From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join New York-based designer, Marc Bouwer, and V&A Senior Conservator, Rachael Lee, as they take a close-up look at the glittering dress worn by Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in 1994. Bouwer's long-term working relationship with Whitney Houston saw him create hundreds of on-stage looks for the singer, each tailored to her preference for ease of movement and support for her vocal chords. Discover the inspiration behind the striking design and the painstaking process of its embellishment as the dress is prepared for display in our DIVA exhibition (24 June 2023 – 7 April 2024)."
Andor, the prequel series to the Star Wars film Rogue One focusing on Cassian Andor, recently finished its two-season run on Disney+. Now, relive the series by discovering how the beautiful costumes were created with insight from costume designer Michael Wilkinson.
Last year, Robert Eggers' reimagining of Nosferatu, itself a retelling of the classic Dracula tale, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Join Joe Zee as part of Focus Features: Dressed series as he sits down with the film's costume designer Linda Muir to talk all about the historical influences and design choices that went into making these characters clothes come alive.
From The Met: "Explore behind the scenes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory, where objects in the collection and exhibition loans are expertly conserved. In this video, Jessica Regan, assistant curator in The Costume Institute, offers a close look at an American dress from about 1885."
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join Curator Stephanie Wood as she carefully unboxes a haute couture cocktail suit, hat and handbag designed by Gabrielle Chanel for her Spring/Summer 1965 collection. Made from a cloqué fabric, the suit jacket and dress are highly textured, giving the look a distinctive, sculptured quality."
"For Spring Summer 2025, you are cordially invited to join Liberty Fabrics as we raise the curtain on Retold, a 150-year anniversary theatrical spectacular." Join Liberty of London for a retelling of their first 150 years of history, how that history inspired their sesquicentennial Retold collection, and how that will influence the next 150 years to come.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "From the cocoon of the bombyx mori silk moth, to shiny couture dresses, join us on a journey through the fascinating world of silk – all the way from fibre to thread."
Stranger Things, the worldwide television phenomenon from Netflix, is set to conclude its five-season run this year. Set in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s, its fashion is very representative of its time period. But did you know that there is a prequel to the show set in the 1950s? And did you know that prequel is actually a broadway play? The play in question, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, just debuted on Broadway last month after transferring over from London's West Side. Costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel was recently nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play for work on the show, which features over 500 costumes. Watch and see how Brigitte "reimagines a colorful and blood-soaked Hawkins, Indiana, for the Broadway stage" in this video from InStyle.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "This extraordinarily rare hunting coat was made at the Mughal court in the first half of the 17th century. Richly embroidered in extremely fine chain stitch on a white satin ground, it features detailed images of wild cats, deer and rabbits, flowers, blossoming trees, birds, bugs and landscapes. In this film, curator of South Asian textiles and dress Avalon Fotheringham takes an in-depth look at the cut and construction of the coat, both inside and out, explores the design and uncovers some secrets discovered during recent conservation work."
From InStyle: "Costume designer Marylin Fitoussi takes InStyle behind the seams of some of the most iconic outfits seen in Netflix's hit series, ‘Emily in Paris.’ Since season one, Marylin has broken free from traditional Parisian fashion by introducing bold and colorful wardrobe choices that have captivated fashionistas worldwide."
Over sixty years ago, on April 23, 1961, Judy Garland made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. At the performance she wore a hand-stitched sequin jacket designed exclusively for her by renowned fashion designer Norman Norell. This jacket came to be known as her "Lucky Jacket" due to her successes while wearing it. "Join Broadway star Jessica Vosk as she explores artifacts from Judy Garland’s historic concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961," including the "Lucky Jacket".
Do you recognize this dress? It belonged to Fanny Seward, beloved daughter of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State for both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In this episode of Collections Unboxing, SHM Director of Collections and Exhibitions Emma Dailey shares a look at Fanny’s debutante dress as well as the history of debutante traditions around the world. Stay till the end to see a detailed walkthrough of this incredible outfit!
Quilters by their nature keep lots of things, as evidenced by their large stashes. So you never know if you have a diamond in the rough amongst the collection of other things you have boxed up in your house. Take for example this Women's Cotten Printed Dress from the late 1700s that was gifted to a couple. They took it to Antiques Roadshow to find out some more about it and received quite a pleasant surprise with the information they received. Watch the video to find out what they learned.
Find out how the Costume Revival Workroom team make the elegant tutus for The Royal Ballet's Swan Lake.
Why does haute couture cost so much? If you have ever had that question, this video featuring the creation of Chanel's Fall-Winter 2013/14 Haute Couture Collection will show you why. These extraordinary couture clothes are handmade perfection. They literally "create" the fabric bit by bit, piece by piece, feather by feather. It's fascinating to watch and you'll even notice a nod to a couple of different quilt blocks.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Discover a dazzling 1960s evening dress embellished with precious metal threads, beads, sequins, diamantes and coral (which was commonly used in fashion at the time but is now protected). This dress was designed by French couturier Yves Saint Laurent, who took the helm as Head Designer at the prestigious House of Dior when he was only 21 years old."
This past Sunday Paul Tazewell was awarded the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the beautiful and magical costumes he helped to conjure for the film adaptation of the broadway musical Wicked. This is Paul's first Oscar win after previously being nominated for the same award for his costumes for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Join Paul as he speaks with InStyle and breaks down his vision for the outfits for all of the main characters in this enthralling peek behind the curtain (but pay no attention to the man behind it).
Take a look at the latest from Schiaparelli as they present ICARUS, their Haute Couture Spring Summer 2025 Show by Daniel Roseberry that took place at the The Petit Palais, Paris, France.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "American heiress Cara Broughton was a style icon of her day, with some extremely bold and playful fashion choices. In this documentary, Fashion Historian Cassie explores two incredible surviving pieces from Cara’s eclectic wardrobe, and tells us about what is typical of women’s late Victorian fashion."
From Vogue: "On a cold, cloudy day in Paris, in the shadow of the Colonne Vendôme, Valentino’s creative director Alessandro Michele prepares for his first haute couture show for the iconic Italian fashion house. “It’s a beginning… like every beginning, it’s beautiful but also stressful.” As he looks over his collection, Michele reflects on his approach to beauty in contrast to the legendary Valentino Garavani’s."