"A blend of the traditional and the modern characterized life and dress during Japan’s Meiji (1868–1912), Taishō (1912–1926) and Shōwa (1926–1989) periods. During the early 20th century, a majority of Japanese women continued to wear traditional kimono. But, as demonstrated in the exhibition, the kimono evolved to reflect the introduction of vibrant synthetic colors, new modes of textile production, and bold abstract and figurative design motifs, often inspired by Western art movements and important current events, such as space exploration.

Kimono for a Modern Age features more than thirty captivating examples from LACMA’s permanent collection exhibited for the first time."

For more information check out LACMA's website. 

"As the final barrier to the nude body, lingerie is simultaneously modest and erotic—and it remains a subject of enduring fascination. The design of lingerie enhances its allure: it strategically reveals, conceals, and highlights the wearer’s form. As French lingerie designer Chantal Thomass observed, “The essence and attitude of lingerie is all in suggestion.”"

For more information check out The Museum at FIT website. 

"Yards of satin and faille, froths of lace and tulle, glimmers of beads and rhinestones: the stuff of dreams that clothed the female transition from maidenhood to matrimony. BLISS: 19th-Century Wedding Gowns from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection looks at a century of idealized brides dressed in simple sheaths of the First Empire to complex draperies of the Gilded Age; each decade represented by the reigning silhouette. Meant to celebrate a single day, these rare ensembles continue to inspire nostalgic happy-ever-afters."

Free to the public

For more information check out the FIDM Museum website. 

"The inaugural exhibition of the newly renovated Costume Institute examines the career of legendary twentieth-century Anglo-American couturier Charles James (1906–1978), and is presented in two locations—special exhibition gallerieson the Museum's first floor and The Costume Institute's Anna Wintour Costume Center on the ground floor. It explores James's design process, specifically his use of sculptural, scientific, and mathematical approaches to construct revolutionary ball gowns and innovative tailoring that continue to influence designers today. The retrospective features approximately sixty-five of the most notable designs James produced over the course of his career, from the 1920s until his death in 1978.

The first-floor special exhibition galleries spotlight and analyze the resplendent glamour and breathtaking architecture of James's ball gowns. On view are fifteen dramatically lit, iconic James gowns including the "Clover Leaf," "Butterfly," "Tree," and "Swan" from the late 1940s and early 1950s. Analytical animations, text, x-rays, and vintage images tell the story of each gown's intricate construction and history.

The Anna Wintour Costume Center's Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery provides the technology and flexibility to dramatize James's craft. A pathway winds around a cruciform platform where the evolution and metamorphosis of James's day and evening wear are explored in four categories: Spirals & Wraps, Drapes & Folds, Platonic Form, and Anatomical Cut. Video animations focused on the most representative examples of his approach are shown on monitors, and live-feed cameras detailing the backs of garments are projected on the walls. The Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery displays ephemera from James's life and work, including drawings, pattern pieces, dress forms, jewelry maquettes, scrapbooks, and accessories."

For more information check out The Metropolitan Museum of Art website. 

"For centuries, corsets contorted the female figure into the reigning ideal. Bound to Impress: Corsets from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection highlights these unnatural fashions between the 1760s and the 1820s. Whether conically shaped with rigid backs and flattened breasts or rounded hourglasses with sloped shoulders and cinched waistlines, garment silhouettes followed the dictates of these concealed undergarments. This exhibition covers sixty years—from the Ancien Régime, through the French Revolution, during the age of Napoléon, to the era of British Romanticism."

Free to the public. Appointment Required.

For more information check out FIDM Museum.