While our current gallery exhibition "Redefining, Redesigning Fashion" focuses on loaned objects, a number of works from the GMD's collections are on display in the offices of McNeal Hall. Each year, a series of "mini-exhibitions" are featured in locations throughout the University of Minnesota's design facilities. These exhibitions focus on often-overlooked aspects of the collection.

Design, Housing, and Apparel Administrative Offices, McNeal 240 -- VICTORIAN MOURNING WEAR (left)
When her beloved husband Prince Albert died of typhoid in 1861, England's Queen Victoria entered a 40-year mourning period, unwittingly inspiring an international fashion trend. Black, representing the absence of light and life, was chosen to reflect the mourner's loss. In addition to black dresses, mourners wore black hats, gloves, shoes, handkerchiefs, and jewelry. Though commonly made from jet, such jewelry was also made from locks of the deceased's hair. These morbid fashions were supplied by mourning warehouses - empires built on strict social etiquette and superstitions regarding the bad luck brought by recycling mourning apparel.

College of Design Administrative Offices, McNeal 32 -- SECRET AGENT WOMAN (center)
A Rolex with built-in garrote. A rocket powered cigarette. A dagger-toed shoe.These are among the many gadgets that kept James Bond ranked among the world's deadliest spies. But why should Bond have all the fun? For centuries women have secretly amassed their own collections of gadgets.Tucked away in tiny clutches, these gadgets were designed to both kill and thrill. One never knew what a night on the town might require: a blowtorch inspired lighter, a clandestine notepad, or a pocket knife in the shape of a shoe.

GMD Administrative Offices, McNeal 364 - HERE BY DESIGN (right)
This collection of digitally fabricated letters was featured in the 2007 exhibition, "Here by Design III: Process and Prototype," which explored the effects of digital fabrication on the creative process and design production in Minnesota. This was the third of a three-part exhibition (2001, 2003) highlighting local design ingenuity. A careful look reveals that these letters spell out "Here by Design." Designed by Rob Tickle and Dave Hultman, the letters were created with the latest in design technology at the Minneapolis-based firm, Industrial Art and Design.

-- Natasha Thoreson

In the slide that accompanied my presentation I included photos from the Goldstein's new online database of their collection. One of the most amazing experiences I have had was the honor of handling (with gloves!) the Dior skirt (pictured above) from the groundbreaking New Look collection! The collection pieces offer a chance to see garment details that are no longer produced or are only incorporated in designer garments. This skirt had extremely beautiful, deep pleats that added even more fullness and draping to the wool fabric. As a design student, it is incredibly exciting to have the chance to examine beautiful couture clothing and see the quality and exquisite details that make "high fashion" so special.

Being able to tell next year's freshman that I have had the opportunity to work with Dior 1948 couture was great. It was also great explaining that the Goldstein isn't just the Gallery but an excellent resource for all design students. I enjoyed being an ambassador for the Retail Merchandising major and the Goldstein Museum of Design, and hope I recognize a few freshman next year from the reception.

Images from left to right
Bill Blass Evening Dress, 1986, Gift of Bill Blass Ltd.
Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel Jacket, Camisole and Skirt, 1955, Gift of Lois and Ed Schlampp
Christian Dior Dress with Belt, 1947-1948, Gift of Kathleen Catlin

A couple weeks ago, we answered a phone call from Jennifer McHughs, an UMN alum, who was interested in viewing our complete set of the Émigré magazines. Émigré is a unique and cutting-edge San Francisco publication which published 69 issues from 1984 to 2005, under art directors Rudy Vanderlands and Zuzana Licko.

Jennifer wrote about her visit to GMD:

"On a recent visit to Minneapolis I was searching for information on design activities in the Twin Cities area. One thing led to another and I discovered the Émigré Magazine Index housed at the Goldstein Museum of Design. What luck! After contacting the Museum staff, they arranged for a visit to their collections library. I invited a friend to join me, who works in the field of interior design and textiles production, and we enjoyed this interesting afternoon together.

"Kathleen Campbell and Sharlene Balik gave us an introduction to the library with an explanation of its collection, history, and proper handling procedures of the materials in conservation. We were able to browse through the entire collection of Émigré graphic design magazines, taking notes and asking questions. In particular, this has been useful for my research on the archiving of graphic design materials, the importance of a graphic design magazine like Émigré (which is no longer in publication) to the industry, and the significance of 'collecting' contemporary design in general.

"I greatly appreciate your swift and generous attention and thank you for a productive and thought-provoking visit. It was the highlight of my day."

