Today, most would agree that luxury clothing should be accessible to all, rather than a privilege reserved only for the elite. However, a hundred years ago things were different. Enter Elizabeth Hawes, the influential fashion designer, critic, writer and political advocate who famously sought to democratize, and lived by the philosophy that clothing is a direct expression of the self.
Hawes, who ran his own couture house, proposed ways to develop high-quality production (which would not become mainstream until the 1960s) on US soil, starting in the 1920s. She’s often referred to as one of America’s first couturiers, and yet she’s remained a hidden figure in fashion history — until now, at least: The Cincinnati Art Museum is putting the spotlight on Hawes’ work with a new exhibit, “Elizabeth Hawes: Radical American Fashion.”
When Hawes began designing, Parisian fashion had a major influence on American dress. In fact, Hawes actually got her start in the industry as “a paid undercover copyist of US department stores exploring French fashion,” explains Megan Nauer, acting curator of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Department of Fashion Arts and Textiles. “He came to believe that American women (and men) deserved a unique American vision of modern life, and that he wanted to promote that here in America.”
From April 24 to August 2, the new exhibition includes more than 50 dresses made between the 1920s and 1960s, as well as original paintings and illustrations, and is accompanied by the first book devoted entirely to Hawes’ work.
Ahead, Nauer sheds more light on Hawes’ legacy, putting together the show, costumes and more.
Elizabeth Hawes (American, 1903 – 1971), Day Dress and Belt, 1930s, wool, leather, from the collection of Dorette K. Fleischmann, gift of her daughter, Joan F. Tobin and her granddaughter, Alexis Dorette Tobin, 19/20.22:22
Image: Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum
What were Elizabeth’s greatest contributions to American fashion?
He wanted to make beautiful clothes, made of quality, useful and comfortable. Before this time, women – especially women but men as well, Hawes argued – were expected to wear clothes that often covered their bodies and fit their figure: Hawes and his influence were a big part of the move from that to greater clothing and body freedom for US women.
He also pointed out that all sexes need the same things in their clothes, and that gender dress codes were useless: for example, that women should wear trousers and men should wear skirts when the demands of their lives require one over the other – he was very forward thinking in his treatment of gender in fashion.
He also wished to democratize access to high-quality clothing: he was very interested in working with manufacturers and wholesalers to create real quality and durable clothing that could be made reasonably accessible to working-class wage earners. This idea of quality, affordable clothing made right here in the US is a conversation we visit in culture today.
Elizabeth Hawes (American, 1903 – 71), Day Dress and Hat, 1939, silk, linen, Cincinnati Art Museum, Gift of Dorette Kruse Fleischmann in memory of Julius Fleischmann, 1991.218.
Image: Rob Deslongchamp/Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum
Walk me through the process of putting the show together: How long did it take? What research should you have done? Where did you get the clothes and other activities?
The exhibit and the accompanying book were a long-term project of dedication to the curator, Cynthia Amneus, who retired in January. Cynthia researched the designer on and off for nearly twenty years, eventually conducting extensive primary source research in the designer’s archives and other archives across the country.
Many of the dresses in this exhibit are part of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s permanent collection. CAM has the second largest collection of Hawes’ work after the Costume Institute at the Met. A Cincinnatian named Dorette Kruse Fleischmann was a longtime, devoted client of Hawes, eventually becoming a shareholder in his practice. Dorette was a fashion collector and contributed much of the CAM collection of the designer’s work, as well as many other works of art over the years.
Some of the dresses are on loan from the Met, and the designer’s original drawings are on loan from the Brooklyn Museum Library and Archives. Other items are on loan from the Museum at FIT, The Museum of the City of New York, Kent State University Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Image: Rob Deslongchamps/Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum
What standout pieces do you want to highlight?
A dress with a title“Geographic” (above) is a standout episode: In 1940, as the world and the United States headed toward World War II, everyone in the manufacturing industry and beyond in the United States was thinking about how they would adapt and participate during the war. Hawes knew he had to close his shop. He designed the last collection to present in his salon in 1940, giving every piece in the collection a name with a national theme. During the week of the fashion show, she made sketches and decided to make herself a “Geographic” to wear to close the show and her house.
He bought flags from shops in town. A full-length full-skirted dress has the flags of the Allied or neutral countries at the time sewn into patches over the skirt and bodice. On the side of the skirt, where the wearer sat, she sewed three small flags of Nazi Germany and the Axis Powers. This piece was his political statement and last word as he closed the house he had held in New York for ten years. It is one, made only for the designer to wear himself.
The dress came to us through a collection transfer from the Brooklyn Museum in 2011, in very poor condition. Our amazing Textile Conservator at CAM, Chandra Obie Linn, has done an incredible job of stabilizing this historic piece.
I feel that over the years, his progressive political beliefs and his consistent, often angry voice… were part of why the fashion industry did not uphold his legacy as it did for other designers.
Why do you think Elizabeth has been overlooked in fashion history?
This is hard to say! Many artists come in and out of widespread public recognition during or after their lifetime. I feel that over the years, his progressive political beliefs and his consistent, often angry voice, which permeated all of his writing and commentary, were part of why the fashion industry did not take up his legacy as it did for other fashion designers. However, his critiques of the fashion industry are ones we face today, and I think that as they become a more pressing part of the social conversation, Hawes’ work is being taken back and seems more insightful than ever.
How does this show honor Elizabeth’s legacy?
The exhibition honors his voice and showcases some of his most interesting, and most beautiful, designs. Hawes cared about everything he did and all his clients, but because of the length and intimacy of his relationship with Dorette Kruse Fleischmann, he inherited some of his most amazing and personal designs from their work together.
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