adDRESSING Titanic : Appearance and Identity in 1912

Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 10:00am

Location: Art Center Center College of Design, Ahmanson Auditorium, 1700 Lida St., Pasadena. Google map.

There are many stories about the 2,227 people who survived or perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Though they were joined together for this one ill-fated voyage, each passenger's social identity was revealed by his or her sartorial appearance in a microcosm of European class-consciousness. This lecture will examine the 4 categories the passengers had to fit into: First Class, Second Class, Steerage, or Crew. The ship carried many individuals associated with the fashion world - from high society, to industry trade, to journalism - and some of the most well-known will be discussed, along with garments and accessories known to have been worn aboard, survived, or have been recovered from the wreck site.

Kevin Jones is curator of the FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles. Born in Ventura, California, Kevin studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His fashion and social history expertise encompasses the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

$15.00 students, $20.00 FOGH members, $25.00 general public

Tour: High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture

Special exhibit tour with curator Kevin Jones

Saturday, November 14, 2009 - 1:00pm

Suggested donation:
$25 FoGH members/students
$35 general admission

Location: FIDM Museum & Galleries on Grand Hope Park, 1st Level, FIDM/fashion Institute Of Design & Merchandising. 919 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles. Google map.

This exhibition celebrates a donation of 125 haute couture garments given to the FIDM Museum over 30 years by International Best Dressed Hall of Fame icon Betsy Bloomingdale. Mrs. Bloomingdale, wife of Alfred P. Bloomingdale - an heir to Bloomingdale's department stores and founder of Diners Club credit cards - purchased French haute couture from 1961 to 1996. Her couture wardrobe included designs by Marc Bohan and Gianfranco Ferr for Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent, and Andr Courrges, along with ready-to-wear by James Galanos, Adolfo Sardina, Oscar de la Renta, and Valentino Garavani. This exhibition includes 60 ensembles and describes the process of couture, showcases her favorite designers, and examines her personal style and lifestyle. The exhibition also includes hand drawn croquis (colored sketches with attached fabric swatches), contemporary photographs of Mrs. Bloomingdale at many international events (including the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana), as well as magazine layouts illustrating garments she ordered photographed by famed photographers.

website: www.gamblehouse.org email: capaldi@usc.edu PHONE: 626-793-3334 EXT. 12