(Yes, we realize that's a 1920s flapper costume...it's a part of the joke)
In case you missed the latest episode of Portlandia (on IFC), be warned that it is a marvelous example of history and popular culture repeating itself, and repeating itself again. Apparently, the 1890s are a growing trend in Portland and this episode satirizes the mutton-chop wearing, meat-grinding, modern pre-industrial men and women of Portland. I’ll admit, these things are all pretty hip here in the SF Bay Area too – I know a good deal of canners, knitters, beard-growers and straight-razor-users.
Cheers to costume designer Amanda Needham, who won an Emmy for her work on the show last year, for creatively capturing this unique and comedic version of the steam-punk(ish) trend (though it’s admittedly more utilitarian and less glamorous)! Enjoy the clip if you haven’t had a chance to see it:
I spent a good deal of yesterday with my jaw on the floor. I’m proud to share with you that one of the founders of the New York Times Style Section, Stephanie Rosenbloom, linked to my piece on Vidal Sassoon’s five-point cut in her article yesterday “For Hair That Isn’t Brand-Name.” Thanks to that reference Fashion Historia has a new slew of readers. Welcome!
Over 40 educational sessions and workshops focusing on administration, school and public programs, exhibitions, collections, and hot topics
Receptions, dinners, and other opportunities to dialogue
Maker Stations to tinker, be creative, and experience “making” in action (stations to be announced soon!)
Registration includes: entrance to the general session, concurrent sessions, the Lunchtime Learning Opportunities, and the exhibit hall; two continental breakfasts; the closing reception; and all exhibit hall breaks. All workshops, tours, evening events, and luncheons are additional. See 2012 Schedule for workshop, tour, luncheon, and evening event prices.
The Pre-Registration Deadline is Friday, Janaury 27, 2012.
Emerging Professionals Participants will gain an understanding of the kinds of jobs available, trends in the field, and how to land that first paid position.
Collections Management Roundtable These informal roundtable discussions will focus on specific topics pertaining to collections management and provide an opportunity to network with (and learn from) colleagues.
The New Magnes: The Vaults Revisited : After nearly a 50 year history as an independent museum, the Judah L. Magnes joined the Bancroft library at the University of California, Berkeley in 2010. In January 2012, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life reopens in a new facility in the Berkeley arts and culture district.
What: “Dolls: Collections, Stories, and Tradition” Exhibition
Where: African American Art & Culture Complex, Sargent Johnson Gallery, 1st Floor, San Francisco
When: Opening Reception: February 2, 2012, Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Exhibition on view Feb 2 — May 3)
Details:
The Sargent Johnson Gallery is pleased to present a doll exhibition that addresses a need to celebrate the diversity and beauty of African American and African people and their experience, manifested in dolls. This exhibition is a survey, with selected samples of dolls from several collections and doll makers who have as their focus Black Dolls. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are made of various materials and have different functions. They tell stories and are witness to history. The human form doll is among the first play toys a child, especially a female child has to identify with; thus, its aesthetic appearance has important implications for how a child perceives his or her self image.
Curated by Nashormeh Lindo, this exhibition serves as a response to the underrepresentation of positive images reflective of the black experience in the mainstream toy and doll industry and that have negative implications for young girls from the Western Addition—primarily those who are African American of a darker skin complexion. Come and learn about the fascinating world of African and African American dolls!
The 10th Annual Noir City Film Festival starts tomorrow in San Francisco, and Eddie Muller (the Czar of Noir) is pulling out all the stops. The festival runs January 20-29 at its traditional home, the Castro Theatre, and features films from the 1930s-1960s. For the uninitiated, the Film Noir Foundation is dedicated to “rescuing and restoring America’s Film Noir Heritage” and they put on this amazing festival every year. Here are a few highlights to keep in mind when buying your tickets:
Angie Dickinson in Person (for a live interview on her career): Saturday night, January 21
Laura (1944) with costumes by Bonnie Cashin: Sunday, January 22
A brand new 35mm print of 1949’s The Great Gatsby, starring Alan Ladd: Saturday night, January 28
A special 10th anniversary celebration, Everyone Comes to Eddie’s, a swanky, sexy, and slightly sinister soiree in which the Swedish American Hall is transformed into a vintage 1940s-era nightclub: Saturday night, January 28, 2012.
Noir City Tours of San Francisco: Sunday, Jan. 22 and Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The original Maltese Falcon (1931) and a Dashiell Hammett Marathon: Sunday, Jan 29
More amazing vintage films that you’ve never seen and aren’t available anywhere else
Sorry to get gushy here kids, but I love this festival and its always got some great gems (not to mention some pretty amazing costumes!). Double-features abound so you really get your money’s worth. But if you can swing it, the Passport ($120) may be the way to go. More details (and a list of films) are available here:
For those who are enthusiastic about the field of costume design (whether you are an aspiring or working costume designer or you just love movie costumes), there’s a key publication you should be aware of: The Costume Designer. Published by the Costume Designers Guild (local 892), it is the professional union for working costume designers in Hollywood. The current issue celebrates the 25th issue published by the organization and includes a number of articles of interest.
