Posts in the Madeleine Vionnet category

Interview: Patricia Mears, MFIT deputy director + co-curator

Patricia Mears, photograph by William Palmer

Patricia Mears | photo by William Palmer

This week we are thrilled to bring you an interview with Patricia Mears, MFIT deputy director and co-curator of Elegance in an Age of Crisis. For more from Patricia, see this list of past publications, and check out this fantastic interview with her on Lively Mag. You can also read Patricia’s recent chronicling of her travels to Japan while bringing a version of MFIT’s Ivy Style exhibition to Tokyo.

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014. Copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014. | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

– What inspired you to organize this exhibition? As a curator + museum deputy director, was there anything specific which drew you to the 1930s?

PM: I have always loved fashions from the interwar period of the twentieth century. One reason for that is that the era was defined by modern dressing—born of progressive innovation and traditional craftsmanship—and it occurred in the realms of both women’s high fashion and men’s bespoke tailoring, as well as their respective accessories. While this might seem to be obvious—a basic fact probably known to all fashion historians—amazingly, it is not. As a specialist in women’s fashion, I was woefully unaware of the brilliant changes that had concurrently occurred in menswear. It was Bruce Boyer’s essay on the 1930s American menswear magazine, Apparel Arts (launched in 1931), that illuminated for me the fact that technical and aesthetic changes were happening in menswear, separate from but parallel to what was going on in women’s high fashion. I stumbled across Bruce’s essay about Apparel Arts, the inspiration for a joint project emerged, and voila, an exhibition was born. It was kismet!

– What does elegance mean to you?

PM: Elegance in fashion and style is the desire to present oneself with both dignity and ease. I begin my essay in the accompanying book with a quote from Madge Garland, one of the great fashion editors of the 1930s. She stated: “We admire a faultlessly dressed woman without realizing that this deceptive simplicity hides a world of calculation.” I also agree with Carmel Snow’s description: “Elegance is good taste plus a dash of daring.”

Ivory silk marquisette wedding gown, maker unknown, 1937, Paris, gift of Clifford Michel | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Ivory silk marquisette wedding gown, maker unknown, 1937, Paris, gift of Clifford Michel | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

– A significant theme of the show is the fabulous craftsmanship that went into both the couture and ready-to-wear creations of the 1930s. How were couture and ready-to-wear differentiated in the 1930s in terms of craftsmanship?

PM: Couture, because of the incredibly high level of skill available in Paris, had limitless possibilities. If one examines the hand workmanship of certain Vionnet gowns, for example, it boggles the mind. Hundreds of hours could go into crafting a single garment.

However, ready-made clothing also was often quite well executed. Claire McCardell, who designed almost exclusively in the realm of ready-to-wear, was as brilliant as anyone working in Paris. Americans had the best of both worlds, because at that time, ready-to-wear was viable only in the United States.

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk organza gown with black lace insets, 1937, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk organza gown with black lace insets, 1937, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Detail, Claire McCardell rayon evening dress, circa 1939, New York, gift of Denise Otis | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Claire McCardell rayon evening dress, circa 1939, New York, gift of Denise Otis | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Claire McCardell rayon evening dress, circa 1939, New York, gift of Denise Otis | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Claire McCardell rayon evening dress, circa 1939, New York, gift of Denise Otis | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

– Was there anything you learned in the process of research and planning the exhibition that really surprised you?

PM: I knew the clothes from the 1930s would appeal to many people. How could they not? But I assumed that most of our audience would be older: perhaps, for example, people who had a closer connection to the great films of the era. But many young people have come to see the exhibition, and quite a number of them are knowledgeable about the decade. It has been invigorating and gratifying to see students, as well as people in their 20s and 30s, coming to the show, marveling over the objects, and appreciating the garments in context.

– American clothing is radically different today than in the 1930s. For anyone who wishes to get closer to the craft of dressmaking and tailoring, what do you suggest?

PM: Whether you embrace craftsmanship as a creator or as a client, you need to work at it. It should surprise no one when I say that to become a great dressmaker and/or tailor requires a lot of time and effort. But it also takes years to train your eye and hone your tastes. Should someone choose to embrace custom-clothing, let alone become a master clothes maker, I would advise such a person to remember that one must have passion in order to pursue any artistic endeavor. Passion makes the effort worthwhile.

– Is there anything you’d like to share that didn’t make it into the exhibition?

