The Museum’s Costume and Textile Collection holds 23,000 garments that chronicle New York's evolution as an international fashion capital, and provide insights into its social history. The collection spans more than three hundred years, and includes 131 garments bearing the Worth label, and 103 with that of Mainbocher, more than any other designer or manufacturer. This can be explained by the enduring appeal of their garments to trendsetting New Yorkers.
“Worth/Mainbocher: Demystifying the Haute Couture is made possible by The Coby Foundation, Ltd.
ABOUT THE DESIGNERS
Wearing Worth or Mainbocher guaranteed social standing to status seekers, especially given their astronomical costs and the opulent and exotic fabrics and trim, the use of which became the hallmark of both men.
Englishman Charles Frederick Worth (1826-1925) founded a Parisian atelier in 1858 that defined the standards of haute couture and set the course for fashion for the balance of the 19th century. Almost seven decades years later, Chicago-born Mainbocher (1891-1976) perfected those standards while designing in Paris and later transported his Parisian-based skills across to New York.
Worth essentially introduced the concept of haute couture as an art form. Prior to his ascendancy, the idea of a dress being recognized as the work of a specific creator simply didn’t exist. He considered himself an artist and his garments works of art; and he was the first designer to sign his work — with a label.
Mainbocher's designs built upon Worth's artistic principles, modernizing them to apply to a more practical, American lifestyle. His salons attracted the absolute elite of international café society, who were drawn to the deft sophistication and impeccable workmanship of his garments. He dressed the elegant American women of the day, the Duchess of Windsor (the former Wallis Warfield Simpson), Babe Paley, C. Z. Guest, Millicent Rogers, and Gloria Vanderbilt among them.
The designation Haute Couture is one reserved for an elite classification of designers whose high creative standards have earned them formal recognition by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, a division of the French Ministry of Industry, established by Charles Frederick Worth himself in 1868. Only two Americans — Mainbocher and Ralph Rucci — were classified as haute couturiers by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
Fashion: (1) 1868 Wedding Dress by Charles Frederick Worth. (2) 1908 Evening dress, House of Worth, both courtesy of Museum of the City of New York
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