paris, most women relied on the advice of their (hopefully up-to-date) dressmaker, example gowns made in the latest style, or on printed descriptions of new fashions. Fashion magazines gave detailed descriptions of stylish garments so that women could make, or have made, approximations of the styles described. This passage from June 1894 is typically detailed: "A dainty organdie with a pale lavender ground, deeply spotted with deep purple flowerets, has two simple six-inch ruffles finishing the skirt, each ruffle trimmed with two rows of narrow moire ribbon in the deep purple shade."¹ The description continues, providing the reader with enough information on cut, material, and embellishment to enable the creation of a similar garment. Simple line drawings sometimes accompanied these written descriptions.

Woman's ensemble
1894-96
Silk
Gift of the Manlove Family
S2006.870.22AB

21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design opens February 12, 2013

 

21st Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design
February 12-April 27, 2013
Tuesday–Saturday
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
FREE and open to the public.

Since its inception in 1992, the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition has honored the incredible work of costume designers in the film industry. Now in its 21^st year, the 2013 exhibition will feature over 100 costumes from selected 2012 films, including all five Academy Award nominees for best Costume Design. Including costumes from A Royal Affair, Anna Karenina, Argo, Django Unchained, Hitchcock, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, Skyfall, Snow White and the Huntsman, and other films, the exhibition will offer visitors a close-up view of the costumer's art.

 

In 2012, The Artist by Costume Designer Mark Bridges won the Academy Award® for Costume Design. Selected costumes from The Artist will be on display in this year's exhibition.

Fashion birthday: Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior

Two of the twentieth-century's greatest couturiers were born today, January 21. In 1895, Cristobal Balenciaga was born in Getaria, Spain. Ten years later, Christian Dior was born in Granville, Normandy, France. In addition to sharing a birthday, Balenciaga and Dior were both masters of their craft, creating extraordinary garments and influencing generations of designers. In celebration of their respective birthdays, careers and legacy, we're sharing previously unseen images of each designer's work.

Cristobal Balenciaga
1958
Silk matelassé
Transfer from the Museum at FIT
2004.291.10

To see other Cristobal Balenciaga pieces from our collection, click here.

Christian Dior
c. 1955
Silk satin
Gift of Mary Coquillard
97.196.1

To see other Christian Dior pieces in the FIDM Museum collection, click here.

 

Butterflies abound

Though we're not a natural history museum or a science center, we have lots of butterflies in our collection. No taxidermy specimens here, FIDM Museum butterflies are woven, printed, painted, and embroidered. Our curatorial team has no specific intent to collect garments and accessories decorated with butterflies, but the popularity of the motif makes it easy to acquire compelling pieces featuring this colorful, winged insect. According to our Curator Kevin Jones, "I would never accept an object into the collection just because it has a certain motif. It would have to be fab for a number of other reasons."

Butterflies can be found on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica. Diverse cultures have developed symbolic interpretations of the butterfly, many of which focus on its dramatic life-cycle. Hatching from the egg as a larva or caterpillar, the insect grows and eats until it reaches the chrysalis stage. During the chrysalis, a shell forms around the caterpillar, protecting the insect as it undergoes a metamorphosis into a beautifully colored butterfly. In ancient Greece, butterflies represented the soul, while Christian interpretations use the butterfly's life-cycle to symbolize resurrection. In parts of Asia, pairs of butterflies represent marital harmony and happiness. Butterflies have also been used to symbolize the transience of childhood, and are often used to decorate garments worn by little girls.

Child's "Dainty Blossom" Ensemble
Daisy Stanford
Hand-painted silk
c. 1925
Museum Purchase
2003.5.24A-C

Gianni Versace leather suit, 1994

Schoolgirl chic with a naughty edge was a strong theme throughout Gianni Versace’s Autumn/Winter 1994-95 collection. Statuesque supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Nadja Auermann walked the runway clad in shiny, candy-colored miniskirts paired with fuzzy, belly-baring turtleneck sweaters and Empire waist vinyl dresses with peek-a-boo midriffs. According to WWD, the “collection included hardly an outfit that wouldn't get a girl expelled."¹ The aggressive sexuality showcased in these garments was a trademark of Versace's work. According to fashion historian Richard Martin, "Versace seized the streetwalker's bravado and conspicuous wardrobe, along with her blatant, brandished sexuality, and introduced them into high fashion."²

Leather two-piece suit
Gianni Versace
Autumn/Winter 1994-95
Gift of Dorothy Washington Sorensen
S2010.1110.1AB