New York Field Work - Museum Fun!

My final entry of this trip: a trip into the archives of the Smithsonian and a visit to the Anna Wintour Costume Institute. Marian has pieces in both, but certainly more in the Smithsonian. I began the day at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Smithsonian’s museum of design.

Part of the joy of archival work is the ability to discover totally unknown things. In this case, a relationship between Marian and Milton Sonday, the very well-known curator of textiles at the Cooper-Hewitt.

I had wondered why the Smithsonian had so many more pieces compared to other museums (13 or so, compared to 1-2 most other places). Marian’s obvious personally warm relationship with Sonday is clearly the cause.

The trip to the Smithsonian was enriching and I took pictures of all the materials I could. I didn’t even see the actual fabrics or objects Marian had in the museum’s stores, just all the documents and the like. The director, Susan Brown, was also a wonderful person to meet and chat about. While she hadn’t met Marian or heard of her work previously, she was very open about Sonday’s history at the museum.

Time was limited however, and I had to dash to the Met to make my very strictly timed appointment at the Costume Institute. The CI was actually closed while they reinstalled a new exhibit, but because I had an appointment they lifted the velvet rope for me and I got to go behind-the-scenes to see Marian’s pieces. Only two are in the Met at the moment: a gorgeous coat with excellent tassels, and a classic - the Fragments dress.

This coat was owned by a socialite called Stella Fischbach and gifted with other garments to the museum in 1993.

It has clearly been well-loved and the tassels turned into a new button loop when the original wore out.

The Fragments dress is arguably one of Marian’s most iconic. Marian herself gifted the piece in 2003, but the dress also walked the 1998 New York Fashion Week runway. Given it’s timing and prominence it’s no surprise she picked this piece to represent her influence in fashion.

The appointment was only half an hour! So it was over before it began and I went back out into Manhattan to enjoy the rest of my trip as a holiday, but I had a gorgeous time plumbing the depths of these incredible and highly significant museums!