We continue our exploration into the fashion history of the Gucci family, in part two of a two part past episode from the Dressed archive. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles Our Sponsors: * Check out My Life in a Book and use my code DRESSED for a great deal: * Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com/ * Check out Wooga:...

Today, the name Gucci, with its iconic double "G" logo, is an internationally renowned luxury fashion label. But what of the Gucci family responsible for its creation? In this week's two-part episode from the Dressed archives, we delve into the fashion history of one of the world's most instantly recognizable brands by centering the family responsible for its creation and its heart. Our Sponsors: * Check out My Life in a Book and use my code DRESSED for a great deal: * Check out Rosetta...

Waleria Dorgova joins us for for the second part of our episode this week on the artist, interior, fashion and textile designer Sonia Delaunay. Dr. Dorogova co-curated the ground-breaking exhibition with Dr. Laura Microulis, research curator of the Bard Graduate Center, where the exhibition Sonia Delaunay: Living Art is on view through July 7, 2024. Can't make the exhibition? Check out the exceptional catalog for the show here. Want more Dressed: The History of...

Now mostly remembered as a painter, this week we look at the broad spectrum of the work of Sonia Delaunay with a special emphasis on her fashion and textile designs. Waleria Dorogova, co-curator of the exhibition Sonia Delaunay: Living Art which is now on view at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City joins us to speak about the years of research she did with Laura Microulis to deliver this fresh new perspective on Sonia's career. Can't make the exhibition? Check out the exceptional...

This week, we are joined by Rebecca Seaver, the Director of Museum & Archive Services for Dolly Parton, and the person responsible for the curated selection of special pieces on view in Dolly's recently published memoir Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. And thanks to the book's audio companion, we even hear from Dolly herself!  A special thank you to Rebecca and the Penguin Random House Audio team for the sound bytes featured in today's episode! Recommended Resources: Behind the...

This week, we are joined by Rebecca Seaver, the Director of Museum & Archive Services for Dolly Parton, and the person responsible for the curated selection of special pieces on view in Dolly's recently published memoir Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. And thanks to the book's audio companion, we even hear from Dolly herself!  A special thank you to Rebecca and the Penguin Random House Audio team for the sound bytes featured in today's episode! Recommended Resources: Behind the...

When fashion designer Salvacion Lim "Slim" Higgins opened her first atelier in Manila in 1947, she ushered in both the golden age of Filipino couture and her own forty-plus year career. Her son Mark Lewis Higgins joins us to discuss her incredible life and legacy. Recommended additional resources: SLIM's Fashion School here and here SLIM's Fashion School InstagramVideo on SLIM's legacy Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over...

We revisit a 2021 episode with guest Ayaka Sano who joined us to discuss the early years of the career of Japanese designer Hanae Mori, the first Asian designer admitted to the ranks of French haute couture. Mori's career spanned five decades and the globe, enjoying international success thanks to her seamless and signature blending of euro-American styles with distinctively Japanese textiles and aesthetics.  Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur...

In part II of this week's episode in commemorating the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred in Lower Manhattan on March 25, 1911, we examine how the fire started, hear from some of the survivors and learn about the sweeping labor reforms and worker protections which followed in its wake. Recommended resources: Cornell University's The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire online portal PBS American Experience: Triangle Fire Department of Labor/OSHA's The Triangle...

As the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory approaches in a few short days, this week we bring you a two-part episode on the nature of the New York City garment trade at the turn of the 20th century, and how a horrific workplace accident on March 25, 1911 reshaped the landscape of workers rights and protections. Recommended resources: Cornell University's The 1911 Triangle Factory Fire online portal PBS American Experience: Triangle Fire Department of Labor/OSHA's The...

This week we chat about the latest in fashion history news including Norma Kamali training an AI to design her legacy, the Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design, a new YSL bookshop in Paris and some of the spectacular pieces up for sale at recent fashion auctions. Recommended Resources: Vogue ArchiveKillers of the Flower Moon article by Christian AllaireThe Art of Costume podcasts interview with Holly WaddingtonLight, Camera, Auction resultsBooks: Sheer: Yves Saint Laurent and The World...

In the spirit of prom season being just around the corner, this week we return to a 2020 episode to learn to origins of one of quintessential rites of passage for American teenagers: attending prom. From its roots in debutante culture to its 1850s inception at Ivy League colleges that lead to prom becoming a high school phenomenon, the history of prom spans a surprising 175 years. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 120 of...

