Pockets to Purses: Fashion + Function Brochure

Pockets to Purses: Fashion + Function has been organized by graduate students in the Fashion Institute of Technology’s MA program in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum March 6 – 31, 2018 Practice, with the support of Sarah Byrd, Keren Ben-Horin, and Emma McClendon. PRESENTED BY

Lauren Bilodeau Kaelyn Garcia Meredith Menache The School of Graduate Studies and Raissa Bretaña Bethany Gingrich Carson Poplin Caela Castillo Zoey Hasselbring Marissa Stevenson Katharine Dorny Darnell Lisby Virginia Theerman

We would like to thank the many people who helped make this exhibition possible:

Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President, Fashion Institute of Technology.

From the School of Graduate Studies: Dr. Mary E. Davis, Dean; Associate Chair Denyse Montegut; Instructor Sarah Byrd; Instructor Keren Ben-Horin; Associate Professor Lourdes Font; and Marjorie Phillips.

From The Museum at FIT: Dr. Valerie Steele, Director; Deputy Director Patricia Mears; Associate Curator Emma McClendon; Publications Coordinator Julian Clark; Senior Curator Fred Dennis; Senior Conservator Ann Coppinger; Marjorie Jonas and Lauren Posada of the Conservation Department; Museum Photographer Eileen Costa; Associate Registrar Jill Hemingway; Senior Exhibition Manager Michael Goitia; Ken Wiesinger and Ryan Wolfe of the Exhibitions Department; Lynn Sallaberry and Thomas Synnamon of the Costume Department; Senior Curator of Education Tanya Melendez; Associate Curator of Education Melissa Marra; Faith Cooper of the Education Department; Digital Media and Strategic Initiatives Manager Tamsen Young; and Assistant Media Manager Oyinade Koyi.

From the Precollege Program: Michele Nagel.

From Communications and External Relations: Cheri Fein, Carol Leven, Alexandra Mann, Ivana Cepeda, and Smiljana Peros.

From the Gladys Marcus Library Special Collections at FIT: Karen Trivette Cannell and April Calahan.

Special thanks to: Bia Castro, Kimberly Jenkins, and Jonathan Square.

F ashion

The Museum at FIT is open Tuesday–Friday, noon–8 pm, Saturday 10 am–5 pm. P ockets For more information, visit fitnyc.edu/museum or call (212)217-4558. TO Purses exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/pockets-to-purses #PocketsToPurses Bonnie Cashin, sketch, July 1969. Image courtesy of Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY, Gladys Marcus Library Special Collections and College Archives, © MFIT. Cover photo: Bonnie Cashin, raincoat, cotton canvas and leather, circa 1965, USA, © MFIT. +Function they demonstrated status and were men to forgo the use of a handbag, F ashion often presented as gifts to loved but pockets could become ones. Carpet bags were prized by overstuffed and possessions both sexes for their capacity and misplaced. By making pockets a durability for travel. Specialized design feature on the exterior of the P ockets pockets in men’s outerwear were garment, Gaultier questioned their TO designated to hold tickets for the true purpose in menswear. Purses train, the theater, and other events. By the early twentieth century, smoking During the late twentieth century, and applying makeup in public had women’s purses began to be used become more acceptable for women, as opportunities for branding. While +Function and purses began to accommodate artistic director of Louis Vuitton, 3 these activities. A 1925 accessory Marc Jacobs partnered with the set includes a coin purse, cigarette artist Takashi Murakami in 2003, case, and cosmetic compact that to amplify the recognizable “LV” coordinate to match an evening bag. logo with Murakami’s signature pop colors and cartoon eyes. This Twentieth-century designers began to reimagining was largely cosmetic, 1 explore pockets in women’s garments as the bag’s shape, size, and capacity Pockets and purses are often domestic tools, including a needle as elements that could be as remained unchanged. A unisex tote presented as opposites, yet both and thread, thimble, pincushion, fashionable as they were functional. bag, such as the one distributed function as places to carry and store pencil, knife, and scissors. Edward Molyneux added dimensional by the New Yorker — on view in the valuables. A close examination pockets to a woman’s suit to exhibition — includes a bold, easily of their history reveals a nuanced At the end of the eighteenth century, emphasize her slim waist rather than reproducible graphic. Branded totes interconnection rather than clear a narrower silhouette emerged, and to hold the contents of her handbag. that unequivocally communicate divisions between masculine and without the dimension of the previous Claire McCardell included hidden the interests of the wearer have feminine uses and designs. This linked styles, fashion could no longer sideseam pockets in many of her become ubiquitous. history is the focus of Pockets to conceal a pocket under the skirt. A dresses that could be highlighted Purses: Fashion + Function, viewed style of purse known as a reticule by casually placing a hand inside. Pockets to Purses: Fashion + Function through the lens of fashion design. appeared. Carried on the wrist, it Bonnie Cashin was well known for her concludes by revisiting the enduring became a fashionable accessory for playful pocket designs. Her lime green fashionable design of pockets. During the eighteenth century, men’s women. The exhibition includes a raincoat includes an appliquéd strap Otherwise unadorned, a Bill Blass pockets were stitched into a waistcoat reticule made from a man’s waistcoat and a twist lock closure around the dress and a Versace Versus suit or a jacket. Embroidery accented the with a drawstring cord added to 4 pocket that mimic the look of a jacket showcase large, embellished location of the pocket and decorated complete the transformation. This hands-free shoulder bag. pockets. Their prominence recalls the garment. However, men’s built-in composite accessory blends methods the embroidered designs and flaps pockets were limited in what they of holding belongings, underscoring In 1990, Jean Paul Gaultier overloaded often seen in eighteenth-century could hold without the contents their linked histories. a man’s suit jacket with ten cargo and menswear. Updated for the twentieth disrupting the line of the tailored zippered pockets, challenging the century, they are fashionable for both ensemble. In contrast, women wore An increase in available leisure time traditional design of a businessman’s men and women. They refer, once detached pockets tied around the for the middle and upper classes suit, which could easily incorporate again, to the linked histories of all the waist that remained hidden under their ushered in widespread use of a variety more than two dozen pockets. Such permutations of pockets and purses. skirts. Voluminous silhouettes allowed of handbags as well as new pocket abundant storage space enabled women to fill their pockets with a functions. During the early nineteenth variety of items without creating a century, both men and women carried bulge. An etiquette book, Eighteen elongated, handcrafted bags, known 1) Evening bag and contents, wool and metal, 1920-1930, France. 2) Molyneux, dress, houndstooth wool, circa 1948, France. 3) Reticule of a man’s waistcoat, embroidered silk, circa 1800, France. 4) Jean Paul Gaultier Maxims of Neatness and Order, as miser’s purses. Crafted by women Homme, man’s jacket, wool, spring 1990, France. 5) Louis Vuitton; bag; multicolor monogram canvas, leather 2 5 suggested that women should carry with free time and acquired skills, and metal; 2003; France. All photos © MFIT.