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Our current exhibition, High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture, explores the world of haute couture through the experiences of Betsy Bloomingdale. To complement the ensembles on exhibition, FIDM Productions created a video documentary featuring... Read Article ››
Azzedine Alaia
Azzedine Alaia's body conscious aesthetic earned him the title "King of Cling" and is closely associated with the 1980s. Throughout the decade, Alaia produced intricately seamed garments made of supple glove leather or stretch fabrics such as Lycra and silk... Read Article ››
Aprons
In practical terms, aprons are merely protective overgarments, worn to prevent food or dirt from staining the clothing underneath. Despite these functional origins, aprons have taken on the much larger role of signifying feminine domesticity. This is... Read Article ››
Internship opportunity
Costume Society of America-Western Region Jack Handford Summer Internship SUMMER 2010 The Western Region of Costume Society of America actively supports its student members and encourages students to apply for a summer internship stipend. The Western Region... Read Article ››
Transforming the Rudi Gernreich Archive
If you read this post, you'll know that the FIDM Museum houses an extensive Rudi Gernreich Archive. The Archive numbers nearly 1,000 items and includes not only garments and accessories, but patterns, furniture, scrapbooks and other miscellaneous items.... Read Article ››
Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat
Like Twiggy, Betsey Johnson's career began in the youth oriented 1960s. From the beginning, Johnson's designs had a playful, almost costume-like sensibility, an outlook her work maintains to this day. In numerous interviews, Johnson has suggested that... Read Article ››
Twiggy
The girl herself is the extravaganza that makes the look of the sixties.1 Twiggy exploded onto the scene in 1966 though pure happenstance. While getting a haircut at the London salon Leonard of Mayfair, 16 year old Twiggy (then known as Leslie Hornby) was... Read Article ››
Fancy dress
Contemporary Halloween celebrations offer an opportunity for young and old to dress in costume, but in the 19th and early 20th century, Halloween was primarily geared towards children. Adults who wanted to dress in costume attended or hosted fancy dress... Read Article ››
Cinch belt
If you happened to see this cinch belt out and about, what would be your guess as to its age? Given that it is part of the FIDM Museum collection, we probably didn't pick it up at H&M over the weekend. Cinch belt1952SchafferAnonymous... Read Article ››
Orientalism in fashion
For Western artists and designers, one of the most enduringly popular points of inspiration is “The Orient,” resulting in a style called “Orientalism.” In historical terms, the Orient was a broad geographical designation describing the many nations... Read Article ››
High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture opens!
Everyone at the FIDM Museum is so excited that High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture is now open to the public! Curators Christina Johnson and Kevin Jones have been working on this exhibition for 3 years and all of their careful planning has... Read Article ››
Preserving the Ann Getty Fashion Collection
Behind every great museum is a great library. The FIDM Museum is fortunate to have access to the FIDM Library, which houses a great collection of design oriented books. Today's post focuses on a preservation project completed by Rachel Clarke, FIDM... Read Article ››