Clockwise: "Faïence" by Lucien Lelong, 1946 (Maryhill Museum of Art); Donna Limerick wears a replica of her mother Mae Reeves' hat designs (Photo: Sharon Farmer); Silk scarves by Hermès (Photo: Samantha Viksnins)
Save when you purchase the Lunchtime with a Curator summer series!
Join curator Elizabeth Lay, a regular lecturer on the topics of fashion, textiles, and American furniture, for an image-rich lunchtime lecture series focusing on decorative arts and design topics.
Session Information
Théâtre de la Mode: 1945 Haute Couture Endures through Fashion Dolls
During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Germans repeatedly sought to move that city’s haute couture industry to Berlin and Vienna. They hoped to break what they viewed as the unjust monopoly of Paris and turn their own cities into cultural centers of the New Europe. The effort was unsuccessful, but from 1940 to 1944, Germany kept the Paris fashion houses from exporting, advertising, and making a profit.
Soon after the city was liberated in August 1944, its fashion industry devised a plan to inform the world that Paris couture was still alive and well: by creating miniature mannequins and fashions that were displayed in stage sets designed by prominent artists of the day. The Théâtre de la Mode premiered in Paris in March 1945—as a benefit for war relief—and it was still on view on May 8, when the war ended in Europe. The display then traveled to London and other European capitals. New fashions and stage sets were created for a 1946 tour that included stops in New York and San Francisco.
Apart from their history and visual appeal, the Théâtre de la Mode mannequins provide the missing link between wartime fashions and Dior’s 1946 New Look.
Joining Lay is Maryhill Museum of Art’s Curator, Steven Grafe to share the story, the designs, and the backdrops that represent a collection of 172 outfits by 52 Parisian couturiers, a reminder to the world that Paris still ruled fashion.
Additional Sessions
Patron Information
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