Last night at Fashion Institute of Technology’s K. Murphy Amphitheatre, historian Carolyn Weber gave a lecture centered around her book “Queen of Fashion” (book signing followed). With obvious passion regarding her subject, the Queen of France, wife of Louis the XVI, Caroline crafts a fascinating story about an important part of history: how Marie Antoinette’s sense of fashion and her willingness to break the rules of etiquette may have been one of the main factors for her ultimate demise.

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, was born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen in Vienna. Her coming to France was mainly a political manoeuvre to establish better relations between Austria and France. Shy at first, Marie Antoinette had a hard time getting accustomed to her new surroundings. The obvious discontent of many among the aristocracy for an Austrian-born Queen was no help either. Her first seven years at the Court of France were also marked by the complete lack of intimacy between she and her husband. To distract herself from the loneliness and boredom she endured, Marie Antoinette took to gambling and…clothing. By tradition, she was expected to spend time and money on her attire, and she took to the role with incredible enthusiasm.

Her growing fondness for beautiful dresses and the wish to stand out as the most important woman in Versailles saw her sport more and more beautiful clothes, long trains made of countless yards of silk, intricate ladders of thread and lace in the front corsage, panniers (the style had emerged at the Spanish royal court about a century earlier but was still in favor) on each side of the dress to lift the sides of the dress to the level of the hips and contrast even more with the extremely fitted corset which made for the tiniest waists ever possible (with countless accounts of broken ribs, fainting due to lack of oxygen, etc).

As Caroline Weber writes “Unlike previous queens of France, who had stayed hidden away at their husbands’ court, Marie Antoinette scandalized her fellow courtiers by making weekly trips to Paris, which was eighteenth century Europe’s undisputed capital of style. There, she met some of the city’s most celebrated designers, whom she enlisted to outfit her in a variety of eye-catching, experimental ensembles…”

Rose Bertin was Marie Antoinette favorite designer, always coming up with intricate swags and folds of fabric which brought the limits of the weight of fabric one could carry around to the maximum limit. At the height of her spending craze, Marie Antoinette was known to have had nearly 300 dresses made annually for her various social engagements.

It is said that the ceremonial dressing stage took almost two hours. First came the slip (there were no underwear as we know it), made of cotton, then the cage that would hold the skirt part of the dress, and then corset, the tightening of which was the longest part of the entire process. Finally, the dress was slipped over the head down to its final placement. A time consuming and strenuous chore that had to be repeated more than once a day.

One of the “greatest” innovations brought to the court by Marie Antoinette was her newfound enthusiasm for the “pouf” an elaborate construction made of a pyramidal-shaped structure on which the hair was attached (Monsieur Leonard is the credited inventor of the “pouf”). Along with it were added more natural hair, jewelry, feathers, complete scenes of lifelike people, ships, houses… you name it. Anything that could hold on top of a pouf would be placed there. Above is a picture of an incredible “pouf” made of a ship floating on top of the Queen’s head. It was so tall that it had to be taken down so that she could enter the doorway to the place of the party she was attending. Afterwards it was reconstructed once again!

Never before had a Queen been such the center of attention. Everyone from all classes of the society waited for the new dresses to be seen and described, sketched, painted, to simply copy as well as could be what the Queen was wearing. Her love for fashion had a strong economic influence: just by herself, she kept about 200 people employed in various industries related to the making of her dresses and her hats and poufs, not to mention her gloves and shoes. She may well be the first public figure to be talked about as much as we currently talk about celebrities of all kinds. She was watched, copied, emulated. Her eagerness to be and feel different showed through her fashion choices. She was daring all etiquette codes when she first introduced the pouf. However, this lead to an enduring craze for the confection, despite many reports of very painful migraines from having to wear such heavy contraptions for hours.

If at first, the common French people took a genuine liking to the Austrian, as years passed and her excesses became known, the mood changed. She was quickly nicknamed “Madame Deficit”.

When she took a new interest into farming and started spending more and more time at the Petit Trianon, her entire wardrobe expanded to include simpler dresses with billowing and delicate front corsages. The fabrics were solid colors, with little sheen to them, and the hats were made of straw, with a single one-colored ribbon adorning them. Her most dramatic move was to abandon the panniers altogether for easy skirts that fell in place simply and, most importantly, were comfortable. The new simplicity was seen as scandalous, even sacrilegious. It created an uproar among the aristocrats as well as the common people.

