FIDM Museum Logo

CURRENTLY CLOSED

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Getting Here
    • Tours
    • Events
  • Exhibitions
    • Current
    • Upcoming
    • Past
  • Learn
    • Online Collections
    • Research
    • Blog
    • Objects On Loan
    • Google Arts & Culture
    • Publications
  • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Collecting Policy
    • Venue Rental
    • Staff
  • Support
    • Fashion Council
    • Opportunities
      • Volunteer
      • Internships
    • Donations
      • General Fund
      • Endowment Fund
      • Object Donations
    • Operation 1804
    • Object Adoptions
  • Shop
  • Past Exhibition: The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design
  • Visit the FIDM Museum virtually through Google Arts & Culture
  • Catalogue Now Available
  • Past Exhibition: Capturing the Catwalk
BLOG
COLLECTIONS
Calendar
Exhibitions
Donate

Connect with
the FIDM Museum

Be part of the conversation
#fidmmuseum

Summer begins NOW! 🌞 Solstice Splendor Dip Tip Summer begins NOW! 🌞

Solstice Splendor Dip Tip: Don’t be afraid to take the plunge wearing sumptuous velvet, pearls, and rhinestones...it’s all drip-dry!
.
.
Swim Ensemble by Catalina, 1950-55
Gift of Anonymous Donor
2008.10.4AB
.
.
.
@catalinaswimwear #catalinaswimwear #swimwear #swimsuit #bathingsuit #summersolstice #summertime #summerfashion #poolsidefashion #glamour #glamourous #summerstyle #1950s #pinupfashion #pinupstyle #1950sfashion #20thcenturyfashion #vintagestyle #vintagefashion #vintageswimwear #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #sportingfashion #outdoorgirls #sportswear #womeninsports #athletics #fashionliveshere
It can't get any more "Mad Men" than this! Happy F It can't get any more "Mad Men" than this! Happy Father's Day to the dapper dads out there. The California Men's & Boy's Stylist was a fashion trade publication, but that doesn't mean it was only useful to fashion designers or retailers—many of our copies still have the subscribers' shipping labels affixed. This one was mailed to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Wardrobe Department, right here in Culver City, LA!
.
.
California Men's & Boy's Stylist, April 1959
Gift of Anonymous Donor 
SC2018.40.120 
.
.
.
#fathersday #happyfathersday #madmen #madmenfashion #californiafashion #mgmstudios #metrogoldwynmayer #costumedesign #costumedesigners #designinspiration #trendforecasting #menswear #vintagemenswear #mensstyle #1950s #50s #1950sfashion #20thcenturyfashion  #vintagefashion #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #fashion #specialcollections #fashionliveshere
Fierce knows no category or boundary, so work it l Fierce knows no category or boundary, so work it like you’re Billy Beyond strutting down the Todd Oldham runway! 

If you were a fan of Oldham’s fashions in the 90s, chances are you witnessed his presence on the designer’s catwalks—he modeled for eleven seasons alongside the “supers,” including #ChristyTurlington, #NaomiCampbell and #CindyCrawford! Billy Erb (aka Billy Beyond) is a multi-disciplinary artist and queer nightlife impresario who’se done time in the fashion trenches, styling make-up for avant-garde greats like #ThierryMugler, and acting as muse to photographer #DavidLaChapelle. In a 2018 interview with  Paper Magazine , Erb discussed his early runway appearances for #AndreWalker and London designers #Bodymap, but also shed light on his connection to Oldham which came through LaChapelle: “He put me in drag immediately. Which really meant put a wig on it and some lip gloss. I didn’t even have a beard! Next thing I knew it was two full pages in Interview magazine in drag...which led to Todd Oldham seeing them while still living in Texas to say ‘That’s my model! Whoever that is.’”

Limitless creativity and open-mindedness in fashion—and modeling—make lasting impressions. Long live the mavericks who prove this with #pride!
.
.
Todd Oldham, Spring/Summer 1994
Photo: Michel Arnaud, Michel Arnaud Fashion Photography Archive/FIDM Museum Special Collections
.
.
.
#billybeyond #billyerb @billybeyond #drag #crossdressing #genderfluid #queer #gayculture #clubkids #toddoldham @toddoldham @toddoldham_makershop @toddoldhamstudio #90sfashion #1990sfashion #20thcenturyfashion #vintagefashion 
@marnaud #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #fashion #specialcollections #fashionliveshere #fashionphotography #pridemonth
This month, we’re doubling up on #VeryPeri! (can This month, we’re doubling up on #VeryPeri! (can you forgive us for overlooking May’s dose of this glorious #Pantone hue for 2022?!)

Double the fun, double the delight, double the sweetness with this duo of Claire McCardell dresses! Both are made from a very fine, featherweight cotton chambray with sateen stripes in shades of lavender, periwinkle, and aqua. Note the differences, though. The dress at left came with an unusual hybrid topper: a single-sleeved wrap, which we have shown encircling the bodice and ending as streamers below the belt. You can also see the balance of the skirt is made with solid-colored fabric. The elbow-length-sleeved dress on the right needs no wrap, and makes splendid use of the stripes in mitering and as guidelines for pin-tucked shaping in place of darts on the bodice, cut all-in-one on the bias—a classic “McCardellism,” one of several recurrent design solutions that defined her aesthetic.

