Dress Up
Martin Parr, Dakar (detail), 2001. Chromogenic print, (Lambda print). Gift of Jesse H. Wilkinson—Jesse H. Wilkinson Fund. © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Foley’s Department Store, Houston, Texas, USA, 1957. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Charles T. and Alma Isaacs. © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos.
Martin Parr, Dakar (detail), 2001. Chromogenic print, (Lambda print). Gift of Jesse H. Wilkinson—Jesse H. Wilkinson Fund. © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Foley’s Department Store, Houston, Texas, USA, 1957. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Charles T. and Alma Isaacs. © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos.
“Playing dress up begins at five and never truly ends.”—Kate Spade
Fashion allows us to take on different roles, choosing clothes, jewelry, shoes, handbags, and other accessories to transform the way we are seen and the way we see ourselves. One’s choice of dress can make a political statement, express a mood or communicate personal identities. Through more than 100 works from the MFA’s collection, “Dress Up” celebrates 20th- and 21st-century style with fashions by Alexander McQueen, Bob Mackie, Pauline Trigère, Patrick Kelly, and Oscar de la Renta; jewelry from designers like Hattie Carnegie, Lanvin, Elsa Peretti, Schreiner, and Trifari; accessories by designers like Thom Solo; illustrations; and photographs by Cecil Beaton and Martin Parr.
Looking at jewelry as fashion and fashion as jewelry, this exhibition removes the delineation between the two to focus on how they play an integral and inseparable role in self-fashioning. Objects with beads, sequins, and sparkles blur the lines between fashion and jewelry while at the same time extending and expanding our ideas about them. From a jeweled brooch or shoe, to an heirloom ring or little black dress, each selection can represent a variety of stories and lived experiences.
Thematic sections explore child’s play, identity politics and more, and feature myriad new acquisitions—including shoes and dresses from the collection of Donna Summer, an ensemble by Project Runway alumna Korina Emmerich and local jewelry artist Tiffany Vanderhoop, and a ring by Of Rare Origin, a version of which was worn by poet Amanda Gorman at the 2020 US presidential inauguration. Spectacular loans include an Iris Apfel ensemble from the Peabody Essex Museum and cuff bracelets designed by Fulco di Verdura for Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, which she was photographed wearing throughout her life.
- Henry and Lois Foster Gallery (Gallery 158)
Martin Parr, Dakar, 2001
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Foley’s Department Store, Houston, Texas, USA, 1957
Jean Paul Gaultier and Mariko Kusumoto, Big in Japan ensemble, 2019
Top to bottom: Fulco di Verdura, Maltese cross cuffs, about 1930; Man Ray, Coco Chanel, 1935
Andrew Prince, tiara, about 2013
Oscar de la Renta, coral resin necklace, 2000–2010
Left to right: Hattie Carnegie, silk flower brooch, 1960–69; Sarah Jessica Parker, in a Jil Sander jacket, at the Cinema Society and Linda Wells’s Screening of Smart People, Landmark Sunshine Theatre, New York, March 31, 2008
Manolo Blahnik, women’s shoes: Campari (pair), 2007
Tiffany Vanderhoop, All My Ancestors Are Watching earrings, 2022
Oliver Rousteing for Pierre Balmain, pair of shoes with double-headed eagle, 2012
Left to right: Dress, designed by Valentino Garavani, about 2010; Donna Summer in Valentino at 2011 Art on Ice
Unidentified artist, dress, about 2000
Left to right: Woman’s evening dress, designed by John Galliano, 1999; Cate Blanchett at the 71st Annual Academy Awards on March 21, 1999
Left to right: Aviary Classic Ring, designed by Of Rare Origin, 2023; American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the the 59th inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the US Capitol on January 20, 2021, in Washington, DC
Manolo Blahnik, shoes, about 2006
Coppola e Toppo, scallop necklace, beaded earrings, 1960–69
Left to right: Woman’s evening dress, designed by Travis Banton, 1934; Publicity portrait of Anna May Wong, 1930s
Left to right: Elsa Peretti, slice bracelet, early 1970s; Model Naomi Sims discusses her first fragrance line, called “Naomi,” in New York on May 15, 1979
Pierre Cardin, Woman’s dress, about 1969
House of Lanvin, You necklace, 2013
Kenneth Jay Lane, imitation jet drop earrings, about 1965
Summer of Style
As the weather heats up, check out more of the coolest fashions in ”Beyond Brilliance: Jewelry Highlights from the Collection” and “Hallyu! The Korean Wave,” which includes outfits worn by K-pop idols, traditional garments, and couture dresses.