We are very happy that Jennifer and her friend could visit GMD and that our collection assisted her with her studies. We encourage everyone to keep GMD in mind when doing research. Our collection of great objects could help you with your research in the future. Click here to search our collection online. If there are certain objects you would like to see in person, please contact our Assistant Curator, Jean McElvain, at 612.625.2737 or jmcelvai@umn.edu to set up a time to come and view them.

Hope to see you soon!

----

Jennifer McHugh is a researcher in the history of arts, design and cultural heritage. She is a pre-doctoral student focusing on the intersection of communication through graphic design and typography and its place in contemporary cultural heritage. She has recently completed a Masters degree in Management of Cultural Heritage at the Universitat de Girona in Spain. Her previous studies include International Relations (University of Sussex) and Spanish (University of Minnesota).

One of the most exciting aspects of my Goldstein assistantship is working with the museum's 4,500-piece textile collection. Still, it is not always easy. The collection has outgrown its storage space.

The Goldstein was recently awarded an NEH Preservation Assistance Grant for Small Institutions, designated for the implementation of a new textile storage system. The grant paid for new shelves, archival storage boxes, tissue paper, and additional storage supplies. These materials will help transform a cluttered cabinet like this...

... into a well-organized cabinet like this.

Ann (left) and Marj (right) - volunteers extraordinare - are responsible for the great success of this project. After a cabinet has been cleared and the textiles re-sorted, Marj and Ann take detailed notes regarding each object. They take measurements and photographs, record weave structures, and identify finishing techniques. Their next step is to carefully fold each object, padding these folds with tissue paper to avoid creases. Some textiles can be stored rolled on tubes. Folded or rolled, the last step of the process involves placing the objects in new acid-free storage boxes. The boxes are each labeled with photos of the textiles housed within.

My job is to enter the data Marj and Anne collect into our digital database. Thanks to them, we have been able to fill in a great deal of missing information about our textiles. This information will be shared with patrons via our online collections website, furthering our goal to make the Goldstein's wonderful collections accessible to a world-wide audience.

Natasha Thoreson, Collections Assistant

White wedding dresses are considered traditional ceremonial garments symbolizing the bride's purity and innocence. Despite this deep-seated association with "tradition," wedding dresses are highly susceptible to fashion trends. In the late 1920s, Parisian couturier Madeline Vionnet introduced the world to the bias cut dress.The resulting dresses - long, sinuous, and silky - captured the imagination of European and American consumers, solidifying the bias cut's status as the most recognizable silhouette of the 1930s. This blog explores the iconic bias cut wedding dress, beginning with a lovely example from the GMD's collection.

Above: Wedding dress and veil, 1931. Gift of Carolyn Spater Latz 1996.057.001a-b

Minneapolis bride Marion Henrietta Goldberg's ivory silk wedding dress heralded the beginning of a new decade. Designed to flatter her curves, the innovative use of fabric direction created dramatic art deco angles at both the neckline and hips. Elegant ivory lace softened the crisply geometric neckline and added a demure touch to this slinky, sexy wedding dress.

Trendsetting Marion, pictured above, paired her dress with a lace Juliet cap and cathedral-length tulle veil. She carried an enormous cascading bouquet of white roses, garnished with masses of lacy ferns, gauzy bows, and floor-length silk ribbons tied in lover's knots. This type of bouquet is a holdover from the 1920s, when voluminous bouquets were favored by bold, androgynous flappers wearing short, boxy dresses.

Above: Images from "It Happened One Night," 1934.

Just three years later, a similar dress appeared in the 1934 film, It Happened One Night. American actress Claudette Colbert donned a white silk bias-cut gown with embellished scoop neckline, Juliet cap, and dramatic tulle veil. The veil steals the show in a pivotal scene where Colbert's character, Ellie Andrews, realizes she is about to marry the wrong man. She runs off to reunite with Clark Gable's character Peter Warne, her long veil streaming along behind her.

Natasha Thoreson
GMD Collections Assistant

Contemporary American brides are often expected to wear white at their wedding. Historically, brides simply wore their "best dress" - in any color - for the occasion. Infused with the young bride's dreams and hopes, this "best dress" was temporarily transformed into a wedding dress. Most brides continued to wear their dress long after the wedding, sometimes even restyling it to keep up with changing fashions. Carefully saved by sons and daughters decade after decade, these treasured dresses comprise the foundation of GMD's collection.