PM: We very much wanted to include two dresses worn by Ginger Rogers in two of her films with Fred Astaire. They were designed by the American couturier and costumier, Bernard Newman. The Smithsonian has both the “Piccolino” dress from Top Hat (1935) and the so-called “deadly” beaded dress from Follow the Fleet (1936), worn in the “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” number.

The latter, a heavily beaded gown with wide sleeves and a face-framing collar of fur, was adored by audiences. But Astaire detested the garment. He noted in his 1959 biography: “Ginger came up with a beaded gown that was surely designed for anything but dancing . . . had heavy beaded sleeves that hung down from the wrists . . . When Ginger did a quick turn, the sleeves, which must have weighed a few pounds each, would fly—necessitating a quick dodge by me.” Astaire’s dodges were successful in rehearsal, but during the film’s first take, one heavy sleeve did in fact hit Astaire “smack on the jaw.” The dance number was shot several more times but the first version with the “smack” is the one seen in the movie.

I was saddened to learn that, due to the fragile state of the garments, they were not available for loan.

Still image from Follow the Fleet, Ginger Rogers, 1936 | via Pretty Clever Films

Ginger Rogers, still image from Follow the Fleet, 1936 | via Pretty Clever Films

, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in Top Hat, 1935 | via Old Hollywood Tumblr

Ginger Rogers in the “Piccolino” dress, with Fred Astaire in Top Hat, 1935 | via Old Hollywood Tumblr

– Do you have a favorite ensemble from the exhibition?

PM: This is the hardest question to answer because the Vionnet dresses, all of them, are phenomenal. Having said that, I do have one favorite—the ivory tulle gown by Augustabernard. Not only is the dress that couturier’s magnum opus, it tells an underlying story about forgotten craftspeople, it speaks to the international nature of fashion, and its inclusion in the exhibition reveals something of my reliance on the great staff at MFIT, the people who make these exhibitions possible.

This gown by Augustabernard was one of the last dresses she designed. It dates to the fall of 1934, and by the end of that year, she would close her house. On a positive note, two of her top technical people would then be hired by Elsa Schiaparelli. I theorize that the new style of draping in-the-round chez Schiaparelli (as seen in the printed black crepe dress) and dating to the following season, spring 1935, was likely influenced by Augustabernard.

It is thanks to Ariele Elia, one of MFIT’s junior curators and my right-hand on this project, that this exquisite dress is part of the exhibition. I asked her to track down a version of the dress that I had seen in an auction catalogue more than a decade earlier, and to my astonishment, Ariele replied, “I think we have this dress in our collection.” So she showed me an unlabeled dress that she had noticed while studying the MFIT collection and, after examination, it became clear that yes, we did indeed already have the dress I was looking for. But it was unlabeled and, therefore, probably not a Parisian original. The MFIT version was likely a licensed, New York department store copy. This dress demonstrates the connection between the capital of haute couture and its biggest market, America, and this relationship is one of the underlying stories that enriched the dynamic fashion scene during the 1930s.

Augustabernard ivory tulle gown and slip (licensed American copy), New York, 1934, gift of Mrs. Jessie L. Hills

Augustabernard ivory tulle gown and slip (licensed American copy), New York, 1934, gift of Mrs. Jessie L. Hills | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

– And finally, please give us 3 words that describe this exhibition for you:

PM: Craftsmanship, taste, and, of course, elegance.

If you haven’t yet visited the museum to see Elegance in an Age of Crisis, don’t wait—the exhibition is on view until April 19! Tweet us your thoughts and impressions with #1930sFashion.

–MM

Madeleine Vionnet: Virtuoso

This label, direct from our Special Exhibitions gallery, describes the incredible work of Madeleine Vionnet:

Some of the most awe-inspiring garments of the interwar years were created in the hand-sewing ateliers of Madeleine Vionnet. Under the guidance of Georgette Petit, former premiere for Coco Chanel, the Vionnet workrooms pushed the limits of technical design. Two outstanding examples are dresses whose gossamer surfaces are ornamented with minute pin tucks. Vionnet and her staff had to precisely calculate the amount of fabric needed, as there was no seam allowance for alterations. This complex blend of patternmaking and surface ornamentation has rarely been surpassed.

