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The Extraordinary Life of Gerda Wegener
The fact that Danish artist Gerda Wegener was one of the few female artists to find commercial success in Paris during the teens and twenties, is perhaps one of the least intriguing aspects of her extraordinary life. Born in Denmark in 1885, Wegener studied art at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Copenhagen. In 1912, she…
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The Frances Neady Collection of fashion illustration
A series of three fashion illustrations by famed fashion illustrator, and FIT alumni, Antonio Lopez. This year, 2013, marks the 30th anniversary of The Frances Neady collection of fashion illustration, a unique collection of the works by prominent fashion illustrators from the 1920s to present. Established in 1983 as a…
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Devastating Deco
One of the hidden gems of the Department of Special Collections and FIT Archives (SPARC) is the large collection of what we like to call ‘books of design and ornament.’ These types of books, which feature patterns and designs suitable for reproduction, date back at least to the middle of the eighteenth century when Thomas…
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Lady Duff-Gordon mail order catalogs, 1916-1917
It seems only fitting that the first post of our newly christened blog discuss Lucile, aka Lady Duff-Gordon, the English-born couturière who rose to fame in the early twentieth century. Not only do the lovely muses who grace the top of each page of this blog model her designs, but the ‘Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon Collection’ (x1) was…
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Welcome to Material Mode…
…the blog of the Department of Special Collections and FIT Archives at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Where we enthusiastically investigate design history mysteries…