Above: Wedding bodice and skirts, 1876. Gift of Jeanette Hauschild 1996.133.001a-c

The light brown, elaborately ruffled dress above was worn by twenty-five-year-old schoolteacher Anna Jane Hanson when she wed William Secoy in her family home in Illinois on April 4, 1876. Anna was described as a beautiful and accomplished woman - frugal, honest, and ambitious - whose prized wedding gift was the Bible given to her by her father, John. Over 130 years later, this dress remains as a testament to Anna's transformation from daughter to wife. Less than twenty-four hours after the ceremony, the young bride left her hometown to begin a new life with her husband out West.

Carefully crafted from fine wool challis dyed antique bronze, this gown is comprised of three pieces: a highly structured bodice, an underskirt with a train and bustle, and an overskirt with a sweetly ruffled pocket. Hundreds of tiny knife pleats and ruffles line the edges of the skirts and cuffs. Together, they form a striking pattern on the back bodice, emphasizing the bride's hourglass figure. A sheer white neckerchief, now lost, complemented the ensemble.

Above: WAVES uniform and hat, 1940-1944. Gift of Dorothy Samuelson Leeds 1977.036.001a-e

Prim and polished, this Naval Reserve uniform was worn as a wedding dress by Dorothy Samuelson. Amid the drama of World War II, Dorothy, a University of Minnesota graduate (College of Home Economics, class of 1933), married Herbert Alan Leeds, a Merchant Marine, on April 14, 1944.

Over 350,000 women joined the United States Armed Services during World War II. The women's branch of the Navy was called the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service). Members held the same status as those in the Naval Reserve and provided crucial stateside military support. Upon joining the WAVES, Dorothy was named Officer In Charge of uniforms. Dorothy recalled that "between February 1943 and August 1945, my department put 90,000 women into navy blue. It was a unique experience because it was an unprecedented, ingenious, efficient and cooperative effort between the military and six highly competitive New York department stores."

Sadly, Dorothy has passed on. Her husband Herbert recently visited the Goldstein to see Dorothy's wedding dress, an emotional experience for all involved. He is pictured above, posing alongside the dress Dorothy wore for their wedding.

-Natasha Thoreson
GMD Collections Assistant

Thanks to hundreds of donors, the Goldstein Museum of Design now has over 29,000 objects in its collection. All donors are special!

Some donors stand out because of the quality, rarity, or beauty of what they gave. Donor Kathleen Catlin stands out because she gave GMD a spectacular group of dresses, suits, and hats that are true French couture from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

She did not give GMD "Juicy Couture", which is a mass-produced fashion label popular today; she gave real couture. Most of the dresses and suits donated by Mrs. Catlin were made especially for her by one of the French fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Madame Gres, Coco Chanel, and Pierre Balmain. As a fashion director for Marshall Field's in Chicago from 1946 to 1962, Mrs. Catlin was tremendously influential in helping to popularize European designers in America. She and Dior were especially close friends.

Through a chance remark, I recently discovered that a casual friend, Joan Douglass, was a relative by marriage to Mrs. Catlin. Joan knew a lot about Kathleen Catlin's substantial donations to GMD, and said she would love to see some of the things that were donated.

Grad Assistant Natasha Thoreson and I chose about 20 pieces to show Joan for her November 5th visit to GMD's Research Center. We included a cross-section of Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Gres, including a rare toile (prototype garment) and several hats. The photos below show Joan Douglass viewing some of these items.We remain grateful to Kathleen Catlin for her wonderful donation, and to Joan Douglass for reminding us of Mrs. Catlin's generosity and of her impressive career in fashion.

--Kathleen Campbell, GMD

(Top) Joan Douglass viewing a Dior evening coat from about 1950.
(Middle) Joan remarked upon the unusual draping of a dress by Madame Gres.
(Bottom) Joan especially liked the yellow straw hat personalized with Kathleen Catlin's initials, KC.

The Goldstein Museum of Design continues to expand its digital database. Over the past three years, the GMD has photographed nearly 15% of the collection, or 3000 objects. Among the most spectacular images showcase the Goldstein's collection of wedding dresses.

Though these photos appeal to the eye, they also appeal to the emotions. Long after the wedding has taken place, the dress remains as a document, a collection of memories, dreams, and hopes. The dress is a symbol of transition, a testament to both the bride's personal rite of passage and her participation in the very social ritual of marriage. This blog, first in a series of three, will tell the stories of these wedding dresses.

