FIDM Museum Blog

FIDM Museum Now Closed

Dear FIDM Museum Community,

 

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition is now closed, as is the FIDM Orange County Campus gallery. The health and safety of our visitors is our priority; this decision was made in adherence to guidelines provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. We look forward to welcoming our guests back to the galleries in May 2020 for the upcoming exhibition Sporting Fashion: Outdoor Girls 1800 to 1960. 

 

You can always visit us online via our digitized collections, Google Arts & Culture platform, and here on the FIDM Museum Blog. We invite you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for additional content.

 

We truly appreciate your understanding, and we send our best wishes for your health and safety.

 

The FIDM Museum Team 

Fashion Council Royal Tea

Mark your calendar for Friday, March 6: it's time for the FIDM Museum Fashion Council's annual Royal Tea! Held outside in an elegant tent, the afternoon is a chance to meet new friends who share a love fashion history, enjoy a delicious and proper English tea, and experience the hallmark FIDM Museum exhibition The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design. You'll hear from Museum Coordinator and textile expert Leigh Wishner, who will discuss a fascinating 1940s dress in our collection (keep reading for a detailed description of her presentation), followed by a private tour of our film costume exhibition. The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design features over 100 ensembles from 30 films, including all five Academy Award nominees for Best Costume Design and this year's winner, Little Women by Jacqueline Durran. 

See the invitation below for more information; to purchase a ticket, click here. All proceeds are tax-deductible and support the FIDM Museum acquisition fund. 

 

“There’ll Always Be An England” in Los Angeles: Contextualizing a 1941 British American Ambulance Corps-Print Dress in the FIDM Museum Collection

Leigh Wishner, FIDM Museum Coordinator 

“There’ll Always Be an England” might not sound like patriotic American sloganeering, but in 1941, the American fashion industry pressed these words into fashionable service. The FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising preserves a rare dress made from a textile that employs “mirror-writing” and lyrically references the above-quoted popular British song title. The printed rayon, one in a remarkable series, was manufactured by the New York firm Roth-Getzoff & Co. under the auspices of the British-American Ambulance Corps, which primarily raised funds to purchase ambulances for British armed forces engaged in World War II. In the case of the “B.A.A.C Print” textiles, and fashions made from them, ten percent of proceeds were donated to this charitable organization. Diverse yet coherent, the series concentrated on flora and fauna native to—or emblematic of—Britain; scrolled or abstracted letters spelling “B.A.A.C.”; militaristic and monarchic motifs; and assorted patterns created to appeal to fashion-conscious consumers. 

Using the FIDM Museum’s dress as a tangible representation of a superlative moment in American fashion history, this presentation focuses on the B.A.A.C.’s collaboration with the Roth-Getzoff textile company and the fashion promotions centered on this fundraising project. By grounding the B.A.A.C. fabrics in a historical context, a critical evaluation of “novelty” fabrics is possible, proving topical designs could—and did—carry serious messages. 

 

The ‘Amphitrite’ Fan

Today's post is an in-depth look at a very special new acquisition, written by French scholar Georgina Letourmy-Bordier. Letourmy-Bordier holds a PhD in French History of Art, specializing in Fans. She has organized several exhibitions dedicated to this object, and regularly has articles relating to fan research published. She is currently a fan specialist for several French auction houses, mostly in Paris.

Translated from French by Mary Kitson, Secretary of the Fan Circle International 

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The ‘Amphitrite’ Fan: A Masterpiece in the FIDM Museum Collection

Most antique fans still in existence today have lost their history. Their origins, their context, and the various stages of their making escape us. There is one principle reason for this. Since their introduction into Europe in the 16^th century, fans have generally been made anonymously – there are only rare exceptions to this.  There are no signatures on the leaves or on the montures.  It wasn’t until the second half of the 19^th century that painters began to sign their work. When the sticks are signed, which is very rare, it is a sign that the work is of exceptional quality.

