Tag Archives: fashion

Walk the US Fashion Timeline

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There’s a few more days to walk among 50 years of American fashion history at FIT in Impact: 50 Years of the CDFA, a partnership between FIT and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The collaboration includes an interactive timeline that steps through some of the most significant moments in the industry over five decades.  If you can’t get to the gallery to play with this iPad production, take a walk through history online, or enjoy E!’s  YouTube tour with the show’s curator.

Oscar, Geoffrey, Zac, Carolina – They’re all here. The main exhibition space is lined with 100 iconic work, each chosen by the designer to reflect their best – Halston’s liquid gold strapless dress (1976), Diane’s leopard print wrap ensemble (1974), Ralph’s Navajo-inspired knit jacket and concha belt (1981), and Donna’s wrap skirt with oversize belt and matching cuff (1985).

High-drama awards go to Zac Posen’s sculpted red gown (think Charles James) and Norma Kamali’s parachute fabric and feather creation (think Alexander McQueen).

 

After Easter Bonnets

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Easter’s over, but the bonnets are still on display for one more week at Bard. Be sure to catch Hats: An Anthology by Steven Jones, with significant historic headwear pulled from the stellar collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

It’s three stories of mini-collections grouped into themed cases for Helmets, Turbans, Hoods, Straw, Paper, Felt, Feathers, and Flowers. The surprise is trying to decide which are contemporary, vintage, or truly antique. Typically here in the States we don’t get to see gems such as a knit wool apprentice cap from 1550 London, and a leather jester’s hat from the 1600s.

More modern chapeaux include a case of NYC designers (Eugenia Kim and Patricia Underwood), a felt beret from Mary Quant, a creation from Lola Hats made entirely of The New York Times, and many, many celeb hats, including those worn by Maurice Chevalier, Gypsy Rose Lee, Leigh Bowery, Mick Jagger, Cecil Beaton, the Mousketeers, and Warhol’s wig.

Perhaps the most startling object in the display isn’t a hat at all, but a facsimile of a handwritten letter (dated November 14, 1960) from Jackie Kennedy to Bergdorf’s custom millinery sales chief Martha O’Conner, describing and sketching the pillbox hats (to be made by Halston) she envisioned for JFK’s upcoming inauguration. In the bottom margin, Jackie adds, “P.S. It was so pleasant when I didn’t have to wear hats. I still feel absurd in them.”

Check out the on-line highlights and the installation views, (or the client salon or the gallery from the original 2009 V&A show) but there’s no substitute for experiencing three stories of creative, delightful, and historic hats in person.

When Theater was Fashion

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With everyone still mourning the demise of Bill’s Gay Nineties, fans of US theater of the early 1900s can gaze for one more week at the fashionable women who trod the boards way back then at the Bard Graduate Center’s show, Staging Fashion, 1880-1920.

Like the FIT’s Youthquake show, graduate students contributed heavily to this exhibition gem, which explores the intersection of theater and fashion back when stage actresses first became pop icons. Photographers needed celebrities to promote their studios; actresses needed to keep fans supplied with a steady flow of images; and designers wanted the latest to be seen on glamorous, trend-setting actresses.

The show on Bard’s top-floor gallery features clothes and images of three of the most popular actresses – Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, and Billie Burke. Check out the highlights – mass-produced postcards, theater fan magazines, advertisements, and personal testimonials for consumer products. Has pop culture really changed much? Judge for yourself.

Hey, Hey It’s the ‘60s!

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You have two more weeks to explore the fab, new tribute to the Mod, Mod world of 1960s fashion at FIT’s grad-student-curated exhibit Youthquake! The 1960s Fashion Revolution.

If you can’t make it to Seventh & 27th Street, check out the paper dresses, boutiques, and YouTube videos from the era, all posted on the exhibition web site. What’s better than watching original Paco Rabanne and Andre Courreges fashion movies from the late 60s, Grace Slick, and Ready, Steady, Go?

And what about the Youthquake timeline!!

Closes April 7, but it’s open until 8pm Tuesdays through Fridays.