This gallery contains 3 photos.
This invitation to a fashion show at the Mainbocher couture house in Paris measures a mere 5 1/2 x 7 inches, but the story this simple piece of paper tells is much grander than cursory inspection belies. Issued to Michel … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
It is often necessary to students and scholars of history to familiarize themselves with anachronistic social customs and practices in order to gain a better understanding of a given period. One of our favorite resources … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Born in 1886 in Vienna, Austria, the petite (4″ 10′) dynamo, Henrietta Kanengeiser would grow up to become one of the leading figures in American fashion for more than four decades. After a fire destroyed their Vienna home in 1892, … Continue reading
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Madeleine Vionnet and fashion journalist Nina Hyde with the miniature mannequin used by the designer to drape her toiles in the round, 1974. Culling through the collection a few weeks ago in preparation for a patron researching Madeleine Vionnet, I … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Only recently was I lamenting the dearth of street fashion photography in our collection to a colleague, when we were put in touch with the visionary street and fashion photographer, Jamel Shabazz. It took us about a millisecond to ponder … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Everyone’s who’s been happening through the department recently has had plenty to say about our new accession, Eva. The Czech-language magazine marketed to “educated women” was first issued in 1928 and is simply smart, chic and drop dead gorgeous. We’re … Continue reading
This gallery contains 14 photos.
From time to time, we come across beautiful items in our collection that cause us to stop, take note, and delve more into their history. These dainty and diminutive sketches of Victorian millinery may have been … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
Many scholars cite the emergence of modern fashion photography to the April 1911 issue of Art et Decoration, which features the designs of couturier Paul Poiret as photographed by famed photographer Edward Steichen. Certainly, these images are not the earliest … Continue reading
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During the 1920s, publishers circumvented the laws concerning the publication of nude photos by ostensibly purposing them “FOR ARTISTS ONLY.” “While this magazine is of general interest, particular stress is laid upon the fine arts and crafts; and an especial … Continue reading