It seems that Marie Antoinette’s fashion and lifestyle’s excesses and displays were triggered mostly to fight boredom in a place where she didn’t feel she belonged, but they only made her an unpopular queen to her subjects. As for the courtiers at Versailles, they took a major dislike to her favoring a very small circle of people who were the only ones having direct access to her. All in all, Marie Antoinette was isolated and disliked, a sad result for a woman who had once wished to be loved by all.

Marie Antoinette awaits execution (Pen and ink by Jacques-Louis David, 16 October 1793)

On the day of her death, Marie Antoinette was forbidden from wearing her black dress (she was a widow). She took it upon herself to make a final fashion statement. She slipped on a plain, austere white dress (a flagrant dare to the “Republicains” since white should not be worn without the patriotic colors red and blue) and was brought to the place where the guillotine awaited her. The simplicity of her dress was a striking contrast to what most watching her being brought to her death had expected. The most hated “l’Autrichienne” looked so fragile and innocent, nothing like they had envisioned. Silence accompanied her until her head fell into the basket.

When the people of the street stormed Versailles and the private quarters of the Queen, first torn into shreds were the magnificent dresses that had made her so popular and so famous in the beginning. Along with it, all mirrors were broken, while the furniture was left untouched: a clear symbol of the populist resentment for a woman accused of having failed the entire kingdom with her extravagances and uncontrolled spending. If Marie Antoinette can be described as the precursor of all fashion leading figures, she is also literally one of the first fashion victims.

-Muriel Geny-Triffaut

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On Monday, April 27th, The Fashion Institute of Technology presented not one, but two showings of the designs of their top graduating students. FIT on the Catwalk, their annual runway event, took place at the school’s John E. Reeves Great Hall. Those attending the evening presentation were invited to sample various chocolate treats at a reception prior to the show. While waiters passed trays of brownies and chocolate hearts, the names of the winning student designers in the competition for awards from Cotton Inc. were announced. Five students received $1,000 each in prize money for the best use of cotton in a garment.

Just before 8 o’clock the guests began streaming into the adjoining venue for the runway presentation. They included such fashion luminaries as Zang Toi and Patricia Field, who were also serving as two of the judges determining other awards given to students for their designs. It was a standing room only crowd, which was impressive given the fact that this was the second showing of the student collections.

One never knows exactly what to expect of a student designer fashion show, but this one proved to be surprisingly delightful. No less than 113 garments were presented on the catwalk. They included creative representations in the categories of sportswear, special occasion, knitwear, intimate apparel, children’s wear, and fashion-forward menswear designed for Fall 2009. Students were mentored and critiqued in their final semester by industry professionals Dennis Basso, Nicole Miller, Alexander Wang, Rickie Freeman, Wenlan Chia, Jerry Dellova, Deborah Marquit, Carolina Zapf, Tim Hamilton, and Italo Zucchelli. The influence of these designers was apparent in a number of garments presented.

While some of the pieces were predictably over the top, many were fresh takes on classic looks, like the perfect little black cocktail dress by Kristen Kells. The lingerie offerings were elegant, finely detailed, and long on sex appeal. Josue Diaz III managed to craft powder blue cotton knit into a wedding gown that was at once unusual and utterly charming (it garnered him the Cotton Inc. award). What did not work quite so well was the menswear, which was presented for the first time in this year’s shows. All too often these looks appeared boxy and somewhat ill fitting. This was also the first year that the models were accessorized with creations by FIT Accessories Design students.

Ultimately the night belonged to a charismatic group of children who modeled the children’s wear with considerable aplomb. They stole the show, walking the catwalk in styles that ranged from hoodies and jeans to a multi-tone chiffon party dress with matching gloves.

– Rhonda Erb

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(All photos by John Pringle http://www.jpringlephoto.com/ )

“Fit On the Catwalk”, which regroups the creations of the senior students of the Fashion Institute of Technology, was a presentation of different and varied talents with one thing in common: the school that taught them.

Starting with an opening party laced with chocolate, the runway show was preceded with a speech by Colette Wong, Chairperson, followed by Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President of the FIT. After having been reminded of the excellence in education provided by the school, the runway show finally started.

It was an incredible flourish of flair and genius all together. First were shown the Sporstwear collection created by 26 designers, then followed the Knitwear collection, Childrenwear (13 designers), Special Occasion (26 designers) and Intimate Apparel.

From a beautiful cream colored perforated leather dress with a textured cream colored coat, to a “in-your-face-and-it’s-beautiful” design of a magenta trapeze motorcycle jacket with color blocked tunic dress and skinny jeans, the sportswear collection deserved the long applause it received from guests.