(Above) Wedding dress, veil, and petticoat, 1962. Gift of Barbara Taylor Anderson 1998.024.001a-c

Crafted from cotton voile and imported Venetian lace, this beautiful 1962 wedding dress would have floated gracefully down the aisle. The gown boasted a "Sabrina" (boatneck) neckline and elbow length sleeves, both trimmed with lace. This same lace formed a continuous panel down the front, creating a rhythmic effect from neck to hem. Tiny covered buttons ran down the back of the bodice and voluminous petticoats gave shape to the full skirt and chapel-length train. A matching bow, trimmed with lace, and a delicate fingertip veil were pinned to the bride's elegant upswept hairdo.

The bride, Barbara Taylor, was intrigued by a newspaper ad featuring the dress. Convinced it was "the one," she purchased it at Harold, a women's specialty store in downtown Minneapolis. Barbara's wedding took place in Rhinelander, a small town in northeastern Wisconsin, in June 1962. She carried a small cascading bouquet of tiny yellow roses, white daisies, and trailing English ivy.

While this stunning gown was worn for a June 1996 wedding in St. Paul, it seems to reference the glamorous 1960s-era dress seen above. A stylized leaf lace motif trims the elbow length sleeves, bodice, and cathedral-length train. The modest square neckline, Jackie Kennedy-esque pillbox hat, and flower-adorned tulle veil complete the 60s look.

A photograph of the bride, Elizabeth O'Brien, shows her looking perfectly polished in a bobbed haircut and pearls, carrying a large cascading bouquet of white lilies, roses, baby's breath, and long ivy vines. The bride was accompanied by three statuesque bridesmaids wearing steel-blue column dresses and matching pumps. The bridesmaids also carried large cascading bouquets comprised of bright pink rose buds, carnations, and blue bells.

(Above) Wedding dress, headpiece, and veil, 1995. Gift of Joan K. O'Brien 2001.073.014a-f

Natasha Thoreson
GMD Collections Assistant

Once a year on Halloween night our collection comes alive! If you see zombies, vampires, or witches walking around the halls of McNeal tonight, do not be alarmed. When you bump into them they might be wearing one of these eerie articles from the Goldstein's collection.

(left to right)
You could come across a witch about to take flight on her broom wearing this black ornate dress.

Or perhaps a vampire wanting to fight the October night chill with this black cape.

For the 'pumpkin' hearted you may find someone wearing this plump striped dress.

You will have to let us know if you see any other well-dressed zombies, vampires, or witches around McNeal Hall and from all of us here at GMD, Happy Halloween!

(Left) 1895-1900 black dress by Clancey, M.E. It has a black satin bodice and skirt with elaborate black beading and fringe.

(Middle) Black one size fits all, ¾ sleeve zero waste wool cape designed by Yeohlee Teng.
(Right) a 1860-1869, 3-piece silk brown and black striped taffeta dress with cape and beaded purse.

A mini-exhibition featuring neon fashions and furnishings now on view at the Goldstein celebrates the dramatic re-emergence of neon colors in contemporary design.

Although most often associated with the 1980s, neon colors have added visual pop to decorative arts, textiles, and fashions since the invention of aniline dyes in the mid-nineteenth century.

Here are some bright spots in the history of neon:

• The term "neon" was coined in 1898


• Technology for neon lights was developed in 1910


• Elsa Schiaparelli popularized "shocking pink" fashions in 1937


• By the 1960s, neon colors were prominently featured in everything from Andy Warhol's screen prints to the Beatles' day-glo band uniforms pictured on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band


• The 1980s revival saw neon colors used for everything from pencils to jackets

Today, neon is once again on trend, appearing in countless forms of apparel and interior furnishings. The ubiquity of neon fashions - exemplified by the popularity of the vivid yellow tennis shoes worn by many 2012 Olympic athletes - has spread to the red carpet, where Julie Bowen wowed in a chartreuse Monique Lhuillier gown at the 2012 Emmys.

Top Image: (orange and pink dress) Stephan Sprouse [American, 1954-2004] Two-piece tank dress, 1984 Silk Gift of Kim Koshiol
(yellow dress) Pauline Trigere [American, 1912-2002] Scoop neck shift dress, 1960-69 Linen Gift of Barbara Sims
(textile) Jack Lenor Larsen, Inc., New York Ambiente, 1968 Cotton Gift of Jack Lenor Larsen
(chair) Ron Arad [Israeli, c. 1951] designed for Kartell Binasco Milan F.P.E (Fantastic Plastic Elastic) Chair, 2002 Plastic, Aluminum Museum Purchase
(long sleeved dress) Stephan Sprouse [American, 1954-2004] Sheer knit maxi dress, 1983-4 Synthetic Gift of Kim Koshiol