Sophie Gimbel- Fashioning American Couture

Hand-embellished evening dress with cap sleeves, 1953

"It's all too much, and that's where the loveliness - the couture moment - begins. The clothes are extravagant and unreal, but they don't seem camp. They don't seem artificial or out of this world, just symbolic of a common human hope that the world could be something other than it is - younger and more musical and less exhausting and better lit. It proposed that the little moments of seduction on which, when we look back, so much of our life depends, could unfold as formally as they deserve to, and all dressed up…

Couture is a romantic cartoon. It's a caricature of the romantic impulse, with a cartoon's exaggerations but a cartoon's energy and lighthearted poetry too. The thing you feel in a couture moment isn't 'What a wonderful dress' or, as you do with higher kinds of art, 'What a good place the world is,' but, more simply, 'I'm in love.'" Adam Gopnik from Paris to the Moon. 

Evening dress with pin tucks set into "hand-span", waist, 1952

If you read this blog, then you know that there is a special place in my heart for achingly beautiful things and the craftsmen (and women) and artisans who pour themselves into their creations. And if we’re talking about lovely things, surely couture with its singular vision tops the list. Couture is just breathtaking with its precision, beautifully resolved ideas, sets, lighting, and those fabrics. For the longest time, I couldn’t even begin to explain it. It’s simply what I know. 

And then, the lovely Hannah Rose introduced me to this brilliant quote that made it all make sense…

Evening dress stiffened with horsehair and tulle, 1960

Evening dress in Indian sari fabric, 1963

I relish the opportunity to learn about the art of couture by visiting ateliers and designer studios. When I travel, such visits are always high on my list of priorities. Yet, there’s nothing like indulging my love of couture in my own city. On a cold winter afternoon, the gentleman and I ducked into the Aronson Gallery at Parsons to see Sophie Gimbel Fashioning American Couture. Having the quiet, sun lit gallery all do ourselves was the perfect way to spend a snowy afternoon.

"Harlequinade" velvet/satin dress with net overlays, 1963

Sophie Gimbel’s voice was integral in establishing a distinct fashion identity in the US. During the 1950s and 1960s American department stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue would send their buyers to Paris to have choice styles produced in the US. It always gets me to find a licensed couture copy of an Elsa Schiaparelli or Dior piece for resale. As the head custom designer at Saks' Salon Moderne, Gimbel did away with the established precedent of purchasing exclusive rights to the best couture designs from the Paris collections. At a time when Christian Dior’s New Look dominated American fashion, Sophie Gimbel wasn’t afraid to forge a new identity. This meant designing four hundred unique American styles for Salon Moderne each year. 

Embroidered evening dress with lace scoop neckline, 1957

Mid-century couture, with its shapes, refined elegance, and sculptural volumes is in the midst of a resurgence. Yet it always amazes me that Gimbel’s name, has largely been left out of the narrative. I have a soft spot for female designers (Madame Grès comes to mind) whose legacies have largely lived on in obscurity. A tightly edited exhibition celebrating the many couture construction techniques and methods that Gimbel invented was a fitting homage. 

The use of the finest textiles from India and Italy, soft tailoring, subtle embellishment and meticulous precision left me (for one afternoon at the very least) in heaven. For the simple fact that, for me, a well-constructed and aesthetically beautiful garment starts from the inside. 

* The first image is a personal scan from the exhibition guide. All other images are courtesy of the Aronson Gallery at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center. 

Hermès Festival Des Métiers- A Labor of Love

“Sometimes it takes me 10 hours to make one jacket, one skirt. The fact that you are touching something yourself brings emotion to it. I was watching a chef on television and he took a lemon and squeezed it with his hand. He said that he could do it with a machine, but he felt that if he did it with his own hand the person eating the salad would be able to taste what he put into it. I put all of me into my work. This is all I have: I don't have kids; I don't have a family that I created. But I feel that every day I create a new family. My life in that sense is complete.” Alber Elbaz

What better way to kick off one of my favorite weeks of the year (honestly, Fashion Week is my Christmas) than with the debut of Hermès’ Festival Des Métiers- a celebration in honor of the 175th anniversary of the house. Festival Des Métiers kicked off in New York and will travel to a few US cities this September. The exhibition was a luxury arts and crafts show with all of the expected elegance. Similar to this lovely exhibit, Festival Des Métiers showcased the expertise of the artisans behind the brand. Over four days, ten artisans from France demonstrated their craft.

From saddles to riding boots (sigh) no one does equestrian chic better.

I gravitate to brands and designers who pour everything into what they create. Upon walking into 583 Park, (which I still associate as the glamorous home of many an Oscar de la Renta show) I was reminded of the above Alber Elbaz quote. As elusive as it is, I’m always looking for brands where you can feel the emotion that went into creating. That’s what I love about bespoke items and one of the things that come to mind when I think of Hermès.  

I watched as a saddlemaker hand stitched the seams on a beautiful saddle. Jewelry is incredibly special to me; so I relished the chance to observe diamonds on a Collier de Chien being pavéd. The artisans were so kind and humble as they answered questions. I can’t begin to describe the sheer joy on all of the artisan’s faces when asked if they loved what they do. There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing someone who is passionate about what they do.

Engraver Nadine Rabilloud's desk where a drawing is turned into a silk screen. This scarf has 46 different colors, which means 46 silk screens will be made.

A tiny piece of the silk scarf workshop in Lyon was brought to New York. It’s a two-year process from start to finish to design a scarf. The scarf begins with a drawing and is turned into a silk screen. Engraver Nadine Rabilloud demonstrated how she takes a drawing and meticulously turns it into screens. Each color that appears on a scarf has its own screen. The average scarf has thirty colors, but the maximum is forty-six. There are currently 75,000 colors in Hermès’ archive. The screens are printed darker color to light color and bigger motif to smaller motif. It was amazing to watch silk printer Henri Lely methodically print a scarf from start to finish. 

The very first screen printed. Even when mistakes are made (we noticed a small black spot on an early screen)  all screens are printed. Quality control comes later in the process and anything not up to standard is destroyed. Many measures are in place to produce the best product. Dyes are discarded after a week. Fabrics and dyes are stored in climate controlled rooms. Silk has to be stored away from humidity.

The completed scarf.

A small detail.

Once the scarves are printed they are steamed to set the dye. The steaming process makes silk stiff, so the scarves are washed with water and olive oil soap to soften the silk. The scarves are then hemmed, which takes forty-five minutes per scarf- a true labor of love.

More beautiful scarves. Silks are sourced from Brazil.

A craftsman carefully selects a piece of leather without any flaws to cut the front of the bag. It's a puzzle that the craftsman assembles. Since the artisan is working with a soft, pebbly skin the bag is made inside out and turned right side out at the end of the process. Flipping the bag takes great skill.

The highlight of my evening was meeting Pierre who was working on a Kelly bag. The Kelly is my favorite Hermès bag and the hardest to make. Fitting the pieces together is likened to a puzzle. Pierre estimated that this bag would take twenty-five hours to complete. After ten years as a Hermès artisan, Pierre pointed out that that the handle is still the most difficult part. The handle takes four hours to make. The average novice artisan makes ten handles before they’re skilled at it. Beauty aside, I enjoyed hearing that Pierre fell into his passion. He studied marketing at university. Without any formal leather training, a friend urged Pierre to apply to leather school.

The brand's signature stitch calls for many tools- a griffe (a tool that imprints pinpricks), a tool that pokes tiny holes and durable linen thread.

 Hermès’ Festival Des Métiers was a true celebration of craft, skill and precision. 

*All photos are my personal photos.