The two industry critics were Anna Sui and Dennis Basso. They selected as winners Ruveyde Oder won with an amazing Expresso aviator pant with matching bustier and jacket, the result of an elaborate work on leather and the body movements. It was my favorite as well.

Kelsy Zimba is the other industry winner with a fur coat with rope detailing, texture black leather skirt and black crepe pleated blouse

The Knitwear collection regrouped 25 designers whose creations are a magnificent combination of beauty, practicality and finely thought out detailing. All the fabrics for the knitwear designs were hand or machine knit by the students. A wine merino hand knit coat with haze trim was simply smashing. A brown ombre knit dress with fringe and back detail was amazing.

The result was a succession of beautiful and elegant designs. They each had fine details, some of them unexpected, very often details not seen elsewhere before.

The two industry critics in this category were Michelle Antonelli and Jerry Dellova. They chose Risa Kambe was selected as one of the two winners by the industry critics and by The Cotton Student Sponsorship Program Winner with a multi grey cotton and alpaca oversized sweater with grey cashmere flared dress, a beautiful construction in itself.

Yoojin Lee won as well with a splendid merino weave detail black montana bubble dress with jersey turtleneck and leg warmers. The punch of bold colors had to make this design a winner.

The Childrenswear collection received a welcome applause with the angel-like faces of beautiful little girls who were dressed with trendy, edgy, colorful, – even sumptuous – designs. The collection a well deserved resounding success with its audience. From delicate, flowered and pleated dresses to sharp pants and jackets, nothing was not cute. The Industry Critic was Ms. Nancy Sommers and the winners are Annie Nicholas with a purple plaid skirt with red taffeta pleats and cropped plum jacket with red ruffle shell.

Sarah Boardman is The Cotton Student Sponsorship Program Winner with a red wool cape with mushroom dots, ruffled dress with multiple prints. That one outfit was absolutely adorable, everyone in the audience seemed to have loved it as much as i did.

The Special Occasion collection was a whirlwind of lavish display of fabrics, veils and long trains that oozed glamour and opulence. Baby doll dress or pleated gown, the creations stood out with the same unique and brilliantly designed evening wear. Very well tailored dark satin tuxedo-like jacket and pants were a counterpoint to a gorgeous gunmetal crinkled organza corseted gown. As for the strapless white cotton gown covered with cotton voile roses, it is a magnificent gown. It also is the winner of The Cotton Student Sponsorship Program , designed by Misin Kim.

The industry critics were Arnold Scaasi and Angel Sanchez. As winners, they selected Annie Rasinskaya’s design of a strapless lame dress with back peplum, cording detail and Swarosky crystals.

Lisa H. Le with a blanc chiffon swirl dress with hand painted ombre satin ruffles and Swarosky crystals is the other winner. That dress is simply amazing, intricate construction and right placement of the ruffles make for a magnificent gown. It got all my vote as well, what is not to like?

In Intimate Apparel, 15 designers came with luxurious outfits nonetheless. Sheer fabrics and intricate work made for a superb and sensuous parade of lingerie. An ecru embroidered corset with black Chantilly lace was as beautiful as was a lavender hand pleated corset.

The industry critic was Tina Wilson and the winner she selected is Kaitlin Wilbur with a black corset with beaded cream heart embroidery, panty and matching long robe.

The Cotton Student Sponsorship Program chose Jennifer Ostrosky with her design of a mauve crinkle chiffon robe with black Chantilly lace bra and high waisted panty. It is a very beautiful outfit most women would enjoy wearing, not to mention that the high waisted panty make it accessible to many, quite a difference from the thongs and other skimpy panties seen nowadays.

It must have been very hard for the critics of each category to decide on a winner. For the most part every design was the result of talent, craftmanship and imagination. Some designs were better left forgotten in my opinion but then again, not everyone is a Ralph Rucci or Norma Kamali.

The runway show was the result of talent and skill very well combined. Congratulations to the students and the school. Among these students are the next great fashion designers, ready to bloom and expand their creative flow. We can only wish them all the best in their emerging new life.

-Muriel Geny-Triffaut

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One well dressed woman who I can guarantee will NEVER (repeat, NEVER) cover her trademark newly highlighted bob with a hat is Anna Wintour. But she is apparently in the minority, as hats are continuing to take off as a major accessory. And it’s been a banner year for hats.

