April 4-October 25, 2009
Paul Fashion Arts Gallery

This exhibition, drawn entirely from the IMA’s extensive Fashion Arts Collection, brings together 25 examples of fashion that feature flower motifs. For centuries, delicate forms and rich colors of flowers have captivated artists and designers alike. Using roses, poppies, petunias, peonies, chrysanthemums and wildflowers, artists gave life to the simplest of silhouettes. The floral patterns on these garments were executed in a range of techniques including printing, embroidery, beading and brocading. Among the designers whose work will be exhibited are Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Givenchy, Galanos, Trigère and Callot Soeurs. Fashion in Bloom offers an in-depth look at the major styles of Western fashion, by providing a framework of significant shifts in silhouettes of feminine attire from the late 1700s to 1970s. The exhibition features three 18th Century ensembles, including a rare man’s suit from 1775, along with 19th Century gowns and 20th Century garments.

Image credit: French or English dress, c. 1760, silk damask with silk supplementary weft. Emma Harter Sweester Fund. 81.290ab