The Fashion Arts Society was founded in 2010 as well, with great response. The organization hosted their first fundraiser for the department, an after-party for the IMA fashion show Project IMA: Fashion Unbound titled Behind the Seams. The event went off without a hitch, and enjoyed by all who attended. FAS membership is growing steadily and the FAS calendar for 2011 will not disappoint.

In November the exhibition, Read My Pins, the Madeleine Albright Collection opened at the IMA with great success. The installation is beautiful and the catalogue accompanying the exhibition is a delight.
Dr. Albright visited the museum in early November, for a book signing and lecture, which was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had to date. Dr. Albright is as witty as she is smart and I think I am not alone in saying that everyone left the Toby that evening smiling.

This year the department also acquired about 45 new acquisitions, two of which is a dress (1972) by Halston (now on view on the IMA’s 3rd floor just outside the entrance for the Fashion Arts Gallery) and a complete Rudi Gernreich Japanese schoolboy ensemble (1967).

ensemble; ‘Japanese schoolboy’, 1967 by Rudi Gernreich (2010.205a-f) Caroline Marmon Fesler Fund

All of the museum’s recent acquisitions are featured on the IMA’s dashboard. However, here are just a few.

dress, 1966 by Rudi Gernreich (2010.71) Mr. and Mrs. William B. Ansted, Jr. Art Fund

The dress is a companion piece for this coat acquired by the IMA in 2008. coat, 1966, by Rudi Gernreich (2008.199) Lucille Stewart Endowed Art Fund

In 1966, Gernreich created a line featuring animal patterns of which this tiger print dress and coat are examples.  It was a Coty Award winning line.

dress, 1986 by Zandra Lindsey Rhodes (2010.74A-B) Gift of Alfred Shands

The print for this dress, style number 86/6, named ‘Peacock godets’ was inspired by a trip Rhodes took to India.

quilt; ‘Morning Glory’, 1912 by Marie D. Webster (2010.79) Webster Collection, Gift of Katherine Webster Dwight

The IMA has several of Marie D. Webster‘s quilts and patterns in the collection already. Morning Glory was published in a 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal and the pattern for this quilt is also housed in the IMA’s permanent collection (S7289.91a-e).

purse; ‘milk carton’, 1990s by Franco Moschino (2010.213) Textile Arts Fund

The image of the cow not only indicates the symbolic contents of the bag, “milk” but it was also one of the memorable faces used to launch Moschino‘s publicity campaigns. The purse includes an “ingredients list” promoting love, peace, fun and friendship, the “recipe” and an illustration instructing the wearer to not throw the bag away.

As 2010 draws to a close, we are preparing for the spring 2011 opening of Material World, an exhibition that will feature extravagant ornamentation of textiles and personal adornment from cultures around the world.

Here’s to another productive year!

The audience choice award, a $250 Saks Fifth Avenue gift card also went to a local designer, Amanda Helmsing, for her ensemble made from fabric she designed herself from antique photographs and chicken wire.

To see some of the incredible designs presented on Friday, visit the Project IMA set on Flickr. Is your favorite dress not pictured? You can add your photos from the event to the Flickr group pool for Project IMA. As the week goes on, designer names and the materials utilized will be added. And for additional information, check out Nuvo’s review of the event.

After the shows- the designers rocked out at the “Behind the Seams” after-party sponsored by Fashion Arts Society with the generous support of American Surety Company. Guests and artists alike mingled, posed for GotShot and grooved to the sounds of Beta Male.

I hope everyone had a good time- I know I did. Thank you to all the designers, models, hair and make-up talent who volunteered their time in making Project IMA: Fashion Unbound an unforgettable event. We could not have done it without you.

One of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of my job is researching, planning and finally, mounting an exhibition. I liken it to what a performer or musician must feel when they step onto stage after months of practice. One of the nuances of this feeling though, is each exhibition has a personality. Moreover, getting to know that personality is at times a joy, or a challenge, or both. Some exhibitions are straightforward and others will throw you for a loop. Nevertheless, these quirks are what propel an exhibition team forward – together. And… like any great performance or concert, it takes a group of people utilizing their aptitude in a variety of ways. Every exhibition at the IMA is supported by a team, made up of members representing different departments, each responsible for an aspect of its’ planning and execution. The upcoming fashion arts exhibition, Body Unbound, Contemporary Couture from the IMA’s Collection, is no different.

Body Unbound, explores the varied approaches modern fashion designers use to manipulate materials and experiment with construction; producing garments that liberate the female body while maintaining a desired aesthetic. Due in part to the emphasis on the body, this exhibit offered us an opportunity to reconsider how we wanted to show the pieces.