Amphitrite Fan, c. 1889
Gustave Lasellaz (painter); Jules Vaillant (sculptor); Adrien Rodien (maker) 
Hand-painted paper, linen lace, mother-of-pearl, metal, wood & paperboard
FIDM Museum Purchase: Funds donated by Martha Nesseth and Mona Lee Nesseth
2019.5.9AB

This lack of knowledge is regrettable when the objects are of high quality, like the fan generously given to the FIDM Museum by Mona Lee Nesseth. However, and very fortunately, ‘Amphitrite’ has three signatures: of the painter, Gustave Lasellaz; of the sculptor, Jules Vaillant; and of the fan maker, Adrien Rodien.

Fan reverse

Very probably conceived in the final years of the 19^th century, this fan is notable for its size and for the extraordinary wealth of its decoration, a testament to the incredible knowledge of the Parisian fan makers (éventaillistes).

The Artists of This Masterpiece

Guard detail by sculptor Jules Vaillant

Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Now Open

Beloved classic, haunting origin story, historical satire, epic mob saga, and Hollywood nostalgia: this year's Academy Award nominees for Best Costume Design span the gamut of film genres. One thing they all have in common is a unique aesthetic created by the masterful designers featured in the FIDM Museum's Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition. Oscar nominees Jacqueline Durran (Little Women), Mark Bridges (Joker), Mayes C. Rubeo (JoJo Rabbit), Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson (The Irishman), and Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood) are among the many designers showcased in this annual exhibition, which includes over 100 costumes from 30 films. As always, we've brought back last year's Academy Award winning costumes: Black Panther, designed by Ruth Carter - shown alongside her Oscar statuette! 

On February 1, industry professionals and Museum colleagues gathered for the exhibition's opening night reception. From veterans such as Michael Kaplan (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) - recipient of the Costume Designers Guild Career Achievement Award - to newcomers like Mitchell Travers (Late Night and Hustlers), the night was a celebration of the costume design community. Read on for a behind-the-scenes look at the festivities, and make sure to schedule your visit to the exhibition sooner rather than later; it closes after a six-week run on March 21!

A dramatic entrance featuring Queen Ramonda's costume from Black Panther, designed by Ruth Carter

A dazzling array of costumes great visitors in the first gallery

Cate Adair, Vice President of the Costume Designers Guild, Mitchell Travers, costume designer for Hustlers and Late Night, Salvador Perez, President of the Costume Designers Guild, and costume designer Ann Foley

FIDM Museum Coordinator Leigh Wishner with Curator Kevin Jones

Betsy Bloomingdale and the Battle of Versailles

In the mid-20th century, the splendor of the Palace of Versailles, former home to France’s kings, queens, and emperors, had drastically faded. The palace was in extreme disrepair, facing millions of dollars worth of renovations to restore it to its former glory. Cut to 1973: Versailles Chief Curator Gerald Van der Kemp and his wife Florence happened to be on holiday with fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, a consummate advocate for American design. The three hatched an idea for a benefit to raise funds for the restoration: an elaborate fashion show in the palace’s Royal Opera theater featuring both American and French designers. In addition to its philanthropic purpose, Lambert recognized the potential advantage of going head to head with the French on an international stage. Seventh Avenue fashion was not considered equal to Avenue Montaigne, and Lambert saw an opportunity to demonstrate the value of uniquely American sportswear. Little did the trio know that the benefit would take on legendary status - a fashion show for the ages now referred to as the Battle of Versailles. 

Program for the Grand Divertissement à Versailles fashion show belonging to Betsy Bloomingdale; FIDM Museum Special Collections

It was decided that each country would showcase five designers. The French selected established couturiers who were the biggest names in fashion: Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Emanual Ungaro, and Pierre Cardin. After Geoffrey Beene and James Galanos declined invitations to participate, the Americans settled on Oscar de la Renta, Anne Klein, Halston, Bill Blass, and Stephen Burrows (a bit of a wildcard, as the young designer was still up-and-coming on the New York fashion scene). The two groupings could not have been more different: the Americans excelled at ready-to-wear fit for a more casual lifestyle, while the French were steeped in tradition and formality. Working with a shoe-string budget, the Americans enlisted veteran performer Kay Thompson to coordinate the presentation. To save on travel costs, the organizers only hired models who could walk for multiple designers; 11 of the models were African American, a surprising showcase of diversity for the time. 