We continue our conversation with Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas about nameplate jewelry, addressing its central and even controversial role in both sub and mainstream cultural expressions, including hip hop.  Recommended resources: The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and IdentityDocumenting the Nameplate Instagram  Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles Our Sponsors: * Check...

Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas join us to discuss their book The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity, which celebrates the myriad of meanings embedded in the multi-cultural and cross-generational phenomenon of nameplate jewelry. Recommended resources: The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and IdentityDocumenting the Nameplate Instagram Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history...

In the wonderful and often bizarre world of fashion fads from history, we ask the question: which should live on to wear another day and which should be left to history? Recommended resources: Bedazzled BeetlesHobble SkirtPainted knees Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/exclusive-content Advertising...

Maison Margiela's Spring/Summer Paris 2024 Haute Couture collection show delivered a haunting jolt that is hard to forget. Whether you loved the show or hated it, it was a moment. And that moment–which will undoubtedly go down in fashion history–was also packed with references to the history of fashion itself. Alexandre Samson, Curator of Haute Couture from 1947 to Contemporary Design at the Palais Galliera in Paris joins us to decode the collection. April and Cassidy also address John...

An exceptionally famous milliner in her day, the life and career of Mildred Blount has been somewhat lost to history. Curator Taylor Bythewood-Porter joins us to shine a light on the first African-American to be admitted to the Motion Pictures Costumers Union and her glorious on-screen creations for films including Gone With the Wind and Gigi as well as her offscreen successes designing hats for Hollywood stars and Harlem high society. Mildred Blount Millinery Competition Mildred Blount...

In the early years of the twentieth century, Madam C.J. Walker built an international, Black hair care empire from the ground floor up, transforming herself from a laundry work making $1.50 a day to the woman Guinness World Records identifies as the “first self-made millionairess.” This week, we learn all about her extraordinary life in an interview with her biographer—and great, great granddaughter—A’Lelia Bundles.  Recommended Resources: On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J....

In part II of our episode on The Costume Institute's exhibition Women Dressing Women, co-curator Mellissa Huber takes us behind the scenes and shines a light on some of the invisible labor which does into mounting a major fashion in a museum. Can't make the show? Grab a copy of the amazing exhibition catalog here! Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our websiteOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 120 of our favorite fashion history titles! Our Sponsors: * Check out Rosetta Stone and...

This week we are joined by Mellissa Huber and Karen Van Godtsenhoven, curators of The Costume Institute's exhibition Women Dressing Women, which is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City through March 10, 2024. The exhibition explores more than 100 years of fashion history via the work of women designers and centers their contributions to the industry at large. Can't make the show? Grab a copy of the amazing exhibition catalog here! Want more Dressed: The History of...

Fourth generation flower maker Adam Brand takes us behind the scenes of his family's business M&S Schmalberg. Founded by his family in 1916, the company is the last of its kind in America. M&S Schmalberg's website and Instagram Etsy store with a 20% discount just for Dressed listeners! Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles Our Sponsors: * Check out Rosetta Stone and use my...

Fifth generation master pleater George Kalajian’s family has been perfecting the art of the pleat since the 19th century. He joins us to discuss the past, present, and future of his family’s renowned pleating enterprise Tom’s Sons International Pleating, a staple of New York City’s Garment District since the 1970s. Tom's Sons International Pleating's website and Instagram Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website and classesOur InstagramOur bookshelf with over 100 of our...

Our favorite vedette, Dita Von Teese, joins us this for part 2 of our conversation this week to chat about being the first-ever guest star at Paris' legendary cabaret, the Crazy House and her current residency in Las Vegas. Her show Dita Las Vegas: A Jubilant Revue is onstage now at the Jubilee Theater, formerly home to iconic acts including Frank Sinatra as well as the showgirl review Jubilee, which ran for 40 years. Dita chats with us about reviving many of the original Jubilee costumes...

We are kicking off our seventh season of Dressed in spectacular style as we are joined all this week by the one and only Dita Von Teese! A longtime vintage collector and star of the neo-burlesque scene, Dita's impact on contemporary visual culture cannot be underestimated. In part one of this two-part episode, we chat about her relationship with vintage style on and off stage and some of the amazing designers she works with to create her unique brand of unparalleled glamour. Past Dressed...