Currently on view at the Textiles and Clothing Museum is Women for Women: Female Fashion Designers. The exhibition closes on December 18, but there’s still time to stop by Morrill Hall to appreciate the work of the talented designers whose garments are on display!
Installation shot from Women for Women: Female Fashion Designers.
We caught up with the exhibition’s co-curators, Janet Fitzpatrick and Becky Lensch, who spoke with us about the exhibition’s topic and the process of curating an exhibition at the TCM.
How are you affiliated with the Textiles and Clothing Museum?
Janet: I am currently the Curator and Collection Manager for the TCM. I’ve worked in the museum since 2008, just a year after its inaugural exhibit. Since then I’ve been involved in the planning and installation of most of the exhibits in the Mary Alice Gallery.
Becky: I am the undergraduate intern in the TCM. I also completed an independent study in the TCM during the 2015 spring semester.
What was your role in organizing the exhibit?
Janet: As co-curator for Women for Women: Female Fashion Designers, I worked with the museum’s fall 2015 undergraduate intern, Becky Lensch, for much of the exhibit planning and installation.
Becky: As part of my independent study I worked with Jan to look through the museum’s collection to identify garments that would be appropriate for the exhibit both in terms of the theme of the exhibit and condition of the object. Those that were selected were fit to mannequins, photographed and included in the spreadsheet that we worked from to develop the exhibit. I also did some background research on each of the designers and assisted with the installation of the exhibit.
Can you describe the theme of the exhibition?
Janet: Garments from celebrity and lesser-known female fashion designers are included in this exhibit in conjunction with the neighboring Christian Petersen Art Museum’s (Re)discovering S(h)elves exhibit of works by women artists. Similar to the way women artists work in paint, paper, fiber, clay, and glass, female fashion designers define themselves using cloth and thread. Women designers express their aesthetic sensibilities through the selection of the colors, lines, shapes, and textures incorporated into the silhouettes they create. In addition to the visual and textural appeal, designers consider the needs and desires of their consumers in order to provide apparel that satisfies physical requirements and societal expectations. These benefits include protection from inclement weather, practical designs for the workplace, structural components allowing for comfort and fit in active and leisure wear, as well as the glitz and glamour desired for special occasions.
Installation shot from Women for Women: Female Fashion Designers. Left: Pauline Trigère, dress, woven silk, 1974; Center: Mollie Parnis, dress, silk chiffon, glass beads, sequins, 1960.
With these benefits in mind, one might ask, “Do female fashion designers understand what is required of women’s apparel better than men?” Women designers do have the advantage of acting as their own fit models and critics, but that’s not always enough to ensure success. While many women designers built recognizable brands around their names, other designers haven’t always received the same recognition as their male counterparts. Female designers, pattern makers, stylists, and merchandisers were instrumental in building the ready-to-wear industry, but often remained unknown. Employed by large apparel manufacturers, these women labored without receiving individual credit for their work. While designers like Vera Wang achieved celebrity status due to their fashion lines, other equally important designers including Jo Copeland, Claire McCardell, Tina Leser, and Pauline Trigère are lesser known to the public. With the intention of bringing these and other names to the forefront, the works of many of the female fashion designers from the Textiles and Clothing Museum’s collection are celebrated.
What inspired you to choose this topic?
Janet: The exhibit was developed to coincide with the (Re)discovering S(h)elves exhibit. The Christian Petersen Art Museum (CPAM) and the TCM’s Mary Alice Gallery share walls and an adjoining door. This is the first time since both museums opened in 2007 that the door between the two spaces has been opened to allow visitors to experience related exhibits in both galleries. Knowing the scope of CPAM’s exhibit facilitated the decision to focus on the work of female fashion designers in our gallery.
Can you describe the steps involved in putting this exhibition together?
Janet: Work on the exhibit began in the fall of 2014 by identifying garments by women designers in the TCM collection. After developing a spreadsheet of potential designers, garments, condition, and provenance, museum staff and student assistants spent many hours fitting and photographing the garments. Once the secondary themes for the exhibit were established (special occasion, career, leisure, and outerwear) the field of garments was narrowed, labels prepared, and the final selection was made as installation took place in August.
Carole ‘Baba’ Bleecher, dress, silk brocade, 1959.
What was the most surprising thing you learned while working on this exhibition?
Janet: It was interesting to learn that an established designer lives within ten miles of campus. Baba Bleecher is currently a resident of Nevada, Iowa, but at one time her couture gowns graced the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Mademoiselle. Bleecher’s designs were featured in a long-running, print advertising campaign, Modess…because, for Modess® women’s sanitary products. While the promotion was memorable, the name of the designer behind so many of the fabulous gowns was not. Like many other female designers, Bleecher was designing for the ads in order to raise money to support her growing custom fashion business, not for the recognition. One of her designs, a peach brocade cocktail dress (1959) included in the exhibit, is on loan to the museum by Bleecher’s friend, Donna Rasmussen of Ames.
Becky: The most surprising thing I learned was that there were so many female fashion designers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes creating fabulous garments without ever getting any recognition for their efforts.
What is your favorite object featured in the exhibition?
Janet: It’s hard to select a favorite from so many wonderful fashions. One accessory that stands out to me is a necklace by Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973). The substantial, double-strand, silver princess-length statement necklace is as relevant today as it was when Schiaparelli designed it.
Installation shot from Women for Women: Female Fashion Designers. At center: Elsa Schiaparelli, necklace, silver, date unknown.
Becky: I, too, find it difficult to choose a favorite. There are so many wonderful pieces in the exhibit. I particularly like the blue and green striped Anne Fogarty dress. I wasn’t familiar with her prior to working on the exhibit, but she has now become one of my favorites. I also love anything by Claire McCardell. She gave beautiful design to everyday people.
Student opportunities: Students can receive internships and can volunteer to work with the collection. Students interning or volunteering for the collection are given exclusive insight to the museum industry. Please contact Janet Fitzpatrick at tcmuseum@iastate.edu for more information.
[Posted by Jennifer Farley Gordon]
Textiles and Clothing Museum 