Program interior

The event saw over 650 invited guests, each paying 1,000 francs per ticket. Everyone from royalty (Princess Grace of Monaco) to Hollywood stars (Elizabeth Taylor) were in attendance. Thanks to zealous media hype - much of it driven by Women’s Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild- and several days of contentious rehearsals between the French and American contingents, the stage was set for an epic fashion showdown. Snow fell outside the palace as guests arrived on November 28, 1973 to the blue and gold theater, lit by candelabras and surrounded by ushers in 18th century livery. The two-and-a-half hour French portion of the evening opened with elaborate sets, wooden props, and orchestra music. Rudolf Nureyev, Josephine Baker, and dancers from the infamous Crazy Horse club were among the performers; yet despite the over-the-top grandeur, it was clear the French delegation had missed the mark. A stiff conventionality and lack of cohesion plagued the production, which seemed to hearken from another time. 

Invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale to attend the Grand Divertissement à Versailles; FIDM Museum Special Collections

Kevin Jones 20th Anniversary Interview

On November 15, 2019, Curator Kevin Jones celebrated his 20th year at the FIDM Museum! To mark this milestone, we asked our social media followers what questions they had for Kevin about his career and experiences in the field over the past twenty years. Read on to learn what missed acquisition keeps him up at night, which costume was the most difficult to mount, and where he hopes to see the Museum in twenty years.

Kevin at the opening of Designing Hollywood: Sketches from the Christian Esquevin Collection, 2014

This was asked by several people: what is your favorite object in the collection? 

That is so impossible to answer because there are too many - every time I open a box I say 'this is my favorite'! Obviously the McQueen peacock dress, because truly that would not have existed had the Museum not commissioned it, so that’s something I’m really proud of. One of the historic garments that I love is the 1883 Vanderbilt ball fancy dress that was worn by Emily Vanderbilt Sloane. Normally I’m not interested in costume because I like the fashions that people wore in the day, but that was a pivotal moment in New York history, the development of architectural styles in the United States, the social atmosphere of the 400 and the high society of the Gilded Age. It’s believed that ball was the moment the Vanderbilts entered society. The gown was made in New York and has somehow survived in extraordinary condition - it looks like it stepped out of the photograph that exists of Emily wearing it. That’s something that was fun to acquire. 

Vanderbuilt fancy dress costume
1883, New York
FIDM Museum Purchase
2012.5.32A-C

Installing Modern Love at the Bendigo Art Gallery, Australia, 2013
Alexander McQueen peacock dress, Fall/Winter 2008-9 (commissioned 2010)
FIDM Museum Purchase: Funds generously provided by Karen Coombs-Jordan
2010.5.73

Another popular question: who in your opinion is the greatest designer in fashion or film, living or dead?

There’s no way! I love all the biggies, like Dior. Vionnet - when you examine her work, not only is it aesthetically beautiful when you step away from it, but the closer you get to it the more beyond phenomenal it becomes. I’m really a 19th century guy, and so many of the wonderful garments that survive from the 19th century have no designer attributions. I love Pingat because he did a lot of surface treatments; I particularly love embroideries. I love Paquin. We just acquired a Natalia Goncharova evening coat - the workmanship is beautiful, but it's more the concept of the coat that makes it stand apart and just is mesmerizing to me. I truly loved Alexander Mcqueen's work because he respected dress history. He also immersed himself in every aspect of the technical construction of garments before he became famous. Hollywood Costume Designers…I do love Walter Plunkett because I’m fascinated by his use of history. Who couldn’t love Adrian? He transitioned; he was Hollywood and then became a fashion designer. You could see his design, his style, his aesthetic translated onscreen and off-screen. I think that is an amazing feat to do - he knew how to translate the overblown, oversized, over-glamorized designs of what was needed onscreen to real women’s wardrobes. 

