The Brooklyn Museum’s Costume Collection Comes to San Francisco

School of Fashion
Callot Soeurs, evening ensemble, ca. 1910. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mercedes de Acosta, 1954. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Callot Soeurs, evening ensemble, ca. 1910. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mercedes de Acosta, 1954. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elsa Schiaparelli, Jacques Doucet and Charles James are names relatively unknown to today’s post-baby boomer generation of fashion consumers and enthusiasts. However, these pioneers of elegance continue to enchant and educate us still, even if mostly from the insides of museum cases. The Brooklyn Museum is bringing its exhibit “High Style: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection” to San Francisco’s deYoung Museum from March 14 to July 19th.

Arnold Scaasi, evening ensemble, spring/summer 1983. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., 1991. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Arnold Scaasi, evening ensemble, spring/summer 1983. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., 1991. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The exhibit features a collection of more than sixty pieces and thirty accessories as well as an array of fashion sketches. Spanning seven decades, the collection is a visual timeline of fashion evolution and an ode to the opulence of the well heeled American woman and the designers who dressed them. Highlights include: Schiaperelli’s iconic 1938 brightly colored tin necklace, six exquisite Charles James ball gowns and Gilbert Adrian’s 1949 black, beige, and orange silk taffeta chiné and gold lamé “The Tigress”  dress. Other designer works include looks from: Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Jeanne Lanvin and Hubert de Givenchy.

Elsa Schiaparelli, necklace, autumn 1938. Rhodoid and metal. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta Ramos, 1955. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Elsa Schiaparelli, necklace, autumn 1938. Rhodoid and metal. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arturo and Paul Peralta Ramos, 1955. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Students who can provide a current ID pay $18 Tuesday through Friday and $19 Saturday, Sunday and holidays.  Tickets are $22 for adults Tuesday through Friday and $23 for adults Saturday, Sunday and holidays. To purchase tickets or for more information about the exhibit, click here: https://legionofhonor.famsf.org/highstyle

 

By: Malcolm Thomas