On now at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, another blockbuster curated by Thierry-Maxime Loriot, the force behind the museum’s 2011 Gaultier show. (A previous Mugler show wrapped at FIDM last year. For more see Suzy Menkes’ interview.) The catalogue design is by Paprika, who also designed the Gaultier catalogue.
Thierry-Maxime Loriot, ed., Thierry Mugler: Couturissime (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2019) Design: Paprika. Image: Phaidon.
Mugler himself never signed with Paris Originals, but there are still some Vogue patterns with a connection to the designer. The Dutch-born Mei Xiao Zhou (who, like Mugler, is a former ballet dancer) was hired by Laroche after six years as Mugler’s assistant in the 1990s.
Karen Mulder wears Mugler Spring 1997 couture on the cover of George magazine, February 1997. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Image: eBay.
Zhou designed two collections for Laroche in the early aughts, resulting in a handful of Vogue patterns, circa 2002. Even if the pattern envelopes downplay it, his designs for Laroche have a vampy futurism that gives them a Mugler-esque edge. For more see my post.
Mei Xiao Zhou for Guy Laroche Fall 2001 runway. Images: firstVIEW.Mei Xiao Zhou for Guy Laroche Fall 2001 runway. Images: firstVIEW.Guy Laroche advertising campaign (Mei Xiao Zhou for Laroche), Fall 2001. Image: jalougallery.com.
This month in Galicia, the late Paco Peralta is among the artists whose work is on view in Visible (Visibility), a Pride Month exhibit curated by the photographer Daniel Agra.
Agra was a close friend of Paco Peralta. For the exhibit, he has included the designer’s original sample garments for Vogue 1602, a sculpted top and skirt in sequinned tweed. Peralta’s originals were worn by Nadja Giramata for last year’s Winter/Holiday release.
Nadja Giramata in an ensemble by Paco Peralta on view at CPS Spazo gallery, Galicia. Photo: Jack Deutsch. Image: McCall’s.
Behind the scenes note: makeup was by Joseph Boggess / YSL Beauty. Peralta was a great collector of Yves Saint Laurent.
Anne St. Marie in McCall’s 3793, McCall’s Pattern Book, Fall 1956. Photo: The Dodenhoffs.
There are only two weekends left to catch Balenciaga: Master of Couture at the McCord Museum. Anne St. Marie’s look (above) was inspired by Balenciaga.
From the inside note: “The new straight-coat fashion favored by Balenciaga, fall and winter coverage for its own sheath dress and everything else in your wardrobe. In colorful Anglo tweed and coordinated red wool, interfaced with Armo hair canvas to hold its line. Earl-Glo Sanitized taffeta lining; B.G.E. buttons. Emme hat; Mark Cross bag; Superb gloves.”
Tania Mallet wears Mary Quant (hat by James Wedge) on the cover of British Vogue, October 1, 1963. Photo: Brian Duffy. Image: eBay.
Nothing says Swinging London like Mary Quant. The pioneer of the Chelsea Look will receive a major retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2019. (An earlier exhibit, Manchester Art Gallery’s Mary Quant: Fashion Icon, had to close early due to conservation issues.)
Mary Quant sketch, ca. 1967. Image: V&A.
The V&A is seeking vintage Quant for the show, including garments — or even photos of garments — made with Mary Quant patterns. See here for more details, or email the curators at maryquant@vam.ac.uk.Update: submissions are now closed.
Celia Hammond and Jean Shrimpton in Mary Quant, ca. 1964. Photo: John French. Image: V&A.Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Butterick licensed Mary Quant patterns from the mid-’60s to the early ’70s. (See my Mad Men-era post.)
Right: Mary Quant pantdress pattern 4779 in the Butterick retail catalogue, November 1969. Image: Etsy.
For knitters, there were also ultra-mod knitting patterns. Some of these vintage booklets are available as official reissues, like these ones from Mary Maxim. (More on Ravelry.)
1960s Patons Courtelle knitting patterns by Mary Quant. Images: Mary Maxim.
Mary Quant and her husband were profiled in Life magazine as early as 1960. (View story here.)