Fashion Council Fall Lecture Day

What do you see when you envision a fan? Perhaps gilded sticks, a painted leaf, a sprinkling of palettes? What about a fan made of perfume blotters, a cut-up silk scarf, or leather? World-class artist Sylvain Le Guen pushes the boundaries of traditional fan craftsmanship, using unexpected materials and shapes to construct contemporary fan designs. On October 26, 2019, the FIDM Museum was proud to host Le Guen at the annual Fashion Council Fall Lecture Day celebrating our new exhibition FANtasy: The Mona Lee Nesseth Fan Collection at the FIDM Museum at the FIDM Orange County campus.

Le Guen began his presentation with an overview of fan history, tracing the object's journey from ancient Egypt to Japan and China. He then walked the audience through his process of creating custom fans out of his Paris workshop, showing us fans in various forms of completion to illustrate each step. Le Guen's clients include private individuals, corporations, and the film industry; you might have seen his impressive work in Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) or Disney's live-action Cinderella (2015). His fans have also graced couture runways, window displays, art galleries, and grand masquerade balls - each tailor-made to suit the occasion and customer. 

The Museum is privileged to now count an original Le Guen design in our permanent collection: a custom Deco-inspired fan commissioned by Mona Lee Nesseth to match a beaded Lorena Sarbu evening gown, also in the Museum's collection. Associate Curator Christina Johnson spoke to Le Guen about how this fan came to fruition - be on the lookout for a future blog post detailing that process! You can see the gown and the fan displayed together for the first time when you visit FANtasy at the FIDM Orange County campus. Please note the exhibition is open by appointment; to schedule your visit, please call 888.974.3436.

If you'd like to learn more about Sylvain Le Guen's work, you can follow him on Instagram or visit his website. See photos of the Museum's new Le Guen fan, the FANtasy exhibition, and the Fall Lecture Day below!

Internationally celebrated fan artist Sylvain Le Guen with his work commissioned by Mona Lee Nesseth, now in the collection of the FIDM Museum

A Paquin Fan in FANtasy: The Mona Lee Nesseth Fan Collection

 

Associate Curator Christina Johnson wrote this post about a very rare fan on display now in FANtasy: The Mona Lee Nesseth Fan Collection, FIDM Orange County Campus Gallery.

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"L'Occidentale" Fan
Jeanne Paquin and Paul Iribe
Paris, France
Gift of Mona Lee Nesseth
2018.5.124A-C

When I visit museum exhibitions I’m drawn to the objects on display and their meanings, but I also reflect on the many people behind-the-scenes who make those exhibitions happen! This blog entry describes how our team worked together to showcase an important new acquisition--a 1911 pochoir-printed silk fan created by Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936) in collaboration with illustrator Paul Iribe (1883-1935) --with its original box, I might add! The fan model is titled L’Occidentale, translated as “The Western Woman.” Each person you’ll meet below shared the goal of successfully acquiring and exhibiting the piece, bringing their own professional expertise and personal interests to the project. Come see it in person in FANtasy: The Mona Lee Nesseth Fan Collection currently at the FIDM Museum Orange County Campus Gallery.  

Kevin Jones, FIDM Museum Curator: I can attest to the fact that Kevin has wanted this particular fan for the FIDM Museum collection for a long time! He adores Paquin’s designs, and this piece is well-known in her oeuvre. But how does a curator devise a wish list? This probably goes without saying, but first they need to know their institution’s mission statement and collecting policy. The FIDM Museum collects objects with “outstanding design merit,” meaning a piece is striking to look at on display or in a photograph, and strongly represents an era, culture, or designer.  

Curators also need to understand the collecting field in general—do other institutions own examples of the piece under consideration? Have they deemed it important enough to present in their own fashion timelines? In this case, examples are held by the Kyoto Costume Institute and the Palais Galliera, among other institutions. We don’t acquire something just because other museums have it, but it’s validating to note whether an object is held by institutions with similar collecting mandates. Conversely, if no one else has it, that can be a good thing, too! It means the FIDM Museum becomes the central institution for a particular design, and we can welcome more researchers and designers to study it. This fan is a rare silk model, whereas most extant versions tend to be printed on paper or vellum. It also has carved and dyed horn sticks rather than the usual tinted wood—perhaps it was intended as a luxury version of a well-known design. I’ve never seen another one with the box, and its shape tells us how early nineteenth century design inspired the series, as the shape is almost identical to fan boxes of that early era. 

Fan with original box

Mona Lee Nesseth, Donor: We have Mona Lee Nesseth to thank for the majority of the remarkable fans in the FIDM Museum collection, which she began donating in 2013. Mona stumbled upon this fan at a shop in Paris and immediately texted Kevin photos.  She had previewed the same model in person at an auction house that very week knowing he was looking for one, but sadly, the paper was in poor condition. Surprisingly, she noted this fan in the shop was made of silk. Mona generously underwrote the fan for the FIDM Museum. Once we heard it had been secured, we couldn’t wait for delivery--it’s always so exciting opening packages here in the Museum offices. 

Fan and original box in custom-made archival storage: ethafoam and tyvek mount in blue board box

Carolyn Jamerson, Collections Manager and Mount-Maker: As Collections Manager, Carolyn is responsible for the physical safety and organization of this fan in storage and in transit. She created a custom archival box for the delicate pieces, which are set into voids of hand-carved ethafoam covered in tyvek. She also tracks the location of the piece in our PastPerfect database--from incoming status to permanent location--noting the row and shelf it lives on in storage. Having this location in a database comes in handy when a Curator bursts into storage and asks to see something right then and there! Carolyn also works in preparing objects to be shipped out for loans, which the next person I’ll highlight also has a lot to do with. 

Meghan Hansen, Registrar: The Registrar ensures the correct paperwork is prepared for each acquisition or loan, and that all records are up-to-date in databases and files. Tracking shipments, updating conditions, and noting insurance values are Meghan’s domain. In the case of this fan, she needed to confirm its receipt; consult with the Curators for information needed to accession it into the database; liaise with the Collections Manager so the custom box could be made; and finally track its movement to and from the conservator and our OC campus gallery. In other words, the Registrar’s job entails multiple discussions with co-workers and contract employees, all while being highly organized! 

Art of Television Costume Design: Final Week

It's the final week of the FIDM Museum's Art of Television Costume Design exhibition! Our Newsletter Editor Elizabeth Hinckley caught up with several featured Costume Designers at the opening reception on August 17; in case you missed these interviews in the FIDM Museum Newsletter (sign-up here if you'd like to receive monthly updates), we're sharing their thoughts on the design process, their messages to Museum visitors, and their impressions of the exhibition - now in its 13th year. 

CDG President and FIDM Alumnus Salvador Perez (center) with Museum Coordinator Leigh Wishner (left) and Curator Kevin Jones (right)

Salvador Perez (President, Costume Designers Guild): Every year I think that this exhibition cannot get any better and every year the FIDM Museum tops itself! The costumes are treated and displayed as works of art; that is the beauty of this exhibition. Here we can see the costume details that we will never see on television. Costume Designers put in these details because they make the actor feel better. For the public to be able to see these is a rare gift. Everyone should come to this exhibition!

