Natalie and Alabama Chanin are featured in The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, a publication that accompanies an exhibit created by the Peabody Essex Museum. Called Made It: The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion, the exhibit and book seek to provide greater recognition of women as makers of fashion. Natalie and Alabama Chanin are honored to be featured alongside women like Vivienne Westwood, Ann Lowe, Claire McCardell, Donna Karan, Ann Demeulemeester, Isabel Toledo, and so many other talented visionaries.
The book and exhibit look at the work and influence of designers spanning 250 years, analyzing how fashion has changed as women’s roles and societal norms have progressed. They cover figures--some well-known, some overlooked, some emerging-- while exploring the persistent gendered inequities in an industry in which women are absolutely essential. They also offer a glimpse into designers who are working toward sustainability and the future of design.
According to Petra Slinkard, PEM’s Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles, “This exhibition provides us with an opportunity to reveal, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women designers, individually and collectively. Fashion is often thought of as being solely about consumption and presentation. It can be written off as frivolous. But as this exhibition vigorously asserts, fashion represents so much more: from defining cultural moments and advancing political causes, to deeply impacting the global economy and ecology.”
The exhibition was on view from November 21, 2020, through March 14, 2021. Take a virtual tour here.
Find a copy of The Women Who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design here.
Learn more about the Peabody Essex Museum and follow along @peabodyessex.
Slide 1: Sylvia Dress in Lee, Lee fabric Swatch with appliqué, and Chandler Jacket in tweed appliqué from Alabama Chanin’s Fall/Winter 2017 collection from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 2: Ann Lowe, Dress, 1966–67; Tina Leser, Dress, 1950s, from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 3: Claire McCardell, Dress, 1940–60; Pauline Trigére, Dress and Jacket from the collection of Jimmy Raye, 1960s, from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 4: Elizabeth Keckley, Dress for Mary Todd Lincoln, 1861, from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 5: Rei Kawakubo, Dress for Comme des Garçons, 2014, from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch
Slide 6: Vivienne Westwood, Tartan Wedding Dress worn by model Kate Moss, 1993, and Ensembles in collaboration with artist Keith Haring, 1983, from The Women who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design, 2020, Peabody Essex Museum, photograph by Robert Rausch