Maryhill's French Fashion Treasures
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Klickitat PUD Betty Long-Schlief shows the lining of the ermine cape worn by the Rose de France mannequin, the centerpiece of the opera display at Maryhill Museum of Art. Maryhill’s French Fashion Treasures Theatre de By Jeanie Senior coat over a slim crepe evening dress. Mendel’s Rose de France mannequin has a lavish ermine cape la Mode Eight elegant French fashion mannequins from lined with the same gold-embroidered pink satin as mannequins Maryhill Museum of Art’s legendary Theatre de la the evening gown. Mode collection take a place of pride in the collec- Two other sets, both of Paris street scenes, wear 1946 tion’s exhibit this year. complete this year’s exhibit. haute It is the first time these particular mannequins Collections Manager Anna Berg, Betty and a have been displayed at Maryhill in almost three handful of volunteers spent several weeks this win- couture decades, says Betty Long-Schlief, the museum’s ter carefully taking down, inspecting and packing retired collections manager and former longtime mannequins from the sets displayed for the past curator of the Theatre De La Mode. three years. They did the same task in reverse for Resplendent in evening gowns created in 1946 the new display. by a Paris designer, the mannequins are from the The mannequins date to the end of World War II, opulent opera house set, itself so large that it has when depleted Paris design houses resolved to show never been displayed at Maryhill. the world that years of war had not destroyed haute Betty selected the group of eight from the 42 couture. mannequins in the opera set with an eye to the With fabric and other dressmaking items— designer’s fame—included are dresses by Heim, as well as electricity—in short supply, designers Paquin and Schiaparelli—and the color of each embraced the idea of a touring display of miniature gown for the greatest effect against a stark black mannequins, displayed on theater sets and wear- exhibit space. ing the latest Paris collection. Some 200 fashion She chose two mannequins that are wearing fur. dolls were accessorized with perfectly crafted shoes, The Heim model wears a full-length brown mink handbags, gloves and hats. Some wore jewelry from 4 FEBRUARY 2015 Cartier or Van Cleef and Arpel. with faux stones, rather than diamonds, rubies and Above, the lavish opera In all, some 70 couturiers—including Worth, other precious jewels set in gold. set for the Theatre de la Mode, designed by Balenciaga, Hermes, Jean Patou, Balmain, Madame Also in Paris, nine of the theater sets were Christian Berard. Gres and Nina Ricci—lent their genius to the col- rebuilt. Maryhill visitors—and the world—once Photo courtesy of lection. This is significant because just a few of the again could see the Theatre De La as it was created. Maryhill Museum of Art fashion houses still exist. Many went out of business Betty was hired in 1988 as the museum’s first Top left, the original shortly after the war. collections manager. For years, she shepherded tiara and epaulets of Artist Eliane Bonabel designed the mannequins’ Theatre De La Mode as it traveled around the the Schiaparelli dress wire bodies. Sculptor Joan Rebull created the plas- world, in part or in its entirety. After a triumphant were gold, rubies and diamonds. These were ter heads, each with the same aloof, serene expres- re-introduction at the Louvre’s museum of fashion recreated in 1990 with sion. The mannequins were displayed on theater in 1990, it went to New York, Tokyo and Baltimore. faux jewels. sets to maximize their effect. Well-known artists, Betty accompanied the collection to Honolulu, including Jean Cocteau, designed the sets. London, Barcelona, Denver, Seattle and Portland. Hundreds of thousands of people came to see the The sets travel in huge crates. Each mannequin exhibit during its 1945 tour of world capitals. The has a custom-built box, swathed in acid-free tissue, earnings went to French war relief. with hat and head packaged separately. A 1946 collection followed, sent on another suc- The process, Betty says, is incredibly complicated cessful tour that ended in San Francisco. There, the and painstaking, whether the loan involves a few jewels went back to Paris, and the sets disappeared. mannequins or the entire collection. The mannequins were stored in the basement of the The opera set last was displayed at the Museum City of Paris department store until Maryhill bene- of History and Industry in Seattle, along with four factor Alma Spreckels rescued them for the muse- other sets. um. For the next two decades, the collection was Museum officials decided the Theatre De La displayed in glass cases on Maryhill’s ground floor. Mode—world-famous, much-loved, yet fragile and It set the fashion world atwitter when a Kent irreplacable—will not go on the road again. Its last State University historian “discovered” the collec- trip was in 2011. tion in 1983. Many thought the priceless piece of Betty, who retired from Maryhill in 2010, accom- fashion history had been lost. panied the three sets when they went to Phoenix. In 1988, with funds from the U.S., France and She continues to help maintain the exhibit and Japan, the mannequins were shipped to the Louvre change the mannequin displays. for two years of cleaning and conservation. Jewelry After 20 years, the French fashion figures are like was recreated for five of the opera gowns, this time family to her. n FEBRUARY 2015 5.