Dressed: The History of Fashion

Dressed: The History of Fashion

With over 8 billion people in the world, we all have one thing in common: everyday, we all get dressed. Join fashion historians April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary in celebrating the who, what, when of why we wear throughout history and around the world.

Episodes

September 28, 2023 23 mins

Costume and production designer Catherine Martin takes us behind the seams of her and her team's work on the 2022 Elvis biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler.

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Four time Academy Award winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin joins us to talk about her illustrious four plus decade long career designing some of the most beloved blockbuster hits of all time, including Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby.

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September 21, 2023 34 mins

This week we catch up on the departure of more than one notable fashion designer, recommend a bevy of documentaries out now on the modeling industry, chat about the Sotheby's recent Fashion Icons sale and so much more!

We also give you updates on our New York fashion history day tours...

Dressed's NYC day tours December 7-9th, 2023

Sarah Burton Exits Alexander McQueen

Marc Bohan Passes at Age 97

Sotheby's Fashion Icons Sale

T...

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This week we address our most requested topic of all time: 'why do women's garments have fewer pockets?!' Dr. Hannah Carlson joins us to discuss her recently released book Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close.

RECOMMENDED READING: Carlson, Hannah. An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close. New York: Algonquin Books, 2023.

You can find Dr. Carlson's book and many more of our favorite fashion h...

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Oh the perils of being a Medieval, tassel loving peasant in the 21st century! In this episode, we meet Tyler Gunther, the peasant behind Greedy Peasant, the queer, Medieval-era fashion influencer, pageant planner, and unlikely social media star who has taken the world by storm. 

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From 1520 to 1560, the style-conscious accountant Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad immortalized their adventures in dressing in a series of stunning, hand-painted portraits that provide a window into the period within which they lived. Historians Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward join us to discuss this extraordinary primary source which was published in full color as The First Book of Fashion: The Book of Clothes of Matthäu...

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In this episode, we go "behind the seams" of Geoffrey Holder's whimsical costume designs for the seven-time, Tony Award winning smash hit The Wiz, which opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for 1672 performances before closing in 1979.

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In the conclusion of our two-part episode on the work of Hollywood designer Gilbert Adrian, we turn our attention away from his time at MGM costuming the likes of Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, and instead look at the rise of his fashion house Adrian, Ltd. Creating both custom made-to-measure looks for individual clients as well as 'immediate wear' which retailed at the finest US department stores, Adrian's took the Ame...

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August 31, 2023 31 mins

This week we get get the inside scoop on a new fashion history television series coming early next year, chat about France's new incentive to encourage it's citizens to repair and mend their clothing, and shed a few tears over the Loose Ends Project which assists with completing needlework and sewing projects left unfinished by loved ones.

We also detail the itinerary of our December 2023 fashion history trip to NYC.

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One of American fashion's greats, the work Gilbert Adrian defined classic Hollywood glamour and pushed high fashion in new directions during the 1930s and 40s. In part 1 of this two-part episode, we examine Adrian's early years, and his role as head costume designer at MGM, where he turned screen stars, like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, into fashion icons.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Esquevin, Christian. Adrian: Silver Screen to C...

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Amber-Dawn Bear Robe joins us to discuss the past, present, and future of Indigenous fashion, including the myriad of fashion design talents seen on the runway of this year's Santa Fe Indian Market (SWAIA).

For more information on the designers featured in this year's events, check out https://swaianativefashion.org/designers.



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The work of the late, great designer Lee Alexander McQueen consistently blurred the lines between fashion and art, a fact celebrated in the exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse which put his work in conversation with artists who drew on similar themes and visual references.

Curators Clarissa Esguerra and Michaela Hansen join us to discuss the exhibition which originated at the Los Angeles County M...

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Today's we answer several listeners' requests for an episode on the American womenswear brand Lilli Ann. One of the great runaway success stories of American 20th century fashion, the backstory of the brand takes some twists and turns from its early years in San Francisco's Chinatown, to Lilli Ann's founder's fisticuffs with New York mobsters and his surprising relationship with the French textile industry which...

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No longer the household name she was during her own time, Dorothy Liebes has been recognized as "one of the greatest designers of the 20th century." Her modernist textile designs were embraced by interior designers and architects including Frank Lloyd Wright and fashion designers such as her dear friend Bonnie Cashin. This week fashion and textile historian Leigh Wishner joins us to talk about Liebes' incredibly influen...

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Today's episode is all about you, our listeners! We answer a few burning fashion history questions, share some touching stories and chat about the Papa New Guinean bags called 'bilum,' which were recently gifted to us in Paris.

LEARN MORE:

Threads that Bind Us: The Stories of Bilums

Bilum: The Backbone of Papa New Guinea

@handmadelocally @bilumsandbaskets



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For centuries, the art and aesthetics of ancient Egypt have captured the imagination of--and served as inspiration for--creatives the world over. Fashion curator Darnell-Jamal Lisby joins us this week to discuss fashion's ongoing love affair with ancient Egypt and The Cleveland Museum of Art's exhibition Egyptomania: Fashion's Conflicted Obsession.



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The final episode of our Barbie fashion history series explores Barbie's flowering into a fully fledged fashion icon in the 21st century and what that means in terms of diversity and representation for Barbie, in front of and behind the seams. ; 

Recommended Reading: 

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Barbie gets the full haute couture treatment in episode two of our Barbie fashion history series which takes us into the 1980s, a period that lays the foundation for her ascension into full fashion icon status.

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July 27, 2023 29 mins

From the digitization of a fashion history treasure trove to Cinderella's real life castle, we discuss the latest things happening in fashion history today.

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Barbie is so much more than a child's toy. Since making her debut in 1959, the Barbie doll has become a full-fledged global phenomenon--and fashion icon. In this two part series, we explore the fashion history and cultural significance of the world's most famous doll and meet the fascinating figures behind her creation. 

Recommended Reading:

  • Ruth Handler's Dream Doll 
  • Carol Spencer's Dressing Barbie 
  • R...
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April Calahan

April Calahan

Cassidy Zachary

Cassidy Zachary

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