An invitation to ooh and aah and explore the history of San Francisco through fashion is proving a hot ticket at the de Young Museum in San Francisco this spring. Featuring one of the most iconic collections of 20th- and 21st-century women’s clothing in the United States, this glamorous and compelling exhibition includes 100 collection highlights, along with local loans of high fashion and haute couture, including the beautiful evening dress shown above, which was gifted to the museum by the late Nan Tucker McEvoy of San Francisco Chronicle and McEvoy Ranch renown. It was created by British designer and Titanic survivor, Lady Duff Gordon in 1921 and would look perfectly in keeping in today's celebrity award show styling, over 100 years later.
I found myself completely drawn in by the descriptions of who donated these fabulous outfits, who wore them and where and which San Francisco sparkling events called for such an entrance.
We don't see much society coverage in the press in the San Francisco Bay Area these days, certainly less since the pandemic put a sudden stop to gala openings and seasonal spectaculars. Televized award shows and the Met Gala aside, do people dress to this degree now that we're back in business as far as fundraisers and the like? I think everyone in the galleries the morning I was there may have been harboring a secret desire to grab a frock and swan through the museum in ultimate style! At least in our dreams.
This is the first major presentation of the museum's highly covetable costume collection in over 35 years, showcasing designs from French couturiers, Japanese avant-garde designers and other pillars of the fashion industry, including Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Christopher John Rogers, Comme des Garçons, and Rodarte.
The designs on view, reflect San Francisco’s long-standing tradition of self-expression through fashion. I can't wait to see what comes next with couture - it's where art meets fashion and though most of us can't afford anything remotely couture, these timeless designs undoubtedly continue to shape and influence today's young designers and in turn, the popular look for the masses.
San Francisco was a blossoming, cosmopolitan city at the turn of the 20th Century. It was home to a plethera of elegant hotels, restaurants and cultural events. Union Square, downtown, became home to several luxury department stores, selling imported gowns from Europe (mainly France) and New York to a fast growing population of stylish women.
The great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed this burgeoning downtown fashion district. But within a matter of weeks, enterprising merchants rallied to reestablish temporary stores to cater to an affluent and highly resilient customer base.
Department stores started moving back into downtown in 1908. "The New San Francisco" included the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, a world's fair where Parisian couture fashions took center stage. American replicas and increasing ranges of couture coming out of Italy and other European cities followed suit. The exquisite Delphos ensemble pictured above is from 1920 and was designed by Mariano Fortuny of Spain.
Coco Chanel changed the way women dressed by using new techniques, materials and designs. This moon and stars gown represents a far less fussy design for the increasingly mobile modern woman of the 1920s. Stars, moons, comets and the sun are amongts the permanent symbols of the house of Chanel.
Christian Dior's Junon and Venus gowns are said to represent the pinnacle of his creativity.
San Francisco of the sixties and seventies may have been known for its hedonistic fashion and culture, but there was plenty of couture out there at the glitziest of galas and receptions. Simple and elegant.
Suits came into vogue around that time and the design houses quickly adapted the menswear look to skirts and pant suits. American designers had a field day in this arena. It took a while for the pant suits to be accepted as suitable evening attire in some more conservative establishments. While this may be surprising to hear, given San Francisco's reputation for breaking the rules, the women who wore them first were having none of it and marched on in, pushing past protocol and in one instance, dropping the pair of offending pants and striding on in her underwear!
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Tickets are valid for Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, on view at the de Young January 20–August 11, 2024.
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Tickets include entry to Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, as well as all permanent-collection galleries at the de Young on the day of your visit.
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Tickets include access to Fashioning San Francisco Augmented Reality Experience. Space is limited.
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