Fashion in Bloom deinstall. Notice the stark white mannequins. We use the carts in the foreground to transport mannequins around the museum

This focus on the body is what led our Chief Exhibition Designer to propose a unique suggestion for our mannequins. His idea is to present the mannequins in such a way that the concept of flesh is readily apparent, but executed so that the “skin color” represented is of no one real person. Traditionally in a museum setting, mannequins remain neutral or are painted to tie into the overall design of the space. Done so, frankly, because mannequins are not people and while they represent the physical qualities of a person, it is only because the attributes of the objects, clothing, require specific support. Think of it this way, mannequins are like frames or pedestals, complimenting an artwork or providing a base. Therefore, as if you might choose an appropriate mat color or frame for a photograph, we choose individual mannequins and their colors.

Curator of Textile and Fashion Arts, Chief Designer, Textile Conservator and me picking out colors for mannequins based on the garments

Concurrently, because we chose precise colors for particular objects we needed to be sure that those pieces fit on specific mannequins. Mannequins are primarily chosen for their ability to provide the best support. The second criterion is the appropriate stance or pose. Now, for all you fashion historians who also mount exhibitions, you know how time consuming and challenging mounting clothing can be. (Look for a later post on dressing and undressing mannequins). Most people (myself included, before working with fashion and textiles) think that all one has to do is drape a piece on a form and walk away.

This is not the case.

Bare in mind, these garments were made for people, real people – with short torsos, long arms or wide hips. For that reason, we pad out, slim down, or adjust each mannequin in a way to best fill and support the object. Concerning most, we can manipulate the forms by building upon an existing mannequin using archival materials to create the desired “body.”

Background: Mannequin with reset arm to better display a garment) (Foreground: Mannequin had breasts cut off and filled with Marvelseal® 360 and Ethafoam® 220

However, in other instances, we have to take measures that are more drastic. Such was the case for one of our Rudi Gernreich dresses from 1961, included in the exhibition because of its cutout sides. The dress fit perfectly on a slender mannequin with protruding hips, great for the style of the dress, but sad because her bust was too low. The mannequin had a natural (lower) bust line, more appropriate to exhibit pieces from the 1970s, not the high “bullet” silhouette popular in the 1950s and early 1960s. The decision was made to give the mannequin a reduction.

We called upon on our exhibition preparator, who specializes in mount building. The preparator worked closely with our textile conservator to adjust the body of the mannequin so that it can be used again and so the adjustment is not harmful to the garment when it is exhibited.

Mannequin with sides cut out to accommodate a dress with 22.5-inch waist

Mannequin is the same as above, but here you can see Ethafoam® 220 inserts

After selecting all the mannequins and paint colors, the mannequins were painted individually, in advance, to allow time for off gassing. “Off gassing” is the term used by conservators to describe the release of volatile compounds emitted by the paint as it dries completely over time.” (Thanks Kathleen and Richard!) Thus, each mannequin must sit and dry for at least two weeks before any objects come near them.

Mannequins freshly painted, off gassing

After all the mannequins “off-gas,” we will dress each accordingly. Stay tuned for the second installment of this discussion on exhibition preparation and mounting.

In the meantime, mark your calendars for Body Unbound, Contemporary Couture from the IMA’s Collection, opening April 10.

It’s gonna be a good one!

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

I SAID... Leggo my Eggo! (thepancakeproject.blogspot.com)

Blog: The Pancake Project

We’re really into food blogs around here, can you tell? Heart-shaped pancakes are for newbs. Take your pancaking skills to the next level… then submit your creations to this blog… and then eat them.

ArtBabble Video: Bari Kumar – The Making of Blind Faith, 2009

IMA Work of Art:

evening ensemble by Norman Norell (Designer)

Tweet:

danielincandela: ArtBabble has made it’s way onto Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/8j6YMM

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

astridandinez.com/blog

Blog: astrid & inez

astrid & inez is really just one person, Jessica, who claims, “I’m no expert on design or web graphics.  I couldn’t even say that I’m a two-bit designer–I may only be a one-bit.  I just love graphic design and handmade things, and sharing them with other people.” Check out her blog for all things design and DIY .

ArtBabble Video: Eleanor Antin: ‘Helen’s Odyssey‘

Art21 presents: Eleanor Antin’s exhibition Helen’s Odyssey (2007) installed at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in New York. Antin discusses the historical figure Helen of Troy, and how she became the inspiration for photographic works such as Constructing Helen (2007).

IMA Work of Art:

dress by Gernreich, Rudi (Designer)

Tweet:

MattressFactory: Just uploaded new MF #iPhone & #iPod wallpaper feat. Greer Lankton: http://bit.ly/3pYq5