FIDM Magazine

FIDM Students Re-Interpret Dorothy's Ruby Slippers

As part of a design competition to re-interpret Dorothy's iconic ruby slippers in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, 12 Footwear Design Students created sketches for The Ruby Slipper Collection.

Winner Kaddie Lam will be flown out to New York City in September for a charity auction at Tavern on the Green that will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The winner and three finalists' sketches were recently displayed in the FIDM Museum and Galleries.

FIDM's Star-Studded Wizard of Oz Opening Gala

The FIDM Museum & Galleries and Warner Bros. threw an opening fête for the college's newest exhibition: The Ruby Slipper Collection and Inspirations of Oz Fine Art Collection. The event featured a "yellow brick" carpet, a gaggle of Dorothys (including FIDM Student and Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum's great great grandaughter), and many celebrity guests, including FIDM Grad/Instructor/Project Runway star Nick Verreos, Entourage's Debi Mazar, George Lopez, Kristin Cavalarri, Jennifer Tisdale and Linda Ramone.

The exhibition features 19 pairs of shoes by top designers (including L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Manolo, Betsey Johson, and more) inspired by Dorothy's red slippers. It's free to the public and open daily from 10am to 4pm through Sunday, June 21. 

Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries on FIDM.edu for details.

Tarina Tarantino at FIDM Museum Store

In addition to the fabulous opening of the "Ruby Slipper Collection" and "Inspirations of Oz" Exhibition, the FIDM Museum & Galleries will be featuring an exclusive line of jewelry by Tarina Tarantino. Here is a sneak peek of some pieces featured in the store. You can also buy Tarantino's jewelry online at the fidmmuseumshop.com. The Exhibition will be open to the public beginning Wednesday, June 10th.

 

On Exhibit in the FIDM L.A. Lobby

On exhibit in the FIDM 2nd floor lobby: A taffeta day dress with tuck detail (c. 1950) and a beaded cardigan (c. 1950-55) from the FIDM Museum Study Collection.

The Rudi Gernreich Archive

The FIDM Museum houses the Rudi Gernreich Archive which contains approximately 2,000 garments and accessories, 1,500 patterns, and 37 scrapbooks.  The Archive was donated to the FIDM Museum in 1985 by the Gernreich Estate.  The Archive is open by appointment to students and researchers. This is just one of the many unique permanent collections in the FIDM Museum & Galleries. Call 213.623.5821 or visit www.FIDMmuseum.org.

Image: Printed silk dress from FIDM's Rudi Gernreich Archives

FIDM's Movie Costume Exhibition Launches!

 
The FIDM Museum & Galleries' popular 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition opened on Saturday night. Over 150 FIDM Grads, including Kevan Hall, Nick Verreos, Estevan Ramos, Daniel Caudill, and Suzy Magnin, and their guests attended the event, along with industry notables. "It was our biggest opening to date," said Exhibition Coordinator Michael Black. Alumni Relations Director Nathalie Holtzman added, "It was a spectacular evening and great to see all the grads!"

Costumes featured in this year's exhibition include Academy Award Best Costume Design nominees The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess, and Milk, as well as Doubt, The Dark Knight, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and so many more--over 22 movies in all!

The free exhibition runs through March 29, 2009. Group Tours are available. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries online for more information. --Kim

Closer Look at FIDM's Movie Costume Design Exhibition

FIDM's 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition opens on January 28 at the FIDM Museum & Galleries. The popular exhibition features actual costumes from the previous year's most memorable films. This year, the costumes are from a host of fabulous movies, including The Dark Knight, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, The Duchess, and so many more--over 22 movies in all!

We sat down with Michael Black, the Exhibition Coordinator, to find out more:

How did the annual exhibition come about?
Michael: The first FIDM Museum & Galleries Director, Maggie Murray, had many good connections with costume designers, the studios, and costume rental companies. It was her idea that showcasing the work of all these talented people was a natural tie-in with FIDM.

This was initially planned as a one-time only exhibition, but proved so successful, we have now been putting it on for seventeen years. In the beginning, we showcased both current and vintage film costumes, and have expanded from one small gallery to three galleries of over 10,000 square feet.

