CONSERVATORY GAZETTE  

Chinese Woman and Marquise, 1861-1867. By Pierre-Louis Pierson, albumen silver print from glass negative.In what became the introduction to their First Period (1856-1857) of work, Pierre-Louis Pierson photographed the Countess of Castiglione at his Mayer & Pierson studio in July of 1856. The photograph, titled “Portrait in a Black Dress,” is commonly assumed to be the first Pierson took of Castiglione. This one-time session would first evolve into a project, and then blossom into an association spanning many decades of creative achievement.

A variation on the "Ritrosetta" dress; 1864. Albumen silver print. Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, was celebrated during her lifetime as the most beautiful woman in the world. Her lovers were some of the most powerful men in 19th century Europe.

          Hello, I hope you are doing well, It feels like the world is speeding up again. The return of the rush is intimidating. I was on a call yesterday when this topic came up, and I had a realization: there are a lot of people doing hard work to make the world better. I know a lot of them.

Hi Everyone,Life is pretty strange right now; I think no matter who we are, we can all agree on that. I’ve had the opportunity to speak with some pretty incredible women at length this week. Any time a lady-person whose work I admire takes the time to talk to me, I always feel humbled, but in the best way? It’s a good thing, I think, to remember how to feel impressed. Somehow, in all those conversations, a theme arose, the idea that apparel can be armor, and that, for a lot of humans, when we wear the right outfit, we feel stronger.

Henriette Negrin at work in the Palazzo Pesaro Orfei, photograph by Mariano Fortuny, circa 1909.Anyone who is interested in the history of apparel has at least heard the name Fortuny. Marcel Proust, generally accepted as be one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, wrote about the haute couture house more than once in his seven volume novel, probably best known in the U.S. as Remembrance of Things Past (1913 -1927). Decades later, in the 1970s, supermodel Tina Chow began to collect Fortuny pieces.

     Hello Lovelies, It’s hard to believe we’re already into the second half of 2022. So many things have happened, so many of them traumatic, I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t feel positively beat up by the world right now. And at the same time, everywhere I look I see people standing up for what they believe in. I see so much opportunity for us to make a brand new, better world.

      Hello Lovely Readers, I hope the week has been going well for you, and that wherever you live it is cooler than where I am. As I slowly transition into an indoor-human (I live in Florida, it’s the only option until October), I’ve been poking through my personal projects, trying to decide what I should dedicate myself to for the summer.

A participant in the Insurrection from Why Rioters Wear Costumes by Vanessa Friedman; January 7, 2021. Jason Andrew/The New York Times.In Scarlett Newman’s Teen Vogue article ‘A Brief History of protest clothing,’ the author poses an interesting question: “What does an activist look like?” This question is related to something we’ve been talking about a lot at Fashion Conservatory recently; the ability of apparel (or costume) to communicate an opinion, a stance, or a political persuasion.

Hey Everyone, Rachel Elspeth here,     I’m the Director of Fashion Conservatory’s Fashion History Department. It’s almost the weekend,  and it’s finally spring, and I keep thinking about how long we’ve all been waiting to get dressed up again.      As we all know, appreciating vintage means that time and again we give ourselves the oppurtunity to discover treasure.

Traveling saleswoman by Stanley Kubrick for Look Magazine, November 25, 1949.For pretty much the entire history of the United States, apparel designed in America was (for the most part) copies of variations on designs from Paris. Then, in the 1930s Clare Potter and Claire McCardell started designing apparel that would change both the world of fashion and who decided what was fashionable.Face of blonde girl with earrings by T.