Did you notice something else? One look at our accession numbers indicate these dresses were purchased back-to-back. In 2003, curator Kevin Jones spied these “sisters” together, and bought both for our collection because he couldn’t bear to split them up!
.
.
Dress and Matching Wrap by Claire McCardell, c. 1950
FIDM Museum Purchase
2003.5.27A-C

Dress by Claire McCardell, c. 1950
FIDM Museum Purchase
2003.5.28AB
.
.
.
#clairemccardell #womendesigners #pantonecoloroftheyear #pantone2022 #fashiondesigner #fidmmuseum #stripes #chambray #candystripes #1950s #1950sfashion #50sfashion #theamericanlook #americanfashion #vintagefashion #vintagestyle #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection
Now *that’s* a Star Spangled Banner for #FlagDay Now *that’s* a Star Spangled Banner for #FlagDay! If there’s one motif Ralph Lauren loves, it’s our stars-and-stripes...
.
.
Tank Top by Ralph/Ralph Lauren, c. 2000
Gift of Mary Dubrow
2016.855.4
.
.
.
#ralphlauren @RalphLauren #sequins #sequinned #americanflag #stars #stripes #starsandstripes #starspangledbanner #patriotic #patrioticfashion #americana #tanktop #vintagestyle #vintagefashion #preppystyle #y2k #y2kfashion #1990sfashion #90sfashion #2000sfashion #21stcenturyfashion #contemporaryfashion #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #museumcollection #fashion #fashionliveshere
Many designers know that fashion begins with the f Many designers know that fashion begins with the fabric—but few knew better than Raymond “Ossie” Clark, born #onthisday in 1942! (The source of his nickname, which he used professionally, was his boyhood residence in Oswaldtwistle, England.) In his teens, he studied architecture; from this discipline, he learned the basics of proportion and scale which he applied to his fashion schooling at London’s Royal College of Arts. Hallmarks of Clark’s designs include bell sleeves, peek-a-boo cutouts, tailored details, fabric-covered buttons in place of zippers, and flowing silhouettes. 

Though Clark was responsible for the cut of his garments, Celia Birtwell’s dynamic textiles were crucial to their appeal. The two met while art students in the late 1950s, beginning a friendship that evolved into romance and marriage in 1969, collaborating until they parted ways in the 1970s. The geometric pattern seen on this maxi-dress is less typical of her work, aligning with the late-1960s zeitgeist for Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, and other modern art movements. Her combination of bold stripes, rows of triangles, and tiny dots in an austere palette recall Josef Hoffman’s patterns for the Wiener Werkstätte (compare with his textile design, dated 1910, in the Backhausen  collection). 

Clark knew how important Birtwell’s textiles were to the success of his designs, even featuring her name on his garment labels. The label inside the dress reads, “Ossie Clark, Made in London, Print by Celia Birtwell.”
.
.
Dress by Ossie Clark, Spring/Summer 1969 
Gift of Honeya Barth
2008.923.1A
.
.
.
#ossieclark #celiabirtwell #wienerwerkstatte #josefhoffman #textiledesign #textiledesigner #fashionbeginswithfabric #britishfashion #swingingsixties #1960s #60s #1960sfashion #20thcenturyfashion #vintagefashion #vintagestyle #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #fashion #fashiondesigner #fashionliveshere #fashionbirthday #otd
Big Bird, but make it fashion! Here’s a fun rec Big Bird, but make it fashion!

Here’s a fun recent donation to the museum, made in France for the Frost Brothers department store in San Antonio, Texas. It’s a confection of strips of feathers & silk petals…because sometimes you just need a little fluff in your life!
.
.
.
#feathers #featherfashion #bigbird #sesamestreet #featherjacket #fluff #fluffy #frenchfashion #1960sfashion #60sfashion #donation #vintagefashion #vintagestyle #vintagejacket 
#fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #museumcollection #fashion #fashionliveshere
The next time someone suggests you have a screw lo The next time someone suggests you have a screw loose, you’ll just smile & think of this fantastic novelty silk! 

Most likely intended for men’s accessories such as vests and neckties, this mulberry brocaded satin is scattered with blue and gold screws which really pop off the surface in a brilliant bit of trompe l’oeil realness...
.
.
Textile Sample, 1880s-1910s
Gift of Robert Fortunoff
99.274.185
.
.
.
#trompeloeil #textilefragment #textilesample #fabricsample #fabricswatch #antiquetextiles #antiquefabric #menswear #vintagemenswear #vintagefashion #vintagestyle #1880sfashion #1890sfashion #1900sfashion #1910sfashion #brocadedsilk #textilehistory #noveltyprint #vintagenoveltyprint #noveltypattern #screwsloose #screws #hardware #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #museumcollection #fashion #fashionliveshere
Bring some fashion to your inbox

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: FIDM Museum & Galleries, 919 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, http://fidmmuseum.org/. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Contact

919 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, California, 90015
Museum entrance located on the Ground Floor

213.623.5821

info@FIDMmuseum.org

Get Directions

Hours

Open during exhibitions only

Tuesday - Saturday:
10 am - 5 pm

Sunday - Monday: Closed

Free Admission

Resources

  • Press
  • Rights & Reproductions
  • Reports & Policies
  • Venue Rental
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

About

  • About
  • Research
  • Tours
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Shop

© 2022 FIDM Museum & Library, Inc., all rights reserved

Stay Connected

Proof of Covid-19 vaccination is not required at this time; protocols are subject to change. Masks are strongly recommended, but optional.

FIDM Museum

FIDM Museum

  • Visit
    • Hours & Admission
    • Getting Here
    • Tours
    • Events
    • Back
  • Exhibitions
    • Current
    • Upcoming
    • Past
    • Back
  • Learn
    • Online Collections
    • Research
    • Blog
    • Objects On Loan
    • Google Arts & Culture
    • Publications
    • Back
  • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Collecting Policy
    • Venue Rental
    • Staff
    • Back
  • Support
    • Fashion Council
    • Opportunities
      • Volunteer
      • Internships
      • Back
    • Donations
      • General Fund
      • Endowment Fund
      • Object Donations
      • Back
    • Operation 1804
    • Object Adoptions
    • Back
  • Shop