Sixteen out of seventeen exhibitions have featured costumes from all five Academy Award(R) nominated films, which is quite a feat, as we are set up before the nominations are announced.

When do you start preparing for the exhibition?
Michael: We start planning the new exhibition as soon as new films start coming out in January. Making lists of possible films to pursue goes on all year long. Generally, we start contacting the studios around October, reminding them that our exhibition is coming up, and getting their feedback on what costumes they have available.

What is the most interesting/unusual piece in the exhibition?
Michael: Probably the elf costumes from The Spiderwick Chronicles. They are examples of work that gets done for a production but for any number of reasons do not actually make it into the final film. These costumes were requested for scenes in the film, but then as filming got under way, it was decided to go with CGI (Computer Generated Images) instead.

Are there any interesting stories you can relate about procuring the costumes or getting them ready for exhibition?
Michael: It is always a gamble going after costumes for this exhibition. Many production companies no longer have the budgets or facilities to store every costume from every film, or even key costumes from major films.

Many times, the costumes get auctioned off before we get a chance to display them. In the case of very popular films, there is increasing interest to display the costumes, so other venues may get items we would like to show and vice versa. We are very popular with the costume designers themselves, so a lot of them will work on our behalf to get what we need.

The free exhibition runs through March 29, 2009. Group Tours are available. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries online for more information. --Kim

FIDM Museum & Galleries To Participate in Downtown Art Walk This Thursday

This year, the FIDM Museum & Galleries is a stop on the December Los Angeles Downtown Art Walk on Thursday, December 11th, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Busses will take shoppers from the main area of the Art Walk (all info is on the Art Walk site) to FIDM and bring them back again.

Of course, you can come directly to FIDM and buy "Art To Wear" from two faculty artists and two alumni artists.

The artists participating at the FIDM Museum & Galleries are:

• Robin Wagner, FIDM Faculty, with her line of Suicide Kings men's sweaters.
• Sharon Cohen, FIDM Faculty, with her line of Bicron Design hand-loomed scarves and shawls.
• Claudia Grau, FIDM Alumna, with her line of Grau Designs recycled cashmere sweaters.
• Joe Viboonviriyawong, FIDM Alumnus, with his line of Vilaiwan exquisite semi-precious hand-made jewelry (seen above.)

The Art Walk takes place monthly every second Tuesday, but this is the only time you can come to The FIDM Musuem & Galleries and view and purchase the work of FIDM Faculty and Grads.

Directions to the FIDM Museum & Galleries, on the FIDM Los Angeles Campus, are here.--Belissa

T.V. Stars and Costume Designers Attend Launch of FIDM's T.V. Costume Exhibition

On July 26, FIDM launched it's 3rd Annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition, featuring costumes from today's top T.V. shows, including Scrubs, Project Runway, and Emmy-award nominated Mad Men and Pushing Daisies. Also on display are wonderful retro costumes from T.V. shows of the '70s and '80s such as The Carol Burnett Show and Moonlighting.

This is an amazing opportunity to see the work of some of the most renowned Costume Designers working in the business. The exhibition runs through September 28. Visit the FIDM Museum & Galleries page for details. --Kim

Images from the Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition opening: (from top) Bryan Batt (Salvatore Romano on Mad Men) with Costume Designer Katherine Jane Bryant; Spencer Grammer (Casey Cartwright on Greek); Lloyd Segan, Producer of Greek, Costume Designer, FIDM/The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Grad, Mandi Line, and Shawn Piller, Producer of Greek; Marg Helgenberger, Actress, plays the role of Catherine Willows on the television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Interview with FIDM Museum & Galleries Curator Kevin Jones

FIDM Museum Curator and Fashion Design Program Grad Kevin Jones came up with the idea for the FIDM Museum & Galleries latest exhibition Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s-1920s while lunching with the curator of the historic Gamble House. Read the interview on FIDM's Fashion Club Daily to find out lots more about the FIDM Fashion Design Grad and this fascinating new exhibition! --Kim