First there was Miuccia Prada reviving the turban with her spring/summer 2007 collection which was shown last October. Who would have thought? To this day, whenever I see a turban, I can’t help but think of the late great Carrie Donovan, who I had the pleasure of working with when I was at Harper’s Bazaar and who made the chic turban a signature accessory, along with her Halston wardrobe and Elsa Peretti cuffs. She knew what many smart, well dressed, fashionable, women are beginning to learn: hats can be an indespensible and integral part of a woman’s wardrobe. They not only serve a purpose and a function, but can be great looking and statement making to boot. Just think about it: you don’t have to worry about having that Bad Hair Day, and you don’t have to be a slave to your hair colorist. How modern is that?

And notwithstanding the trend towards global warming, hats, which undisputedly serve the practical use of keeping you warm (since you lose most of your body heat from your head) were the surprise star accessories on the runways at the recent round of international showings for fall/winter 2007. Some collections were notable for their headgear and others were ‘saved’ by the addition of whimsical and wonderful hats. British star milliners Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones provided the hats for Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs respectively, hats were abundant on the runway of Proenza Shouler, and at Isabel Toledo’s launch for Anne Klein, the witty, eccentrically knitted hats added a welcome punch of individuality and whimsy. Coincidentally, in a case of life imitating art (or visa versa), because of the positively frigid weather during the entire 8 days of New York Fashion Week, hats also stood out as the surprise accessory on show goers, who showed up in eye catching hand knitted hats (many with whimsical pom poms), and especially, fur hats (the bigger and taller the better).

So, with this in mind, I would say this couldn’t be a more fortuitous time for The Museum at FIT to launch a brand new exhibit “Lilly Dache: Glamour at the Drop of a Hat”. Curated by Pamela Roskin and Kristen Shirts, it runs through April 21 and highlights the extraordinary designs of the late French born Dache who was a true rags to riches story, rising from a hat sales girl at Macys’ to the “foremost celebrity hat designer in the US during the 30’s and 40’s”. It illustrates her wit, humor, and personality, chronicling her work from the 30’s through the 6o’s and includes non hat designs, photographs, magazine covers, and famous quotes (“More than anything else, I wanted to be beautiful”, “If one did not have dreams, life would not be worth living”, “In this so-big and beautiful American, women can do anything”).

Among the selection of hats that caught me eye since they would undoubtedly look as good today as they did decades ago: a tall yellow felt hat with violet grosgrain ribbon band and bow (1937), a silk jersey ‘Coiffure Hat’ made from feathers, grosgrain, ribbons (1959), which according to the museum, illustrated her sense of humor since it was meant to ‘mimic’ hair at a time when the emphasis was more on hairstyles and the trend was going away from hats; and of course, the timely turbans (the gold velvet turban draped into a large bow at front, 1940; the pale green raffia turban, 1944, and the chic and sporty black wool jersey knit turban cap, 1945. Oh, I can just see Carrie Donovan smiling now.

Oh, by the way, if you check out Ebay, you will routinely find Lilly Dache hats offered at great prices. thought I’d mention that since I love finding a good bargain. And these days, good bargains (like good men) are hard to find.

-Marilyn Kirschner

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Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness

A retrospective of the work of the acclaimed fashion designer Ralph Rucci will be on view January 12 through April 14 at The Museum at FIT. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Rucci was the first recipient of the Couture Council’s Artistry of Fashion Award. Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of his career in fashion. It includes approximately 100 of his garments – including some suspended from the ceiling.

The first American to show officially during Paris couture since Mainbocher in the 1930s, Rucci also designs ready-to-wear which features extraordinary dressmaking techniques and luxury textiles. The title of this exhibition comes from an article by Suzy Menkes, in which Rucci said, “The whole idea is to take the structure, completely tailored with all the propriety of a suit, but make it weightless.”

Patricia Mears, deputy director of the Museum at FIT, said, “Ralph has a profound knowledge of fashion history and he is a true connoisseur of fine art from around the world. Our goal is to present the many facets of his creativity.”

Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness has been organized at The Museum at FIT by Patricia Mears, together with Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator; and Fred Dennis, associate curator. Accompanying the exhibition will be a full color catalogue, published by Yale University Press, with more than 150 images and essays by Valerie Steele, Patricia Mears, and Clare Sauro, assistant curator of accessories. This exhibition is supported by The Couture Council of the Museum at FIT.
Opening Night Reception
Thursday, January 11, 2007: 7PM-9PM
Seventh Avenue at 27 Street.
RSVP Required: 212-217-5958

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