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Apollo
Art Diary

Women Dressing Women: A Lineage of Female Fashion Design

1 December 2023

This exhibition drawn from the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art features pieces by more than 70 female makers and designers, with a particular focus on the period from 1910 to the present (7 December–3 March 2024). These range from garments made by unnamed dressmakers in 18th-century France, through to cutting-edge clothing by the likes of Simone Rocha and Iris van Herpen. With some 80 ensembles presented across four key themes – anonymity, visibility, agency and absence/omission – it includes works by designers who have only recently gained critical attention, such as Ann Lowe, the designer behind the wedding dress worn in 1953 by Jacqueline Lee Bouvier for her marriage to John F. Kennedy. Find out more on the Met’s website.

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‘Future Dress’ (1945), Claire McCardell. Brooklyn Museum Collection. Photo: Anna-Marie Kellen; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ensemble for Chloé (2022–23), Gabriela Hearst. Courtesy Chloé; photo: Anna-Marie Kellen; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rei Kawakubo with models wearing Comme des Garçons, published in People (December 1983). Photo: Takeyoshi Tanuma; courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art