Mary Quant and Alexander Plunket Greene on Park Avenue, LIFE, December 5, 1960. Photo: Ken Heyman. Image: LIFE archive.
For his 1963 Life feature on the Chelsea Look, Norman Parkinson photographed Melanie Hampshire and Jill Kennington in these Mary Quant dresses:
Melanie Hampshire and Jill Kennington in Mary Quant’s Bank of England and Eton dresses, LIFE, October 18, 1963. Photo: Norman Parkinson. Image: Iconic Images.
Butterick released its first Mary Quant patterns in fall, 1964. Here’s Celia Hammond on the cover of the retail catalogue:
Butterick 3288 by Mary Quant. Butterick catalogue, October 1964. Photo: Terence Donovan. Model: Celia Hammond. Image: eBay.
The Butterick Home Catalog hailed Quant as the originator of the Chelsea Look.
Mary Quant in the Butterick Home Catalog, Fall 1964.
The earliest Mary Quant patterns pre-date the Young Designer line. This dress pattern even includes the rosette:
Butterick 3499 by Mary Quant (1965) Image: PatternVault shop.
British copies of this dress pattern say “featured in Queen magazine.” Jill Kennington wore this and other Butterick Young Designers in what was billed as “The Queen’s first ever make-it-yourself fashion.”
Butterick 3716 by Mary Quant (ca. 1965)“How to be a self made sensation.” Right, Jill Kennington in Butterick 3716 by Mary Quant. Queen magazine, August 11, 1965. Image: eBay.
Here Moyra Swan models a mod scooter dress. Suggested fabrics include linen, jersey, lightweight wool, and knits.
Butterick 4578 by Mary Quant (ca. 1967) Image: PatternVault shop.
This jumpsuit or playsuit came with a matching mini skirt — “the latest put-togethers”:
Butterick 5404 by Mary Quant (1969) Image: Etsy.
What to wear with a Mary Quant mini dress? Why, go-go boots, of course:
Butterick 5475 by Mary Quant (1969)
By 1970, a Quant jumpsuit was more fluid, with a pointed collar; this pattern also includes a maxi-length cardigan. The catalogue gives a better view of the inflatable chair:
Butterick 5857 by Mary Quant (1970) Image: Etsy.Mary Quant’s Butterick 5857 jumpsuit in the Fall 1970 catalogue. Image: tumblr.
Mary Quant in a more romantic mode means a sheer tunic worn with knickers. View B is a maxi dress.
Butterick 6256 by Mary Quant (ca. 1971)
After 1971 or so, Butterick Young Designer patterns had illustrations, not photos. This Mary Quant dress dates to circa early ’73.
Butterick 6916 by Mary Quant (ca. 1973) Image: Etsy.
Have you made anything from a Mary Quant pattern?
Butterick 4128 by Mary Quant, Butterick catalogue, October 1966. Model: Maren Greve. Image: Instagram.
Happy quatorze juillet! For Bastille Day, here’s a pattern for an Incroyables tailcoat.
The tailcoat, which dates to Revolutionary France, was part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s 2016 Reigning Men exhibit, currently on view at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.
Incroyables and Merveilleuses were the dandies and fashionistas of the revolutionary period. Today, Directoire style evokes glam rock, Marat/Sade, and John Galliano. The style famously inspired Galliano’s 1984 graduation collection, entitled Les Incroyables, as well as his work for Givenchy.
This handsewn silk tailcoat, with its high collar, wide lapels, short front, and long back exemplifies how French fashion extremists (incroyables) adopted and exaggerated traditional wool riding coats from England. The sleeves of this tailcoat, set unnaturally close together, forced the wearer to hold his shoulders back and thrust his chest forward to create a “pouter pigeon” silhouette which was fashionable in the late eighteenth century.
Detail, 1790s Incroyables ensemble. Image: LACMA.1790s Incroyables tailcoat, back view. Image: LACMA.Back detail sketch by Thomas John Bernard. Image: LACMA.
Tim Blanks, The World of Anna Sui (Abrams, 2017). Image: Abrams.
