When visiting the FIT museum’s Pink exhibition, there was a preponderance of items which caught my interest. One of them being a pair of boys and girls children’s garments, which immediately made me recall Susan Kaiser’s statement within her book “Fashion and Cultural Studies” in which she speaks upon the subject matter of gender and the changing association of the colors blue and pink towards male and female gendered offspring. However, apart from this aspect, these garments were not particularly visually exciting, hence I continued to observe other items. This made me look at Charles James’ 1955 pink “Tree“ dress ensemble, made from silk taffeta, silk satin, and velvet. The garment is one of Charles James’ more famous creations. It was designed for Mrs. Ronald (Marietta Peabody) Tree, who was a slightly larger woman, according to James, which necessitated him to reduce the “rather substantial bust and create a hollow ribcage.” (The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed November 17, 2018. https://www.metmuseum.org) The dress itself has a rather typical shape for the 50’s elevating a feminine, youthful yet sophisticated silhouette. My initial interpretation towards the dress too was that it seemed to portray an immense sense of femininity visually, however in a rather obnoxious of manners due to its rather opulent use of material. It immediately struck me as an example for over-exaggeration of the female form due to its mermaid flair pattern cut and petal shaped pannel around the shoulder area. Furthermore, the dress’ draping detail, executed upon the lower half of the dress, creates a v-shape along the front of the skirt, which can be interpreted as an homage to female genitalia, ergo a strong connection to a sense of femininity was clearly evident. In addition, the fact that the upper panel of the gown is formed in the shape of a flower petal further plays with the idea of femininity. This is due to the fact that women throughout history have been described as subjects of desire, admired in particularly and most notably for their beauty and youth. A maiden which appeared to be innocent and youthful was of significant appeal and hence greatly admired and idolized for her outstanding visuals. However, beauty is a fleeting phenomenon, hence it is often compared to a flower, as flowers bloom and their beauty is hence dated. Charles James‘ dress seems to deal with this subject matter, capturing this idea within the petal-shaped detail, as the collar appears to represent a flower in its full bloom. Furthermore, the design’s color choice can be seen as another metaphor for the mentioned idea of the fleeting beauty of a flower, respectively a woman’s fleeting beauty, as the inside is still rose-colored whilst the outside is slowly decaying. This idea is achieved as the dress’ petal detail features black velvet fabric on its outside, yet a light pastel pink lining on its inside. Moreover, this piece is a magnificent addition to the PINK exhibition, as it superbly visualizes the shift between gown designs of the era, shifting from a featuring of rather great amounts of embellishment to a focus on the silhouette, as well as being a representation for Charles James famously always being one step ahead, as he made use of a color combination which later in the 80‘s would become increasingly popular. This was due to a preponderance of then-popular designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Victor Edelstein and Adolfo finding themselves drawn to the colors as well as countless magazines, such as Vogue, further inspiring a preponderance of designers and audiences to make use of this fantastic color amalgamation.
Bibliography:
Kaiser, Susan B. “Fashion and Cultural Studies.” The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. Accessed November 18, 2018.
The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed November 17, 2018. https://www.metmuseum.org
PINK exhibition, FIT Museum, New York, Accessed 11th November 2018.
“Pink: The History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color.” Fashion Unraveled | Fashion Institute of Technology. Accessed November 11, 2018. http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum.