American fashion has traditionally
been described through the language
of sportswear and ready-to-wear,
emphasizing principles of
simplicity, practicality, and functionality.
It's often been denied
the emotional rhetoric applied
to European fashion,
and its vernacular tends
to sit in direct opposition
to that of the haute couture.
The exhibition addresses
this linguistic imbalance
by presenting a revised vocabulary
of American fashion based on
its expressive qualities.
This reappraisal coincides
with The Costume Institute's 75th anniversary,
and offers an opportunity
to celebrate the creativity and ingenuity
of designers working in the U.S.
The exhibition takes inspiration
from Jesse Jackson's invocation
of the patchwork quilt
as a metaphor for America
and its unique cultural identities.
The encased garments represent patches,
which are organized into 12 sections
that explore defining emotional qualities
of American fashion.
The individual costumes
reflect various expressions of these sentiments,
which are conveyed in
the form of word-bubble headpieces.
And while each of these words
are distinct to the associated garment,
they're stitched together
through their emotional resonance,
resulting in a richly textured quilt
of American fashion that's
as diverse, multifaceted,
and heterogeneous as the nation itself.
This quilt was begun in 1856
by Adeline Harris.
Harris sent small diamond-shaped
pieces of white silk
to various people in America,
asking them to sign the silk
and return it.
She was able to amass 360 autographs
from the most famous Americans of her day,
including eight presidents,
and most notably Abraham Lincoln.
She stitched these pieces into a quilt,
grouping similar professionals together.
Effectively, the autographs create
a patchwork portrait of mid-19th century America.
The "tumbling blocks" pattern
was the inspiration
for the design of the exhibition,
which is a three-dimensional
representation of the quilt.
This dress from 1943
is by Claire McCardell,
and we've chosen the word
"honesty" to describe it.
McCardell created countless
variations of the "wraparound" dress,
which was a one-piece garment
that encircled the body.
In this dress,
the bodice is draped on the bias,
which introduces a slight elasticity
for a better fit.
McCardell's designs are known
for their forthright quality,
staying true to the wearer
and never reshaping the body
by excessive ornamentation.
This is Diane von Furstenberg's
iconic wrap dress,
which we've given the word "freedom."
Diane introduced her wrap dress in 1974
as a response to the lifestyle
of an active professional woman.
It wrapped easily around the body
and secured with a self-fabric tie.
The simple cut freed the wearer
from restrictive seaming or fastenings,
and ensured a body-conforming fit
on a range of individuals.
This dress is by Patrick Kelly
and dates to 1986.
Kelly once said that
he wanted his clothes
to make you smile,
so we've chosen the word
"joy" to describe it.
He was known for streamlined silhouettes
that served as canvases
for playful ornamentation.
In this case,
buttons embroidered in the shape of a heart.
Buttons appeared on his famous "Love List,"
which also included
pearls, bows, and his grandmother,
who was called Ethel Rainey.
Kelly often spoke about his grandmother
mending his childhood clothes
with excess buttons
to camouflage that they mismatched.
These dresses are by Olivia Cheng of Dauphinette,
and we've chosen the word
"innocence" to represent them.
Cheng has a deep-rooted respect for nature
as well as an appreciation
for childhood delights,
which can be seen here.
They feature her signature preserved botanicals,
either encased in nontoxic resin discs
or pressed between layers of silk organza.
This piece is by Perry Ellis,
and we've chosen the word
"fellowship" to describe it.
It's from his Autumn/Winter 1978 collection,
and was directly inspired
by cheerleading uniforms.
It was part of a series of garments
featuring monogrammed sweaters
that spelled out the designer's name.
Its carefree yet conservative sensibility
reflects Ellis's overall approach
to American sportswear,
which was described by the New York Times
as a "look that should appeal
to the college generation
as it sheds its blue jeans."
This evening suit
by Norman Norell dates to 1972.
Norell's fashions were defined
by an inherent balance
that gave them a timeless appeal,
so we've chosen the word
"harmony" to describe it.
Typically, Norell used luxurious materials
that he worked into pared-down silhouettes
with couture-quality workmanship.
In this suit,
he paired a gold-sequined blouse
with a camel-colored wool skirt.
The matching jacket is lined
with the same gold sequins,
and suggests a continuous relationship
between the components.
This piece, which we've given the word "assurance,"
is by Michael Kors,
and it exemplifies his ability
for creating opulent garments
in a relaxed manner.
It's from his recent
40th anniversary collection
which included reinterpretations
of designs from his past collections.
As you can see,
he's paired a gold-sequined dress
with a cashmere coat
that has a matching lining.
As well as being a reprisal of a design
that he debuted in 2000,
it's also an homage
to Norell's evening suit.
For this dress by Marc Jacobs,
we've chosen the word "sureness."
It's from his Spring 2020 collection,
which he described
as a "celebration of life".
It echoes the self-confidence
of Norell's "mermaid" gowns,
which were sleek evening sheaths
covered in shimmering sequins.
Isabel Toledo described her work
as "dressing emotions,"
acknowledging the power of fashion
to express the wearer's emotions.
She matched this approach
with an intimate understanding
of the way fabric could be draped.
This dress is composed of
tubes of rayon jersey
that gently embrace the body,
enclosing it in soft folds.
Because of Toledo's love of her craft,
we've chosen the word "devotion."
This piece is by Telfar Clemens,
a self-taught designer
who learnt to make clothes
through disassembling
and reconfiguring basic garments.
His clothes attempt
to deconstruct gender distinctions
and recast garment paradigms
as a modern uniform
for what he describes
as the "post-identity generation."
His unisex line was devised
with utopian ideals in mind,
which are expressed through
the label's tagline,
"It's not for you, it's for everyone."
We've chosen the word
"self-determination" to describe it.
This piece is part of
Heron Preston's UNIFORM collection,
developed in collaboration
with New York City's
Department of Sanitation.
Preston was inspired to create workwear
that would bring attention
to the city's zero-waste goals,
and celebrate the underappreciated role
of sanitation workers in city life.
His redesigned uniforms
were made from thrift-store finds
and decommissioned sanitation-worker garments.
We've chosen the word
"responsibility" to describe it.
This piece is called "The 9 to 5 Working Girl."
It's by the London-based,
American-born designer Conner Ives,
who places ethical practices
at the center of his creativity.
It was part of his graduate collection
for Central Saint Martins
titled "American Dream."
It's a contemporary representation
of the working girl,
made from a reconstituted military blanket,
felted with a painting
by the designer of a setting sun.
Ives dedicated the piece to his mother,
whose folk-art collection
influenced the image
as well as the technique.
We've chosen the word
"reverence" to describe it.