American Beauty

Fashion designed and made in the United States over the past one-hundred years has attained worldwide influence due in large part to the creation and popularization of sportswear, denim, and mass marketing. Yet, America has also produced artistic and innovative clothing that utilized the craft of dressmaking. American Beauty examined the relationship between the philosophy of beauty and the technical craft of dressmaking in the United States. The exhibition featured approximately 80 garments by a highly selective group of American fashion designers, many of whom are all but unknown, such as Elizabeth Hawes, Bonnie Cashin, and Charles Kleibacker. Their work was exhibited alongside that of more celebrated creators: Halston, Claire McCardell, and Charles James, as well as present-day designers, such as Isabel Toledo, Ralph Rucci, Yeohlee, and the Mulleavy sisters, who work under the Rodarte label.