The World of Anna Sui opened at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London last weekend. It’s the museum’s first retrospective on a living American designer, with an accompanying book by Tim Blanks—out today from Abrams.
Image: Joshua Jordan / Fashion and Textile Museum.
Anna Sui licensed her work with Vogue Patterns for some 16 years, from the mid-1990s to 2011. Read my series on Vogue patterns by Anna Sui:
Faux Mongolian lamb coat by Anna Sui, Harper’s Bazaar, August 1995. Photo: Peter Lindbergh.Kirsty Hume wears Anna Sui in Vogue, September 1995. Photo: Arthur Elgort. Editor: Grace Coddington.Karen Elson in Anna Sui, Vogue, June 2003. Photo: Tim Walker. Editor: Grace Coddington. Image: Vogue.com.
Scott Barrie dress, ca. 1973, in MFIT’s exhibition Black Fashion Designers. Image: Museum at FIT.
The Museum at FIT’s current exhibition, Black Fashion Designers, showcases the often-overlooked work of more than 60 designers of African descent. (The show runs to May 16th, 2017). Monday’s symposium is sold out, but you can watch a livestream here.
Butterick 6680 by Willi Smith (ca. 1979) Image: PatternVault on Etsy.
Many of the designers featured in the FIT exhibit also licensed sewing patterns. Here are some highlights of patterns by designers of African descent, from the 1970s to now.
Sportswear designer Willi Smith (1948-1987) signed with Butterick’s Young Designer line in the 1970s; in the ’80s, he moved to McCall’s with his label Williwear. According to the exhibition notes, Smith branched into menswear in 1982, but this pattern is almost a decade earlier:
Butterick 3254 by Willi Smith (1973) Image: Vintage Pattern Wiki.
Stephen Burrows (b. 1943) licensed designs with McCall’s Carefree line in the mid-1970s. This pattern combines two of his signature elements, colour blocking and lettuce hems:
McCall’s 4091 by Stephen Burrows (1974) Image: Etsy.
Scott Barrie (1946-1993) began his career at Vogue Patterns, so his introduction to home sewers was also a welcome back. Chris von Wangenheim photographed Barrie with two models for a feature highlighting his work with matte jersey. The patterns are Vogue 1976 (on Gia Carangi) and Vogue 1994:
Scott Barrie in Vogue Patterns, September/October 1978. Photo: Chris von Wangenheim.
Best known for his formal wear, British designer Bruce Oldfield (b. 1950) licensed his work with Style Patterns in the mid-1980s. (See my earlier post here). This dolman-sleeved dress could be made in cocktail or evening length:
Style 4494 by Bruce Oldfield (1985) Image: Etsy.
Patrick Kelly (1954-1990) first appeared on the pattern scene in the late 1980s with this dramatic peplum suit. (Read my Patrick Kelly post here, or download the free one-seam coat pattern.)
Vogue 2077 by Patrick Kelly (1988) Image: PatternVault on Etsy.
Gordon Henderson (b. 1957) was among the first designers in the ’90s Vogue Attitudes line. (According to a 1990 profile, his mother—a psychologist and single parent—used Vogue patterns to economize.) This 1990 design shows his interest in colour and silhouette:
Vogue 2566 by Gordon Henderson (1990) Image: Etsy.
Also in the Vogue Attitudes line, patterns by Byron Lars (b. 1965) remain popular today. (See my earlier post.) This shirt dress and leggings ensemble was photographed on the street in New York City:
Vogue 1529 by Byron Lars (1995) Image: Etsy.
Tracy Reese (b. 1964) has licensed her main label with Vogue Patterns since 2009; McCall’s added bridge line Plenty by Tracy Reese in 2012. Vogue’s most recent offering, Vogue 1512, is a dress from Reese’s Fall 2015 collection.
McCall’s 6506 from Plenty by Tracy Reese (2012) Image: PatternVault on Etsy.Vogue 1512 by Tracy Reese (2016) Image: eBay.Tracy Reese, Fall 2015 collection. Image: Vogue Runway.
For more on the Black Fashion Designers exhibit, see the museum notes and Alexandra Jacobs’ article in The New York Times.
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