Lou Eyrich, Pose Co-Costume Designer and Emmy-nominee for Outstanding Period Costume Design

Lou Eyrich (Co-Costume Designer, Pose): For me collaborating with the actors in Pose was very important because it is their community. I wanted to learn as much as I could from them about how it was to live their lives. [Show creator] Ryan Murphy had really set the tone for what he wanted and then I would go into the fitting room with the actors and they would work with me. Most of them were too young to know what it was like in 1986, except for Billy Porter and Dominique, but Dominique did not live in the states at that time. Billy brought a lot to the table. I just adored working with him. He taught me, from the African-American perspective, about being gay at that time with the AIDS crisis and what it was really like at the balls. I hope visitors see the joy in these costumes.

Jennifer Rogien, Russian Doll Costume Designer and Emmy-nominee for Outstanding Contemporary Costume Design

Jennifer Rogien (Costume Designer, Russian Doll): There are so many incredible costumes here in one place. Even if you are not really into costumes, you get a real window into every show on a very visceral level by being able to see the clothes in person. They look different than they do on television, and that’s part of our job - to know how that translation works. In many of the cases, these clothes were imagined, created, and built from scratch. They really are unique to that world and that story. Then there are shows like mine; we ran out and bought that coat last year when we were filming because Nadia is a real New York woman (in an imaginary world, but in our world she’s real!) and we wanted her to look like she shopped in New York. It’s interesting to see the power of costume design in all of those contexts. We ended up tailoring almost everything – that’s one of our tricks of the trade. The multiples were definitely a challenge that was unique to us. We wanted to work with young designers who are in New York, but it just turned out that we couldn’t work with some of the smaller houses because they didn’t have the quantity. We needed twelve of everything. I am a shoe person, not necessarily because I love shoes, but because they affect how actors stand, and for Nadia that was really important. She moves around so much – Nadia as a character walks everywhere. We wanted something very functional. We used the brand Modern Vice; Natasha [Lyonne] wears it in real life and all of the booties are made in New York in the fashion district, so it’s really appropriate for us.

FIDM Museum Director Barbara Bundy and Marina Toybina, FIDM Alumna, The Masked Singer Costume Designer, and Emmy-nominee for Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming 

Intern Report: Koret of California

Today's blog post is written by Donald and Joan Damask Summer Study Grant recipient Kirstin Purtich, who is currently studying fashion and textile conservation at the Fashion Institute of Technology. After completing an MA in decorative arts, design history, and material culture at the Bard Graduate Center and spending several years organizing and contributing to exhibitions, Kirstin is getting back to fashion history research—and is happy to be working directly with objects again. This fall she is pursuing several conservation treatment projects, one of which will become the basis for her qualifying paper at FIT.

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Over the course of eight weeks this summer, my main task at the FIDM Museum was to survey and photograph over 500 garments in the Permanent Collection stored in boxes. This included knitwear by Betsey Johnson, heavily beaded gowns by Norman Norell, and multi-garment ensembles by nineteenth-century dressmakers—anything too delicate to be stored hanging. Dressing the less vulnerable garments on a standard dress form was key to understanding their three-dimensional form, and I became intimately acquainted with the complicated closures of haute couture gowns. One turquoise Christian Dior evening dress, designed by Marc Bohan and made for Betsy Bloomingdale, employs no less than 3 rows of snaps and hooks and eyes to close multiple, tissue-thin layers of silk chiffon and charmeuse at the center back.

During my internship, I also encountered a number of familiar names in twentieth-century American sportswear, which happens to be one of the museum’s collecting strengths. Coming across a number of garments by the San Francisco-based firm Koret of California, I found a wealth of information still affixed to the clothes. While most objects are categorized in the museum’s “labeled” section because of a surviving designer’s or manufacturer’s label at the back neck or side waist, most of the Koret garments also feature original retail hang tags and labels printed with style numbers, which provide direct insight into the way they were marketed and sold. These objects speak not only to trends in color and silhouette from the 1940s to the 1970s, but also to the ways in which women have been expected to consume and care for their clothes.

Blouse

Koret of California, 1947

Gift of Koret of California, 91.421.13

Detail of blouse label