Curating Dior to Disco: Extrapolating complex narratives from existing objects | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Curatorial Reflections
  • ISSN: 2040-4417
  • E-ISSN: 2040-4425

Abstract

During summer 2019, was on display at the Goldstein Museum of Design at the University of Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The exhibition explored women’s shifting identities, starting with the post-Second World War years through the mid-1970s. Curatorially, we sought out elements and narratives that went beyond popularized tropes of bra burning and disillusionment of upper middle-class white housewives. This article delves into the curatorial process with particular attention to the tension between material objects and the speculative tendencies of curation. Feminism and fashion are highly complex topics, which led to curatorial challenges and opportunities with respect to our exhibition goals, ongoing research and engagement with feminist theory. Additionally, we were working within the scope of the Goldstein Museum of Design’s collection and resources, with the goal of avoiding reductive narratives of the past.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/csfb_00037_1
2022-06-01
2024-04-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Allured, Janet. ( 2009;), ‘ Fashion and identity in second-wave feminism. ’, Academia, http://www.academia.edu/8115601/Fashion_and_Identity_in_Second-Wave_Feminism. Accessed 25 April 2017.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Baxandall, Rosalyn. ( 2001;), ‘ Re-visioning the women’s liberation movement’s narrative: Early second wave African American feminists. ’, Feminist Studies, 27:1, pp. 22545.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Beal, Frances. ( [1969] 2008;), ‘ Double jeopardy. ’, Meridians, 8:2, pp. 16676.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Beauvoir, Simone de. ( [1949] 2011), The Second Sex (trans. C., Borde, and S., Malovany Chevallier.), New York:: Vintage Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Beckingham, Carolyn. ( 2005), Is Fashion a Woman’s Right?, Brighton and Portland, OR:: Sussex Academic Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bradley, Patricia. ( 2003), Mass Media and the Shaping of American Feminism, 1963–1975, Jackson, MS:: University Press of Mississippi;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Coontz, Stephanie. ( 2011), A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s, New York:: Basic Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Crenshaw, Kimberle. ( [1989] 1991;), ‘ Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. ’, in K. Bartlett, and R. Kennedy. (eds), Feminist Legal Theory: Readings in Law and Gender, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 124.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Dior to Disco: Fashion in the Era of Second Wave Feminism ( 2019), Goldstein Museum of Design;, Saint Paul, MN:, 15 June–15 September.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Dore, Mary. ( 2014), She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, USA:: Music Box Films;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Friedan, Betty. ( 1963), The Feminine Mystique, New York:: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc;.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Henry, Astrid. ( 2012;), ‘ Fashioning a feminist style, or, how I learned to dress from reading feminist theory. ’, in S. Tarrant, and M. Jolles. (eds), Fashion Talks: Undressing the Power of Style, New York:: SUNY Press;, pp. 1328.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Luther Hillman, Betty. ( 2013;), ‘ The clothes I wear help me to know my own power: The politics of gender presentation in the era of women’s liberation. ’, Frontiers, 34:2, pp. 15585.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. McElvain, Jean,, Sklar, Monica, and Harpham, Madeline. ( 2017;), ‘ Dior to disco: Second wave feminism and fashion. ’, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings, 74:1, pp. 12.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Mida, Ingrid, and Kim, Alexandra. ( 2015), The Dress Detective: A Practical Guide to Object Based Research in Fashion, New York:: Bloomsbury;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Parkins, Ilya. ( 2012), Poiret, Dior and Schiaparelli: Fashion, Femininity and Modernity, New York:: Bloomsbury Academic;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Prown, Jules. ( 1982;), ‘ Mind in matter: An introduction to material culture theory and method. ’, Winterthur Portfolio, 17:1, pp. 119.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Roth, Benita. ( 2003;), ‘ Second wave Black feminism in the African diaspora: News from new scholarship. ’, Agenda (Durban), 17:58, pp. 4658.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Serrell, Beverly. ( 2015), Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach, Washington, DC:: Rowman & Littlefield;.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Steele, Valerie. ( 1998;), ‘ A museum of fashion is more than a clothes-bag. ’, Fashion Theory, 2:4, pp. 32735.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Steinem, Gloria. ( 1963a;), ‘ A bunny’s tale: Part I. ’, Show: The Magazine of the Arts, 3:5, pp. 90–93, 114–15.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Steinem, Gloria. ( 1963b;), ‘ A bunny’s tale: Part II. ’, Show: The Magazine of the Arts, 3:6, pp. 65–68, 110–14.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. McElvain, Jean E., and Oberg, Caren S.. ( 2022;), ‘ Curating Dior to Disco: Extrapolating complex narratives from existing objects. ’, Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 13:1, pp. 4568, https://doi.org/10.1386/csfb_00037_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/csfb_00037_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/csfb_00037_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error