Today, most would agree that quality clothing should be accessible to all, rather than a privilege afforded exclusively to the elite. A century ago, however, things were different. Enter Elizabeth Hawes, a radical fashion designer, critic, author and political advocate who famously sought to democratize fashion, and lived by the philosophy that clothing is a direct expression of the self. Hawes, who ran her own couture house, proposed methods to develop quality mass manufacturing (which would not enter the mainstream until the 1960s) on U.S. soil, all the way back in the 1920s. She’s often referred to as one of the first American couturiers, and yet she remains 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 largely influenced American dress. In fact, Hawes actually got her start in the industry as a “paid covert copyist for U.S. department stores spying on French fashions,” explains Megan Nauer, acting curator of The Cincinnati Art Museum’s Fashion Arts and Textiles department. “She came to the conviction that American women (and men) deserved a uniquely American point of view addressing a modernizing way of life, and that she wanted to develop that here in the States.”Running from April 24 through August 2, the new exhibition features more than 50 garments made between the 1920s and 1960s, alongside original sketches and illustrations, and is accompanied by the first publication devoted entirely to Hawes’ career.Ahead, Naurer sheds more light on Hawes’ legacy, putting the exhibit together, sourcing garments 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, 19/20.22:22Photo: Courtesy of Cincinnati Art Museum
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What were Elizabeth’s biggest contributions to American fashion?She wanted to create garments that were beautiful, made with quality, utilitarian and comfortable. Before this time, women — women in particular but men as well, Hawes argued — were expected to wear clothes that often confined their bodies and conformed their figures: Hawes and her influence were a huge part of the move away from that toward a greater aesthetic and physical freedom in dress for women in the U.S.She also argued that all genders needed the same things from their clothes, and that gendered norms of dress were not useful: for instance, that women should wear trousers and men should wear skirts when the demands of their lives called for one over the other — she was very forward thinking in her treatment of gender in fashion.She also wished to democratize access to quality clothing: she was very interested in how to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to create garments of true quality and durability which could be made reasonably affordable to people on a working class income. This idea of quality, affordable garments made here in the U.S. is a conversation we are culturally revisiting 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.Photo: Rob Deslongchamp/Courtesy of Cincinnati Art Museum
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Walk me through the process of putting the exhibit together: How long did it take? What research did you have to do? Where did you source the garments and other works?The exhibition and accompanying book were a long-term labor of dedication for the curator, Cynthia Amneus, who retired in January. Cynthia researched this designer off and on for almost twenty years, ultimately conducting extensive primary-source research in the designer’s personal archives and other archives across the country.Most of the garments in the exhibition are part of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s permanent collection. CAM has the second-largest collection of Hawes’s work after the Costume Institute at the Met. A Cincinnatian named Dorette Kruse Fleischmann was a long-term, dedicated client of Hawes, ultimately becoming a stockholder in her operation. Dorette was a collector of fashion and donated the majority of CAM’s collection of the designer’s work, along with many other artworks over the years.Some garments are on loan from the Met, and a selection of the designer’s original sketches 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.
Elizabeth Hawes (American, 1903 –71),“Geographic”, 1940, linen, silk, Cincinnati Art Museum, Museum Purchase: Fashion Arts Purchase Fund, 2011.31.Photo: Rob Deslongchamps/Courtesy of Cincinnati Art Museum
What are some standout pieces you want to highlight?The dress titled”Geographic” (above) is a standout piece: In 1940, as the world and the United States headed into World War II, everyone in the manufacturing sector and beyond in the States was thinking about how they would adapt and contribute during the war. Hawes knew that she would have to close her atelier. She designed a final collection to present at her salon in 1940, giving every ensemble in the collection a name with a geopolitical theme. The week of the fashion show, she sketched and decided to make “Geographic” for herself to wear to close the show and close her house.She purchased flags from shops around the city. The full-skirted full-length dress has flags of countries that were Allied powers or neutral at the time stitched into a patchwork over the skirt and bodice. On the derriere of the skirt, where the wearer would sit down on them, she stitched three small flags of Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. This piece was her political statement and last word as she closed the house she had run in New York for a decade. It is one of one, made only for the designer to wear herself.The dress arrived at us via a collection transfer from the Brooklyn Museum in 2011, in very rough condition. Our amazing Textile Conservator at CAM, Chandra Obie Linn, did some amazing work to stabilize this historic piece.I have a feeling that for many years, her progressive political beliefs and her unflinching, often caustic voice…were part of why the fashion industry didn’t uphold her legacy as it did for other designers.Why do you think Elizabeth has been an overlooked figure in fashion history?This is hard to say! Many artists fall in and out of the widespread public consciousness during or after their lifetime. I have a feeling that for many years, her progressive political beliefs and her unflinching, often caustic voice, which permeated her huge body of writing and commentary, were part of why the fashion industry didn’t uphold her legacy as it did for other designers. Her critiques of the fashion industry, though, are ones we face today, and I think as they become a more pressing part of the social conversation, Hawes’ work is being picked back up and seems more insightful than ever.How does this exhibit honor Elizabeth’s legacy?The exhibition honors her voice and features some of her most technically interesting, beautiful designs. Hawes cared about everything she made and all of her clients, but because of the length and closeness of her relationship with Dorette Kruse Fleischmann, she achieved some of her most stunning and personal designs in their work together. Do you have an emerging brand you want to share with Fashionista readers? Jumpstart your business with our affordable digital offerings.
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