Of course January is Oscar prep season, so many of the ads are promoting designers such as Sandy Powell, Sharen Davis, Deborah Hopper, and Jany Temime (among many others) – asking those voting in the Academy to consider them for the Best Costume Design Oscar. Two special articles include an excerpt from a book on footwear, and a short piece called Beauty in the Details that highlights Drive, The Playboy Club and W.E. (about Wallace Simpson). The best thing about this magazine? It’s free and you can download it as a pdf here:
Actress Nancy Kwan with a haircut by Vidal Sassoon, published in Vogue 1968, Photography by Terry Donovan (Click for source)
Over the holiday break, I had a good bit of time on my hands to do some leisurely fashion research, reading and watching. I’ve been on a fashion documentary kick, and most recently watched Vidal Sassoon: The Movie. The film was initially conceived by Michael Gordon (founder of the now-famous salon and product line, Bumble and Bumble) as a short film to give to Sassoon upon his 80th birthday.
I have to say it’s one of the most well-done fashion biographies I’ve seen in a while. It provides wonderful context for the man’s personal history: discussing not only the social contexts of his upbringing (class-ism), religion, and world events) but also the contexts for his most famous haircut – the five point cut. It was popularized by the likes of designer Mary Quant, actress Nancy Kwan, models such as Peggy Moffitt and Grace Coddington (now an editor at Vogue), as well as by designer Rudi Gernreich.
I was struck by how thoughtful and mindful Vidal Sassoon was and is. He reminds me a lot of my grandfather. Sassoon is primarily self-educated, but he sought education in whatever form he could in order to succeed. At one point he even took elocution lessons at the Old Vic Theater in London to help him get rid of his Cockney accent. He is also yet another fashion industry professional fascinated by architecture (both Vidal Sassoon and Charles James had similar affinities for architecture, and geometry played significant roles in both of their design aesthetics).
The film also provides some behind the scenes on the production of the accompanying book, Vidal: The Autobiography. If you haven’t yet seen this marvelous little film (it opened in February 2011, but is now available on Netflix), I would encourage you to check it out (see clip below). It’s surprisingly inspiring.
Urban legend suggests that when a fashion trend hits the New York Times – it’s the beginning of the end. This past Sunday a brief piece in the Times by Lena De Casparis (Knitty Gritty) lightly suggested that “wool is popping up in everyone’s wardrobes this season. (Chalk it up to all those knitting clubs and yarn-bombers).”
But more to the point, her article also suggested that ‘knits’ are appearing in more unusual places – such as in hotel decor (with clever room names such as “Do Knit Disturb“).
While all this is clever and seems new (though iPod and coffee cup cozy’s have long been popular with the crafty kids and etsy sellers alike), I can’t help but remember Iola of the 1980s TV Series Mama’s Family and her fondness for hand-knit cozy’s ( I vaguely remember a knit tissue-box cozy that seemed pointless to my teenage self). Iola’s character was supposed to be old-fashioned and a little odd (and her making cozy’s for things was meant to reinforce this idea).
Knitted Tea Cozy's from the 1950s (via etsy)
Knitting covers for objects has also always felt more like a British phenomenon to me (and noticeably, the hotel highlighted in the New York Times is in the UK). I’m thinking specifically of tea cozy’s here. Joanne Turney’s book Culture of Knitting notes that “The tea cozy epitomizes the domestic history of knitting as an aspect of women’s dainty work and taste.”
But, going back to the notion that this ‘trend’ for knitted interior decor and fashions in general is influenced by yarn-bombers: What do you think? I’m not convinced that there is really a link between the current crop of knitted fashions and yarn-bombers (I’m sorry New York Times, but wearing a knitted sweater doesn’t mean that Yarn bombers are influencing fashion – yet). However, the notion of covering or encasing everyday objects in any kind of textile, yes suggests yarn bombers, but a broader influence might have been Christo and Jeanne Claude, who (for the unfamiliar) are best known for creating large site-specific works where they wrap large physical structures in fabric. I’d suggest that Christo influenced Yarn bombers and the two combined are beginning to influence home decor.
But, I digress: What do you think about this trend? What historical references do you see and where do you see it going?
The Pont Neuf bridge wrapped, Paris 1985 by Christo and Jeanne Claude
This odd little film (10 minutes) was created to accompany the Antwerp Fashion Museum’s 2011 exhibition ‘Dreamsuits: Designs by Nudie Cohn, the Rodeo Tailor.’ Here photographer and filmmaker Alice Hawkins “lends her unique eye to Cohn’s equally unique couture creations, capturing the glittering surfaces of Nudie suits drawn from the collection of Belgian entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen on fashion film in ‘Museum of Costume.'” Happy New Year!
. If you haven’t yet seen this marvelous little film (it opened in February 2011, but is now available on Netflix), I would encourage you to check it out (see clip below). It’s surprisingly inspiring.
