“Bee” embroidered button by Kristin Skinner
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Embroidery is more than just silk floss on fabric. At its highest level—haute couture—it is seen in an expressive, sculptural application of elements such as glass beads, sequins, gold, feathers, jewels, pearls, and hand-dyed silk flowers. Haute-couture embroidery mesmerizes and intoxicates, confers status and distinction to the wearer, and honors the designer. It elevates luxury fabric to the ultimate level of extravagance.
In a fascinating and visually stunning program, fashion and textile historian Elizabeth Lay traces the history of haute couture's opulently embroidered fashions from the late 19th century to this season’s runways. She begins with the work of Charles Frederick Worth, the father of haute couture, and the atelier that created the lavish embellishments for his gowns. She examines the modernist aesthetic that relied heavily on embroidered surfaces to create magnificent avant-garde clothing; designers of the bold flapper dresses of the twenties; and creators such as Paul Poiret, Callot Soeurs, and Elsa Schiaparelli and their partnerships with Paris embroidery houses.
She celebrates the 20th-century pinnacle of haute couture in the designs of Christian Dior and Oscar de la Renta, moves into the 21st with a look at the shocking razor-clam embroidery of Alexander McQueen, and concludes with the innovative contemporary embroidered fashions of Gou Pei and Iris Van Herpen.
Afterward, needleworker Kristin Skinner leads a studio fashion project in which participants create their own haute-couture-style embroidered buttons using ribbon, beads, and sequins. All materials are provided.
The day is perfectly designed for anyone with an interest in fashion history, fans of haute couture, and embroiderers looking for new inspiration. The program is limited to 20 participants.
One 3-hour session