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

In the book accompanying our exhibition, Patricia Mears describes the meticulous, breathtaking handwork of the ivory silk georgette Vionnet dress on view in Elegance in an Age of Crisis:

Dating to the spring of 1930, the ivory chiffon dress subtly illustrates Vionnet’s excellence at manipulating a garment’s ground fabric in order to create surface ornamentation. At first glance, it is difficult to see that the roses on the bodice were created entirely of tiny, hand-rendered pintucks. The bodice is made from four pieces of fabric – its bottom half is one piece, cut on the straight grain and laid horizontally across the lower torso, while the top half is two panels, one front and one back, with an extra piece of material attached to extend the self-scarf in back. (The scarf panel in front is cut from the front bodice.) The V-shaped neckline was created by slashing the ground fabric in front and back, while tiny gathers at the shoulders shape the top above the bust line. The overall width of the front panel is precisely calculated so that there is enough fabric allowance to make the roses. The double circle skirt is made from four pieces of fabric cut on the straight grain, then sewn together on the sides with greater fullness in front than in back. This use of quadrants is a remarkable Vionnet innovation that came about only because the couturier draped all her own designs and worked out this precise form of construction.

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Madeleine Vionnet black chiffon dress with pintucks, circa 1930, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet black chiffon dress with pintucks, circa 1930, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Mears goes on to describe the Vionnet dress pictured above:

Like the ivory version, the black chiffon dress, circa 1930 is a mind-boggling example of how a garment’s ground fabric can be engineered to create ornamentation. However, unlike the lyrical rose pattern on the ivory dress, the minuscule pintucks of the black dress are lined up in long, parallel rows along the straight grain. The fabric is draped on the bias so that the rows encase the torso in a diagonal swirl. The rows then turn at sharp angles across the grain. The resulting linear pattern is mitered, but quite unlike the bold and graphic look used by other designers, Vionnet’s mitering has the ephemeral quality of cobwebs.

Betty Kirke, a costume historian who, from 1979-1991, served as senior conservator at the Museum at FIT and professor in the FIT graduate fashion & textile studies program, published an extraordinary study of Vionnet’s work, including patterns constructed from detailed studies of actual dresses from the couturier’s collections. In this article for Threads Magazine, Ms. Kirke recounts part of her journey to know Vionnet’s designs on a fundamental level, a dedication that spans over twenty years.

Kirke sought to understand Vionnet from the very basis of her craft: innovative patternmaking and sewing techniques. Rather than seeing geometry as an escape into abstraction, Vionnet used geometric principles to enhance and elevate the human body. Her geometric lines do not deny, or seek to dictate or curb, the curvilinear form of the human body; rather they coalesce in dresses which comfortably envelop the body in elegantly flowing tracery. As Kirke notes, Vionnet united principles of shape, fit, cut, design, and decoration into “one cohesive unit.”

From the book Madeleine Vionnet, Ms. Kirke:

As [Vionnet] said, ‘the body doesn’t have seams.’ … Vionnet thought more of concave and convex areas rather than sides and parts. For example, she switched fronts with backs, inserted gussets for fit, and extended one part to the next at a common side. This gave her much freedom in draping. The result for the wearer of a Vionnet dress was that the dress fit well, moved well, and possessed aesthetic elegance beyond its two-dimensional form.

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

In the exhibition’s accompanying book, Patricia Mears details the magnificent crafting of this cutwork dress by Vionnet, on view now in our exhibition:

The simplicity of this dress’s square neckline, papillon sleeves, and full skirt belie its complexity. It seems likely that Vionnet would have cut the simple skirt – two half circles in which the bottoms of both halves have had extra material added for length – from a single piece of fabric had the material been wide enough. Vionnet’s co-designer, Chaumont did not always use extraordinarily wide widths of fabric because they were not readily available (although some silk crepes, such as Bianchini-Férier’s celebrated crepe romain, were available in widths of one-point-four and two meters).

Each tiny ovoid hole is overcast with minuscule, evenly calibrated stitches. Even though the dress is refreshingly modern, the scope of workmanship in this single garment is almost unthinkable today. While the lace-like fabric, rendered completely by hand, makes this garment a tour de force, its construction has a breezy restraint similar to that of the gowns by Chanel and Mainbocher.

Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

And with that, we’ll conclude with words from the beloved virtuoso herself:

“The couturier should be a geometrician, for the human body makes
geometrical figures to which the materials should correspond.”

“If a woman smiles, her dress must also smile.”

–Madeleine Vionnet

For more Vionnet at MFIT, visit our online collections. Until next time, tweet about the exhibition with #1930sFashion.

–MM